Shades of Green: Modelling Differences in Thought and Action among Electric Utility Regime Actors in the Energy System Transition

There is wide variability in how organizations approach sustainability and the energy system transition toward using more renewables. In the electric power industry, while some distribution utilities have leaned into the transition, others have taken a more conservative approach. Grounded in an institutional resource-based perspective, this multi-level study examines key intra-firm, firm, and individual leadership factors that impact an organization's commitment to renewables. Sustainability orientation in the power industry is assessed as the percent of renewable energy in a utility's fuel mix compared with their expressed commitment to renewables and energy efficiency within planning documents. Through computer-aided text analysis, characteristics of 170 electric utilities in the United States were analyzed to predict sustainability orientation. Results indicate that rurality, deregulation, and the entrepreneurial orientation of a utility, as expressed within their Integrated Resource Plans, explain a significant amount of variability in the sustainability orientation of electric utilities.

Automated summary

This study examines the factors that impact an organization's commitment to renewables in the electric power industry. The results show that rurality, deregulation, and entrepreneurial orientation significantly influence the sustainability orientation of electric utilities.