IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/eee/eneeco/v45y2014icp111-119.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Design of experiments applied to environmental variables analysis in electricity utilities efficiency: The Brazilian case

Author

Listed:
  • Leme, Rafael C.
  • Paiva, Anderson P.
  • Steele Santos, Paulo E.
  • Balestrassi, Pedro P.
  • Galvão, Leandro de Lima

Abstract

Benchmarking plays a central role in the regulatory scene. Regulators set tariffs according to a performance standard and, if the companies can outperform such a standard, they can retain the gains observed by such outperformance. Efficiency performance is usually assessed by comparison (or a benchmark) against either other companies or the company's own historical performance. This paper discusses the impact of environmental variables on the efficiency performance of electricity distribution companies. Indeed, such variables, which are argued to be unmanageable, may affect the electricity utilities' performance. Thus, this paper proposes a simulation methodology based on design of experiment philosophy for statistically testing environmental variables and the interactions among them, enabling regulators to build the best suited semi-parametric two-stage model of electricity utility benchmarking analysis. To demonstrate the power of the proposed approach, experimental simulations are carried out using real data published by Brazil's regulator. The results show that environmental variables may impact efficiency performance linearly and nonlinearly.

Suggested Citation

  • Leme, Rafael C. & Paiva, Anderson P. & Steele Santos, Paulo E. & Balestrassi, Pedro P. & Galvão, Leandro de Lima, 2014. "Design of experiments applied to environmental variables analysis in electricity utilities efficiency: The Brazilian case," Energy Economics, Elsevier, vol. 45(C), pages 111-119.
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:eneeco:v:45:y:2014:i:c:p:111-119
    DOI: 10.1016/j.eneco.2014.06.017
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0140988314001509
    Download Restriction: Full text for ScienceDirect subscribers only
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1016/j.eneco.2014.06.017?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    As the access to this document is restricted, you may want to search for a different version of it.

