Performance evaluation of the hydropower plants using various multi-criteria decision-making techniques

Abstract

Annual growth of 2.3 % since 1990 to 2017 in the hydropower sector in India indicates it holds a vital position in the growth of electricity generation in the country. For effective and efficient running of the hydropower projects, maintenance schedules and performance evaluation have to be done. Thus, this paper presents the performance evaluation of four different hydro-powerhouses belonging to a different class. Multi-criteria decision making (MCDM) method stepwise weight assessment ratio analysis (SWARA) is used to calculate the weights. The weights calculated by SWARA are employed to assess the performance scores or ranks of Indira Sagar Project (ISP), Canal Head Power House (CHPH) and River Bed Power House (RBPH) at Sardar Sarovar Narmada Nigam Ltd. (SSNNL) by integrating SWARA with the MCDM techniques like weighted aggregate sum product assessment (WASPAS), technique for order of preference by similarity to ideal solution (TOPSIS) and preference ranking organization method for enrichment evaluation (PROMETHEE). A comparative analysis of these integrated methods is presented for improved future studies in the area of decision making. The results in this paper show performance rankings of the available alternatives, calculated using integrated SWARA-WASPAS, SWARA-TOPSIS and SWARA-PROMETHEE methods. Performance ranks obtained by SWARA-WASPAS and SWARA-TOPSIS methods are in the order ISP, RBPH, CHPH and LSPH, which shows similarity with the on-field performances and are well suited for the performance evaluation of hydropower projects.