Measuring Green Total Factor Productivity in China’s Power Industry Based on Super-Efficiency SBM and GML Index Models

Against the backdrop of accelerating global energy transition, China, as the world’s largest energy producer and consumer, has a crucial impact on achieving carbon neutrality goals through the green development of its power industry. Green total factor productivity is an important indicator for measuring the green development of the power industry. Utilizing provincial panel data from 30 regions in China covering the period 2012–2023, using MATLAB R2021a software, this study firstly measures the static GTFP of China’s power industry using a Super-Efficiency Slack-Based Measure (SBM) model incorporating undesirable outputs. Subsequently, the dynamic GTFP is measured and analyzed using the Global Malmquist–Luenberger (GML) index model. The model decomposes GTFP change to examine the contributions of technical efficiency change and technological progress. The findings reveal that (1) the static GTFP of China’s provincial power industry is generally low, with significant regional disparities, with Jiangsu, Yunnan, Beijing, Zhejiang and Sichuan ranking among the top five nationally; (2) the average GTFPs in eastern and western China are higher than in the central region. Overall, the GTFP of China’s power industry exhibits an upward trend, which is primarily driven by technological progress. Based on these conclusions, the study proposes policy recommendations to enhance the power industry’s GTFP, which can offer theoretical insights for facilitating its green transition and sustainable development.