How to measure organizational performance of distributed generation in electric utilities? The Brazilian case

Abstract

The 100-years-old model of centralized generation and one-way power flow is being disrupted by alternative energy technologies that enable customers to generate their own electricity. The massification of distributed generation (DG) started lately in Brazil, but it growth fast in capacity since then. The electric utilities have presented technical and economical challenges arising from the increased diffusion rate of DG. Due to lack of studies addressing performance metrics suitable for this scenario, this paper proposes a measurement system for determination of the overall performance index of electric utilities related to DG services. The methodology has been developed based on Delphi method and Balanced Scorecards to define 32 objectives. Analytic Hierarchy Process concepts was applied for weighing objectives perspectives and to derive an overall performance index. Overall performance indexes related to DG found from application of proposed model in all companies were lower then 50%. No one of the evaluated companies achieved a regular or satisfactory performance. This result confirmes that electric utilities companies are far from reaching expected satisfaction factors related to DG services. The introduced methodology can be used by the scientific community and policy-makers of any country to better inform to a new energy distribution and generation scenario.