applying network data envelopment analysis to determine a criterion for benchmarking in regional electricity companies of iran.

one of the effective methods for improving the efficiency of an organization is benchmarking against successful organizations. not only benchmarking could be a technique for identifying problems but also it greatly helps managers in relations of the design of processes. among strategic and infrastructure industries in each country, the electricity industry is one of the most important and critical industries. besides, it is considered as a unique industry due to its capital-intensive and costly nature. hence, increasing efficiency and productivity in this industry is very important. this study was aimed at investigating and evaluating the efficiency of the above-mentioned companies by using the nonparametric data envelopment analysis (dea) method. moreover, since power transmission operations are carried out by regional electricity companies during multiple processes, network models were used in this study to evaluate the efficiency of regional electricity companies in iran. the required information for efficiency analysis was extracted from the performance of listed companies in statistical yearbook of iran electricity industry in the year 2011. the results indicate that regional electricity companies in isfahan, zanjan and kerman achieved similar efficiency in both phases of their work. moreover, the results show that the use of network models in evaluating the efficiency of iran's regional electricity companies enables researchers to investigate the efficiency of internal processes of companies and give a vivid picture of the performance of an organization. these models also help in finding reasons for inefficiency of companies.