Subnational Energy Governance and Energy Resilience in Low-Carbon Transitions

Subnational Energy Governance and Energy Resilience in Low-Carbon Transitions | Research Square window.SnipcartSettings = { analytics: { enabled: false } }; (function() { var accessVector = localStorage.getItem('access_vector') || ''; window.dataLayer = window.dataLayer || []; if (accessVector) { window.dataLayer.push({ user: { profile: { profileInfo: { snid: accessVector } } } }); } })(); (function(w,d,s,l,i){w[l]=w[l]||[];w[l].push({'gtm.start':new Date().getTime(),event:'gtm.js'});var f=d.getElementsByTagName(s)[0],j=d.createElement(s),dl=l!='dataLayer'?'&l='+l:'';j.async=true;j.src='https://www.googletagmanager.com/gtm.js?id='+i+dl;f.parentNode.insertBefore(j,f);})(window,document,'script','dataLayer','GTM-K279D39R'); Browse Preprints In Review Journals COVID-19 Preprints AJE Video Bytes Research Tools Research Promotion AJE Professional Editing AJE Rubriq About Preprint Platform In Review Editorial Policies Our Team Advisory Board Help Center Sign In Submit a Preprint Cite Share Download PDF Systematic Review Subnational Energy Governance and Energy Resilience in Low-Carbon Transitions Ronald Mukanya, Khomotso Semenya This is a preprint; it has not been peer reviewed by a journal. https://doi.org/ 10.21203/rs.3.rs-8701571/v1 This work is licensed under a CC BY 4.0 License Status: Under Review Version 1 posted 13 You are reading this latest preprint version Abstract The transition to low-carbon energy systems is increasingly shaped not only by technological innovation but also by governance arrangements that influence system performance, reliability, and resilience. While national energy policies and market reforms have received extensive scholarly attention, the role of subnational governance particularly at provincial or regional level remains underexplored in the energy transitions literature. This review synthesises interdisciplinary scholarship on energy transitions, energy resilience, and subnational governance, with particular attention to middle-income and emerging economy contexts. Drawing on socio-technical transition theory, energy security and resilience frameworks, and just transition scholarship, the paper critically examines how subnational actors contribute to renewable energy integration, decentralisation, and adaptive capacity within electricity systems. The review further evaluates the Energy Transition Index (ETI) as a diagnostic framework for assessing energy system performance beyond the national scale, highlighting both its analytical value and its limitations when applied to subnational governance contexts. The paper identifies key institutional, political, and capacity-related factors shaping subnational contributions to energy resilience and low-carbon transitions and concludes by outlining policy-relevant insights and priority research gaps. The analysis contributes to the energy transitions literature by clarifying the governance dimensions of resilience and by positioning subnational governance as a critical, yet under-theorised, scale of intervention in renewable energy transitions. energy transition energy resilience subnational governance renewable energy system performance Full Text Additional Declarations No competing interests reported. Cite Share Download PDF Status: Under Review Version 1 posted Editorial decision: Revision requested 12 Mar, 2026 Reviews received at journal 10 Mar, 2026 Reviews received at journal 10 Mar, 2026 Reviewers agreed at journal 25 Feb, 2026 Reviewers agreed at journal 24 Feb, 2026 Reviewers agreed at journal 21 Feb, 2026 Reviewers agreed at journal 18 Feb, 2026 Reviewers agreed at journal 18 Feb, 2026 Reviewers invited by journal 18 Feb, 2026 Editor invited by journal 18 Feb, 2026 Editor assigned by journal 16 Feb, 2026 Submission checks completed at journal 16 Feb, 2026 First submitted to journal 16 Feb, 2026 You are reading this latest preprint version Research Square lets you share your work early, gain feedback from the community, and start making changes to your manuscript prior to peer review in a journal. As a division of Research Square Company, we’re committed to making research communication faster, fairer, and more useful. 