A Multi Criteria DEA approach to performance evaluation of Indian thermal power plants

In the scenario of ever increasing energy demand, it has been an anathema for the power utilities of developing nations to operate and manage their power industries in an efficient and economic way. The region wise performance of coal fired thermal power plants has been investigated in this study by application of Multi Criteria Data Envelopment Analysis (MCDEA). When number of decision making units (DMUs) is less in comparison to total number of inputs and outputs, Data Envelopment Analysis (DEA) identifies too many DMUs efficient. MCDEA is employed to determine the true efficiency of power plants as suggested by the classical DEA analysis. Deviation in efficiency is observed while moving from DEA to MCDEA. The result of this analysis may assist the electricity utilities to introspect and review their systems and processes for optimal use of the resources.