Evaluation of technical efficiency of Brazilian distribution companies of electrical energy through Data Envelopment Analysis (DEA)

Resumen

The Brazilian Provisional Act No. 579/2012 established a significant change in the rules applied to the electric energy sector, in particular in relation to the renewal of concessions of power generation, transmission and distribution of power from those who have contract termination between 2013 and 2017. Besides this measure, the electric energy distributors are going through the third Cycle of Periodic Tariff Review, a fact that also foresees the reduction of charges imposed on the electricity, thereby requiring a greater efficiency of its management. Thus, this research analyses the technical efficiency on the electric energy distribution companies. This is a study with a quantitative approach, based on data from 2012. With the application of Data Envelopment Analysis, we determined the relative technical efficiency of 18 companies of the population. The relative technical efficiency reached a score of 100% in seven of the 18 companies analyzed. Efficient firms are spread across Brazil, with a greater concentration in the South-east. The Municipal Human Development Index, the size of the concession area and the extent of distribu-tion network, as well as the population density are not explanatory to the attainment of efficiency factors.