Energy systems in Germany and in all western OECD countries are currently undergoing transformations that have profound implications for the urban and regional governance of energy systems as well as for climate policies. New technologies, regulatory regimes, management styles, marketing strategies and environmental priorities have emerged, dramatically re-configuring patterns of governance within cities and regions. Especially the far-reaching privatization and liberalization of energy systems in Germany are altering the conditions for climate policies at a local and regional policy level.

This is particularly obvious in the city region of Berlin, where utility restructuring coincides with a dramatic fiscal crisis of the city. The privatization of the energy utilities and of many public services, the opening of the regional energy markets and the take-over by a transnational energy utility, and the emergence of new market participants is radically changing the conditions of regional governance and energy planning. It is argued in favor of new policy approaches to shape the development of energy networks according to local and regional sustainability needs.