Soft System Methodology- Purchasing Department
Using SSM to Rethink the Analysis of Energy Efficiency Initiatives
Luís Miguel Pires Neves
School of Technology and Management, Politechnic Institute of Leiria; INESC Coimbra, Portugal
António Gomes Martins Carlos Henggeler Antunes
Department of Electrical Engineering, University of Coimbra; INESC Coimbra, Portugal
23rd December 2002
Running head: SSM to Rethink Energy Efficiency Keywords: Energy; Systems; Soft OR;
Abstract This paper reflects an attempt to rethink the process of analysis of Energy Efficiency Initiatives using Soft Systems Methodology (SSM) as a problem structuring tool. The aim of the work is to provide public and private initiative promoters with a structured support for a more informed decision, regarding the implementation of energy efficiency measures. The SSM approach contributed with the identification of all market players and their relations, as well as the insight into the deficiencies of current methodologies. Some future work directions are also proposed.
Introduction
Energy Efficiency of end-uses has been naturally increasing in the last decades, at the pace of technology innovation and transfer, although in a much lower scale than its potential. This is a well known 1
problem, often referred by politicians, when considering policy options for reducing environmental damages and the dependence of countries on external energy supply. In the past, electric utilities involved themselves in Demand-Side Management (DSM) programmes, with which they tried to stimulate consumers to adopt a more convenient consumption pattern, including conservation measures. In fact, DSM could be a business opportunity, and a way of avoiding increasing marginal costs caused by the oil crisis of the seventies and eighties. In the U.S., these programmes spread until the middle of the nineties, being financed by a general increase in tariffs, allowed by the regulators. In this context, electric utilities had to demonstrate the cost-effectiveness of DSM
Luís Miguel Pires Neves
School of Technology and Management, Politechnic Institute of Leiria; INESC Coimbra, Portugal
António Gomes Martins Carlos Henggeler Antunes
Department of Electrical Engineering, University of Coimbra; INESC Coimbra, Portugal
23rd December 2002
Running head: SSM to Rethink Energy Efficiency Keywords: Energy; Systems; Soft OR;
Abstract This paper reflects an attempt to rethink the process of analysis of Energy Efficiency Initiatives using Soft Systems Methodology (SSM) as a problem structuring tool. The aim of the work is to provide public and private initiative promoters with a structured support for a more informed decision, regarding the implementation of energy efficiency measures. The SSM approach contributed with the identification of all market players and their relations, as well as the insight into the deficiencies of current methodologies. Some future work directions are also proposed.
Introduction
Energy Efficiency of end-uses has been naturally increasing in the last decades, at the pace of technology innovation and transfer, although in a much lower scale than its potential. This is a well known 1
problem, often referred by politicians, when considering policy options for reducing environmental damages and the dependence of countries on external energy supply. In the past, electric utilities involved themselves in Demand-Side Management (DSM) programmes, with which they tried to stimulate consumers to adopt a more convenient consumption pattern, including conservation measures. In fact, DSM could be a business opportunity, and a way of avoiding increasing marginal costs caused by the oil crisis of the seventies and eighties. In the U.S., these programmes spread until the middle of the nineties, being financed by a general increase in tariffs, allowed by the regulators. In this context, electric utilities had to demonstrate the cost-effectiveness of DSM
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