Selection of an Electricity Tariff Plan for Mini-Grid Business Models: an Intuitionistic Fuzzy Axiomatic Design Approach

Abstract

This article proposes a conceptual framework that used mini-gird business models (MBMs) to rank electricity tariff plans. The framework combines intuitionistic fuzzy set (IFS), Criteria Importance Through Inter-criteria Correlation (CRITIC), fuzzy axiomatic design (FAD) and Technique for Order Preference by Similarity to Ideal Solution (TOPSIS). It considered when decision-makers specify or did not specify for MBM’s requirements. Also, this article considered uncertainty in decision-makers information. The framework applicability was showed using information obtained from Sub-Sahara Africa. Five decision-makers provided information for the model implementation based on a well-structured questionnaire. The CRITIC method results showed that least and most important MBM are community-based and private MBMs, respectively. The IFS-FAD method identified time-based electricity tariff plan as the best suitable for the case study, while the IFS-TOPSIS method identified flexible best electricity tariff plans for the case study, respectively. However, both methods identified flat-rate as the least suitable plan. The proposed framework will provide mini-grid business owners with relevant information for energy tariff selection.