Thorsten Reppert

// DISSERTATION PROJECT

Municipal Energy Supply between Public and Private Ownership - A Policy Analysis of Privatization and (Re)municipalization of Network-bound Services in the Federal Republic of Germany                                   

Discourse on the shift between private and public ownership of utility enterprises in Germany is largely confined to the national or state level. Case studies on shifts at the municipal level are often highly anecdotal. Thus, knowledge about the extent and reasons for privatisation and re-municipalisation at the local level remains comparatively underdeveloped. At the same time, municipalities are playing an increasingly significant role in the adoption of renewable energies and in safeguarding a stable energy supply.

I aim to close this gap and examine both trends based on electricity grid operators of distribution networks in German municipalities. To achieve this, I create a novel dataset using information on network operators in 10,800 German municipalities and data on the shareholder structure of about nine hundred electricity companies, allowing me to determine the extent of privatization of network operators. By applying partisan theory to the governance of local energy, I want to identify if and how parties are central to the variation and spread of privatisation between different municipalities. On the one hand, I shall draw on the professionalisation of German local politics and the increased importance of local energy policy. At the same time, I analyse problems central to comparative political economy at the hitherto underutilized local political level.

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// ACADEMIC BACKGROUND

2018 - 2021
Master of Arts in Political Science, University of Bamberg

2015 - 2018
Bachelors Degree in Political and Social Studies & Business Management and Economics, University of Würzburg

Awards / Academic Achievements and Scholarships:
 

• PhD Scholarship by the Friedrich-Ebert-Stiftung since April 2023
• BAGSS Starter Scholarship from April 2022 to March 2023
• Study Scholarship by the Friedrich-Ebert-Stiftung during Bachelor and Master studies

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// RESEARCH & PUBLICATIONS

Reppert, T. (2024): “Back to the future? An analysis of party influence on electricity grid remunicipalisation in Germany”. Local Government Studies, p. 1–27. DOI: 10.1080/03003930.2024.2424811.

Reppert, T. (2023): “Local-level ownership of electricity grids: An analysis of Germany's distribution system operators (DSOs)”. Utilities Policy 85, DOI: 10.1016/j.jup.2023.101678

Reppert, T., Rohleder, M., Seger, J. and Steinmeier, A.  (2019): “Abgesicherte Freiheit in einer digitalen Arbeitswelt”. Neue Gesellschaft/Frankfurter Hefte, 11/2019, online: https://www.frankfurter-hefte.de/artikel/abgesicherte-freiheit-in-einer-digitalen-arbeitswelt-2846/.

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// CONFERENCES & WORKSHOPS

ECPR General Conference 2024. Presentation: "Exploring Electricity Grid Remunicipalisation: A Comparative Study of Dynamics at the Local-Level in Germany ". Dublin/Republic of Ireland. 12 – 15 August 2024.

2024 Internal BAGSS Conference. Lead Organizer and Session Chair “Mock Conference”, “Publishing – Q&A with Barbara Ziegler, Bamberg University Library” and “Prepare your Defence – Q&A with Teresa Haller, Chen-Hao Hsu, Stephan Bischof”, Wiesenthau/Germany. 27-29 June 2024.

17^th Annual FoJuS Conference on „Politik und Verwaltung in Zeiten politischer Polarisierung und gesellschaftlicher Diversität“. Paper Presentation: „Exploring Electricity Grid Remunicipalisation: A Comparative Study of Dynamics at the Local-Level in Germany“. Braunschweig/Germany. 12-13 March 2024

Annual Conference of the DVPW Political Economy Section with [tra:ce] and (YSI-INET) on "Crisis and Transformation". Paper Presentation: "Local Parties and the (Re)municipalization of Distribution System Operators (DSOs) in Germany: An Analysis of Ownership Change in the 2010s ". Witten/Germany. 21 – 22 September 2023.

ECPR General Conference 2023. Presentation: "Local Parties and the (Re)municipalization of Distribution System Operators (DSOs) in Germany: An Analysis of Ownership Change in the 2010s ". Prague/Czech Republic. 04 – 08 September 2023.

2023 Internal BAGSS Conference. Co-Organizer and Session Chair “Publishing and Reviewing (I)”, Warmensteinach/Germany. 13-15 July 2023.

Energiepolitik in Zeiten des Krieges, Schader-Stiftung & DVPW-Themengruppe Energietransformation. Poster: "Local-Level Privatization of German Electricity Grids: An Analysis of Distribution System Operators (DSOs) Ownership ". Darmstadt/Germany. 28 October 2022.

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// EXPERIENCE

04/2021 - 09/2022 & 10/2023 - today

Research and Training Assistant - Otto-Friedrich-University Bamberg

• Advanced Seminar: Populism (Bachelor, Summer Term 2021)
• Introductory Seminar Study Skills for Political Scientists (Bachelor, Winter Term 2021-22, Summer Term 2022, Winter Term 2023-24)
• Seminar Policy Analysis: Comparative Environmental and Energy Policy (Bachelor, Winter Term 2021-22)
• Seminar Policy Analysis: „Let’s Talk about Power! - Comparative Energy Policy“ (Summer Term 2024)

10/2017 - 03/2021

Constituency office staff - Volkmar Halbleib, MdL

10/2017 - 03/2018

Tutor - Julius-Maximilians-University Würzburg

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Image Credits: © Stafanie Crum