engleski

The pitfalls of shared metering: Does the self- interest in district heating systems cause tragedy of the commons

We investigate the “Tragedy of the Commons” situation in shared billing in district heating systems by using nation-wide household data for Croatia covering three different climate zones. The Tragedy of the Commons refers to households that have chosen not to implement individual metering and acted according to their own self- interest but in doing so acted contrary to the common good of all users within the same building (including their own). We perform our analysis on a unique dataset covering the heating consumption for 250 buildings with over 20, 000 apartments in nine cities prior to and after the installation of individual metering devices. Different models of distribution for delivered thermal energy have been applied, taking into consideration several scenarios in which the metering installation ranges from 100% to 50%. Results show that self- interest has an important impact on energy saving behaviour, while the cost-effectiveness differs widely due to different common behaviour of buildings’ residents. Options analysis and cost- benefit analysis of nine cities with existing district heating systems shows that the obligation to install individual metering at final consumers was cost-effective under the condition that each building had a high level of measurement devices’ installation and use (greater than 75%). The Tragedy of the Commons has been proven and it can contribute to our understanding of the motivating factors for energy saving behaviour. Wider policy implications should take into account this knowledge because it implies that pro- environmental behaviours could be more effective if aimed toward satisfying at least some private interests.

Energy saving behaviour, Tragedy of the commons, Energy metering in district heating, Heat cost allocation, Cost-benefit analysis, Sensitivity analysis

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