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Also discoverable on Platform About Our Team In Review Editorial Policies Advisory Board Help Center Resources Author Services Accessibility API Access RSS feed Manage Cookie Preferences © Research Square 2026 | ISSN 2693-5015 (online) Privacy Policy Terms of Service Do Not Sell My Personal Information {"props":{"pageProps":{"initialData":{"identity":"rs-8701571","acceptedTermsAndConditions":true,"allowDirectSubmit":false,"archivedVersions":[],"articleType":"Systematic Review","associatedPublications":[],"authors":[{"id":593254323,"identity":"6d36ba60-d1e4-4262-893c-f9240232edd3","order_by":0,"name":"Ronald Mukanya","email":"data:image/png;base64,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","orcid":"","institution":"University of South Africa","correspondingAuthor":true,"prefix":"","firstName":"Ronald","middleName":"","lastName":"Mukanya","suffix":""},{"id":593254324,"identity":"6b9154ef-ad71-4dfe-b0b6-dafb718803d7","order_by":1,"name":"Khomotso Semenya","email":"","orcid":"","institution":"University of South Africa","correspondingAuthor":false,"prefix":"","firstName":"Khomotso","middleName":"","lastName":"Semenya","suffix":""}],"badges":[],"createdAt":"2026-01-26 14:56:08","currentVersionCode":1,"declarations":"","doi":"10.21203/rs.3.rs-8701571/v1","doiUrl":"https://doi.org/10.21203/rs.3.rs-8701571/v1","draftVersion":[],"editorialEvents":[],"editorialNote":"","failedWorkflow":false,"files":[{"id":103503969,"identity":"ce35fcac-5249-41d4-8d23-2287bbf2c24d","added_by":"auto","created_at":"2026-02-26 13:06:09","extension":"pdf","order_by":1,"title":"","display":"","copyAsset":false,"role":"manuscript-pdf","size":332383,"visible":true,"origin":"","legend":"","description":"","filename":"2026Feb16JournalReviewPaperManuscriptMukanyaSemenya.pdf","url":"https://assets-eu.researchsquare.com/files/rs-8701571/v1_covered_752f4de7-8484-4793-8ddd-da025fffb8b4.pdf"}],"financialInterests":"No competing interests reported.","formattedTitle":"Subnational Energy Governance and Energy Resilience in Low-Carbon Transitions","fulltext":[],"fulltextSource":"","fullText":"","funders":[],"hasAdminPriorityOnWorkflow":false,"hasManuscriptDocX":false,"hasOptedInToPreprint":true,"hasPassedJournalQc":"","hasAnyPriority":false,"hideJournal":false,"highlight":"","institution":"","isAcceptedByJournal":true,"isAuthorSuppliedPdf":true,"isDeskRejected":"","isHiddenFromSearch":false,"isInQc":false,"isInWorkflow":false,"isPdf":true,"isPdfUpToDate":true,"isWithdrawnOrRetracted":false,"journal":{"display":true,"email":"[email protected]","identity":"discover-energy","isNatureJournal":false,"hasQc":true,"allowDirectSubmit":false,"externalIdentity":"dien","sideBox":"Learn more about [Discover Energy](https://www.springer.com/43937)","snPcode":"","submissionUrl":"","title":"Discover Energy","twitterHandle":"","acdcEnabled":true,"dfaEnabled":true,"editorialSystem":"stoa","reportingPortfolio":"Discover Series","inReviewEnabled":true,"inReviewRevisionsEnabled":true},"keywords":"energy transition, energy resilience, subnational governance, renewable energy, system performance","lastPublishedDoi":"10.21203/rs.3.rs-8701571/v1","lastPublishedDoiUrl":"https://doi.org/10.21203/rs.3.rs-8701571/v1","license":{"name":"CC BY 4.0","url":"https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/"},"manuscriptAbstract":"\u003cp\u003eThe transition to low-carbon energy systems is increasingly shaped not only by technological innovation but also by governance arrangements that influence system performance, reliability, and resilience. 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