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Steele Santos, Paulo E. & Coradi Leme, Rafael & Galvão, Leandro, 2012. "On the electrical two-part tariff—The Brazilian perspective," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 40(C), pages 123-130.
    2. Kleijnen, Jack P. C., 2005. "An overview of the design and analysis of simulation experiments for sensitivity analysis," European Journal of Operational Research, Elsevier, vol. 164(2), pages 287-300, July.
    3. Joskow Paul L., 2008. "Incentive Regulation and Its Application to Electricity Networks," Review of Network Economics, De Gruyter, vol. 7(4), pages 1-14, December.
    4. Lewis Evans & Graeme Guthrie, 2006. "Incentive Regulation of Prices When Costs are Sunk," Journal of Regulatory Economics, Springer, vol. 29(3), pages 239-264, May.
    5. Ray,Subhash C., 2012. "Data Envelopment Analysis," Cambridge Books, Cambridge University Press, number 9781107405264.
    6. Charnes, A. & Cooper, W. W. & Rhodes, E., 1978. "Measuring the efficiency of decision making units," European Journal of Operational Research, Elsevier, vol. 2(6), pages 429-444, November.
    7. Haney, Aoife Brophy & Pollitt, Michael G., 2009. "Efficiency analysis of energy networks: An international survey of regulators," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 37(12), pages 5814-5830, December.
    8. Jamasb, T. & Pollitt, M., 2000. "Benchmarking and regulation: international electricity experience," Utilities Policy, Elsevier, vol. 9(3), pages 107-130, September.
    9. Tsionas, Efthymios G. & Papadakis, Emmanuel N., 2010. "A Bayesian approach to statistical inference in stochastic DEA," Omega, Elsevier, vol. 38(5), pages 309-314, October.
    10. Yu, William & Jamasb, Tooraj & Pollitt, Michael, 2009. "Does weather explain cost and quality performance? An analysis of UK electricity distribution companies," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 37(11), pages 4177-4188, November.
    11. Simar, Leopold & Wilson, Paul W., 2007. "Estimation and inference in two-stage, semi-parametric models of production processes," Journal of Econometrics, Elsevier, vol. 136(1), pages 31-64, January.
    12. Shuttleworth, Graham, 2005. "Benchmarking of electricity networks: Practical problems with its use for regulation," Utilities Policy, Elsevier, vol. 13(4), pages 310-317, December.
    13. Sadjadi, S.J. & Omrani, H., 2008. "Data envelopment analysis with uncertain data: An application for Iranian electricity distribution companies," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 36(11), pages 4247-4254, November.
    14. Odeck, James, 2009. "Statistical precision of DEA and Malmquist indices: A bootstrap application to Norwegian grain producers," Omega, Elsevier, vol. 37(5), pages 1007-1017, October.
    15. Ajodhia, Virendra & Hakvoort, Rudi, 2005. "Economic regulation of quality in electricity distribution networks," Utilities Policy, Elsevier, vol. 13(3), pages 211-221, September.
    16. de Oliveira, Francisco Alexandre & de Paiva, Anderson Paulo & Lima, José Wanderley Marangon & Balestrassi, Pedro Paulo & Mendes, Ronã Rinston Amaury, 2011. "Portfolio optimization using Mixture Design of Experiments: Scheduling trades within electricity markets," Energy Economics, Elsevier, vol. 33(1), pages 24-32, January.
    17. Lowry, Mark Newton & Getachew, Lullit, 2009. "Statistical benchmarking in utility regulation: Role, standards and methods," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 37(4), pages 1323-1330, April.
    18. Jamasb, Tooraj & Pollitt, Michael, 2003. "International benchmarking and regulation: an application to European electricity distribution utilities," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 31(15), pages 1609-1622, December.
    19. William W. Cooper & Lawrence M. Seiford & Kaoru Tone, 2007. "Data Envelopment Analysis," Springer Books, Springer, edition 0, number 978-0-387-45283-8, December.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Sueyoshi, Toshiyuki & Yuan, Yan & Goto, Mika, 2017. "A literature study for DEA applied to energy and environment," Energy Economics, Elsevier, vol. 62(C), pages 104-124.
    2. Raúl Pérez-Reyes & Beatriz Tovar, 2021. "Peruvian Electrical Distribution Firms’ Efficiency Revisited: A Two-Stage Data Envelopment Analysis," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(18), pages 1-20, September.
    3. Miao, Rui & Guo, Peng & Huang, Wenjie & Li, Qi & Zhang, Bo, 2022. "Profit model for electric vehicle rental service: Sensitive analysis and differential pricing strategy," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 249(C).
    4. Patyal, Vishal Singh & Kumar, Ravi & Lamba, Kuldeep & Maheshwari, Sunil, 2023. "Performance evaluation of Indian electricity distribution companies: An integrated DEA-IRP-TOPSIS approach," Energy Economics, Elsevier, vol. 124(C).
    5. Brandão, Roberto & Tolmasquim, Maurício T. & Maestrini, Marcelo & Tavares, Arthur Felipe & Castro, Nivalde J. & Ozorio, Luiz & Chaves, Ana Carolina, 2021. "Determinants of the economic performance of Brazilian electricity distributors," Utilities Policy, Elsevier, vol. 68(C).
    6. Deng, Na-Qian & Liu, Li-Qiu & Deng, Ying-Zhi, 2018. "Estimating the effects of restructuring on the technical and service-quality efficiency of electricity companies in China," Utilities Policy, Elsevier, vol. 50(C), pages 91-100.
    7. L sara Fabr cia Rodrigues & Matheus Alves Madeira de Souza & Thamara Paula dos Santos Dias, 2017. "Performance Assessment of Brazilian Power Transmission and Distribution Segments using Data Envelopment Analysis," International Journal of Energy Economics and Policy, Econjournals, vol. 7(3), pages 14-23.
    8. Simões, Paulo Fernando Mahaz & Souza, Reinaldo Castro & Calili, Rodrigo Flora & Pessanha, José Francisco Moreira, 2020. "Analysis and short-term predictions of non-technical loss of electric power based on mixed effects models," Socio-Economic Planning Sciences, Elsevier, vol. 71(C).

