Fuelling Change. How the energy transition in the 1960s in the Netherlands impacted changing intergovernmental relations.

Abstract

During the 1960s, the Netherlands went through a large and swift energy transition. The discovery of natural gas from Groningen resulted in the transformation of the energy system from a regional organisational structure towards a centralised national system. This had an impact on the government system in the Netherlands, which was up until then characterised by pillarisation, corporatism and consensus-democracy. Based on the analytical framework for intergovernmental systems by Toonen et al., this research shows how the energy transition of the 1960s reflects the changing power relations between central and local governments. The central government took a more active and coordinating role in the new energy system. Local governments lost a degree of local agency and had more executive tasks in the new system. These developments have to be seen in the context of the period of economic growth and the emerging welfare state during the 1960s. Therefore, the energy transition from coal to gas can be seen as a reflection and an important part of the changing intergovernmental relations during this period.