ABSTRACT
This chapter develops a sympathetic critique of the developing concept of the urban energy and environmental management from the UK perspective. It analyses the changing logic in the electricity sector wrought by privatization and deregulation which is pushing regional electricity companies (RECs) into new roles in the energy management. In the UK context there is no statutory basis for any form of sub-national energy-related planning. Rather than spend significant resources in mapping and measuring energy flows it would be more useful if policy adopted a more effective link to the changing logic driving energy across and through utilities' own networks. Local authorities have increasingly developed new roles in the development of local energy and environmental strategies, often based on studies of the environmental impacts of local energy flows. A new strategy needs to acknowledge the reality of competitive institutions of energy supply and the role of companies in developing private visions of energy futures.
