Analysis of electricity pricing in emerging economies with hybrid multi-criteria decision-making technique based on interval-valued intuitionistic hesitant fuzzy sets

Abstract

This study aims to analyze the factors that influence electricity prices. For this purpose, a hybrid multi-criteria decision-making (MCDM) model based on interval-valued intuitionistic hesitant fuzzy (IVIHF) sets is proposed. Firstly, a large literature review is carried out and 10 different factors that can affect electricity prices are determined. After that, IVIHF decision making trial and evaluation laboratory (DEMATEL) methodology is considered to find which factors are more significant in electricity prices. The finding shows that inflation rate and technological improvement are the most important criteria that affect electricity prices. Thus, the countries should consider expected future inflation rates to take necessary precautions to minimize volatility in electricity prices. Moreover, countries should follow current technologies regularly and make effective research and development to provide electricity with lower prices. In the second stage of the analysis, emerging 7 (E7) economies are ranked with respect to the performance related to the management of electricity price volatility. In this context, IVIHF VIseKriterijumska Optimizacija I Kompromisno Resenje (VIKOR) approach is considered. It is concluded that Russia and China are the most successful countries in keeping electricity prices away from volatility whereas India and Turkey get the latest order. Furthermore, a comparative evaluation is also implemented by considering IVIHF technique for order preference by similarity to ideal solution (TOPSIS) methodology to check the consistency of the analysis results. The results of both approaches are quite similar which gives information about the consistency of the ranking results. On the other hand, a sensitivity analysis is performed to ten different cases consecutively. It is determined that the ranking results are coherent by considering the changes in the criteria weights.