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Yao, Xin & Huang, Ruting & Du, Kerui, 2019. "The impacts of market power on power grid efficiency: Evidence from China," China Economic Review, Elsevier, vol. 55(C), pages 99-110.
    2. S P Santos & C A F Amado & J R Rosado, 2011. "Formative evaluation of electricity distribution utilities using data envelopment analysis," Journal of the Operational Research Society, Palgrave Macmillan;The OR Society, vol. 62(7), pages 1298-1319, July.
    3. Agrell, Per J. & Niknazar, Pooria, 2014. "Structural and behavioral robustness in applied best-practice regulation," Socio-Economic Planning Sciences, Elsevier, vol. 48(1), pages 89-103.
    4. Nykamp, Stefan & Andor, Mark & Hurink, Johann L., 2012. "‘Standard’ incentive regulation hinders the integration of renewable energy generation," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 47(C), pages 222-237.
    5. Ajayi, Victor & Anaya, Karim & Pollitt, Michael, 2022. "Incentive regulation, productivity growth and environmental effects: the case of electricity networks in Great Britain," Energy Economics, Elsevier, vol. 115(C).
    6. Llorca, Manuel & Orea, Luis & Pollitt, Michael G., 2016. "Efficiency and environmental factors in the US electricity transmission industry," Energy Economics, Elsevier, vol. 55(C), pages 234-246.
    7. Jindal, Abhinav & Nilakantan, Rahul, 2021. "Falling efficiency levels of Indian coal-fired power plants: A slacks-based analysis," Energy Economics, Elsevier, vol. 93(C).
    8. Nepal, Rabindra & Jamasb, Tooraj, 2015. "Incentive regulation and utility benchmarking for electricity network security," Economic Analysis and Policy, Elsevier, vol. 48(C), pages 117-127.
    9. Llorca, Manuel & Orea, Luis & Pollitt, Michael G., 2014. "Using the latent class approach to cluster firms in benchmarking: An application to the US electricity transmission industry," Operations Research Perspectives, Elsevier, vol. 1(1), pages 6-17.
    10. Per J. Agrell & Mehdi Farsi & Massimo Filippini & Martin Koller, 2013. "Unobserved heterogeneous effects in the cost efficiency analysis of electricity distribution systems," Working Papers 0038, Swiss Economics.
    11. Julio Cesar Mosquera Gutierres & Rafael Coradi Leme & Rodrigo Luiz Mendes Mota & Paulo E. Steele Santos, 2021. "Regulatory efficiency decomposition for utilities’ parallel subsystems," Operational Research, Springer, vol. 21(1), pages 331-347, March.
    12. Haney, Aoife Brophy & Pollitt, Michael G., 2009. "Efficiency analysis of energy networks: An international survey of regulators," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 37(12), pages 5814-5830, December.
    13. Saastamoinen, Antti & Kuosmanen, Timo, 2016. "Quality frontier of electricity distribution: Supply security, best practices, and underground cabling in Finland," Energy Economics, Elsevier, vol. 53(C), pages 281-292.
    14. Valentin Zelenyuk, 2019. "Data Envelopment Analysis and Business Analytics: The Big Data Challenges and Some Solutions," CEPA Working Papers Series WP072019, School of Economics, University of Queensland, Australia.
    15. Schober, Dominik & Weber, Christoph, 2015. "Refinancing under yardstick regulation with investment cycles: The case of long-lived electricity network assets," ZEW Discussion Papers 15-065, ZEW - Leibniz Centre for European Economic Research.
    16. Nakano, Makiko & Managi, Shunsuke, 2008. "Regulatory reforms and productivity: An empirical analysis of the Japanese electricity industry," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 36(1), pages 201-209, January.
    17. Arcos-Vargas, A. & Núñez-Hernández, F. & Villa-Caro, Gabriel, 2017. "A DEA analysis of electricity distribution in Spain: An industrial policy recommendation," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 102(C), pages 583-592.
    18. Gouveia, M.C. & Dias, L.C. & Antunes, C.H. & Boucinha, J. & Inácio, C.F., 2015. "Benchmarking of maintenance and outage repair in an electricity distribution company using the value-based DEA method," Omega, Elsevier, vol. 53(C), pages 104-114.
    19. Stefan Seifert & Astrid Cullmann & Christian von Hirschhausen, 2014. "Technical Efficiency and CO2 Reduction Potentials: An Analysis of the German Electricity Generating Sector," Discussion Papers of DIW Berlin 1426, DIW Berlin, German Institute for Economic Research.
    20. Ogunrinde, Olawale & Shittu, Ekundayo, 2023. "Efficiency and productivity of renewable energy technologies: Evidence from U.S. investor-owned utilities across regional markets," Utilities Policy, Elsevier, vol. 82(C).

    More about this item

    Keywords

    Efficiency Analysis; Environmental variables; Electricity utility; Data envelopment analysis; Design of experiments;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • L94 - Industrial Organization - - Industry Studies: Transportation and Utilities - - - Electric Utilities
    • L97 - Industrial Organization - - Industry Studies: Transportation and Utilities - - - Utilities: General
    • C15 - Mathematical and Quantitative Methods - - Econometric and Statistical Methods and Methodology: General - - - Statistical Simulation Methods: General
    • C44 - Mathematical and Quantitative Methods - - Econometric and Statistical Methods: Special Topics - - - Operations Research; Statistical Decision Theory
    • C52 - Mathematical and Quantitative Methods - - Econometric Modeling - - - Model Evaluation, Validation, and Selection
    • C9 - Mathematical and Quantitative Methods - - Design of Experiments

    Statistics

    Access and download statistics

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:eee:eneeco:v:45:y:2014:i:c:p:111-119. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Catherine Liu (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://www.elsevier.com/locate/eneco .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.