Strategy selection model for development of natural gas distribution systems based on ahp/dea methodologies

This paper presents innovative approach in strategy selection for natural gas distribution system development based on model defined. Methodology applied is analytical hierarchy process (AHP) in which one of the criteria is technical efficiency of the system determined by data envelopment analysis (DEA) which is a common tool regulatory authorities use in process of price regulation. Model can also be used for other industry branches aside from energy, and gives ranks that will enable the choice of distribution networks to be further developed. Besides commonly used techno-economic analyses which are used for determination if a certain system should be further developed or not, model presented is based on multi-criteria analysis that includes both technical and economic parameters but also regulatory tools, which is a novel approach in natural gas sector