9. Conclusions
Due to an exponential increase in demand for energy, signifi-cant efforts are needed to conserve the resources and guarantee sustainability in energy demand and its management in Indian perspective. In India, energy systems are not fully sustainable due to the heavy power demands provoked by high population, increasing level of living standard and exceptional economic growth. In addition to that, short-and long-term insecurity with regard to the availability of resources is another reason for not fully sustainable energy systems [9]. Approximately 80% of the total estimated power and energy potential in India is yet to be exploited [3].
Taking this into account, the present research work attempts to develop a decision-support framework for integrated sustainability assessment energy systems in India where environmental, economic, social, technological and operational aspects are considered all together, which assists decision makers to incorporate different preferences for sustainability criteria and identify most sustainable options. More specifically, the research contribution is twofold: (1) to identify indicators for assessing the sustainability in energy planning and management; (2) to prioritize the indica tors related to sustainability assessment in energy planning and management that will be helpful in improving its efficiency and effectiveness in the sector.