The role of oblique double layers in the generation of ion conical distributions has been discussed by Borovsky (1984). We extend this analysis to the investigation of possible electron heating processes. We have performed plasma simulations of oblique double layers with parameters characteristic of the midaltitude nightside auroral zone. The double layers are observed to generate electron beams which, in turn, excite electrostatic waves with frequencies less than the local plasma frequency (strongly magnetized Langmuir waves). These beam-driven electrostatic waves heat the ambient electrons primarily in the parallel direction. The electrostatic waves may be responsible for thermalizing the distributions of energetic electrons that produce auroral arcs. ¿ American Geophysical Union 1989