Energy Policy

This magazine is simply terrible. Let me share my submission experience:

I submitted in April 2020.
I can't remember the exact time for the first and second reviews, but for the second review, an additional reviewer was added (if I remember correctly). Every time there were review comments, I replied promptly within 1-2 months.
The submission for the third review was made in November 2021, which means it took more than 1 and a half years by then.
The third review lasted for a whole year, during which I sent two reminder emails, but they were of no use.
In November 2022, the entire submission process took a total of two years and seven months, only to receive a rejection letter.
I want to say, can't the rejection process be faster? Each review takes so long, don't the editors know to remind the reviewers?
This reminds me of when my senior sister submitted to EP and also encountered a one-year delay in the second review. When she asked the editor, the editor said the previous editor had passed away, and the others did not have the authority to handle it. So they kept dragging it, and eventually, it was rejected.

I assume it has something to do with the journal's goal of improving the review speed. If they accept articles with long review periods like ours, it would significantly reduce their submission-review time cycle indicator. The journal's indicators wouldn't look good, so the editors are more inclined to reject.

Overall, I feel that the internal management of EP is a bit chaotic, and I don't know why. It's really disheartening.

I submitted it in August last year, and it has been with the editor all along. After urging, the editor replied that there were many manuscripts to review and it would take about 7-10 weeks to be with the editor. Sorry, but please be patient. Finally, in October last year, it was with the editor. After technical review, it was finally under review on October 19th. The timeline changed many times in between, and later I learned that it was due to changing reviewers. Finally, in March of this year, I received major revisions and two comments. It was sent back for revisions on March 19th, and I haven't received any updates since then. I asked about the original two reviewers, one refused to review again, and the other hasn't replied to emails for three weeks. Helplessly, the editors had to find new reviewers!!! I cried. I sincerely do not recommend submitting to this journal for those who are waiting to graduate. The reputation is good, but the slowness is real. Of course, it may be due to my own poor writing. I envy those who receive reviewer comments in three months and get accepted in less than a month. Most likely, it's only the lucky ones from prestigious groups or those who write exceptionally well... Sigh, continuing the long wait, hoping for good luck...