ENERGY RESOURCE-ALLOCATION INCORPORATING QUALITATIVE AND QUANTITATIVE CRITERIA - AN INTEGRATED MODEL USING GOAL PROGRAMMING AND AHP

Energy resource allocation presents a multi-criteria decision making problem with the criteria being quantitative and/or qualitative. Solving such a problem requires an integrated approach. In this paper, an integrated model using goal programming and the Analytic Hierarchy Process (AHP) has been developed for energy resource allocation. It incorporates nine quantitative and three qualitative criteria. The model has been applied to the household sector of Madras, India. A detailed sensitivity analysis has also been carried out. Three additional scenarios have been developed. Use of the model suggested: natural gas, fuelwood and solar thermal for cooking; biogas and electricity generated from fuelwood for water pumping; and all decentralized electricity generation technologies for lighting and operating household appliances. Grid electricity was perferred only for lighting.