As a major contributor to carbon dioxide emissions, the electric power sector has instigated significant changes in environmental issues. To show the effectiveness of the program, research on whether the changes of electricity production and CO2 emissions are out of sync are conducted by applying a decoupling elasticity analysis method. Then the decoupling index from the electricity analysis on the basis of the extended multilevel LMDI method are applied to study Shandong Province, covering the period from 1995 to 2012. Finally, a comparative decoupling stability analysis is applied. Our results indicate electricity output and coal consumption play significant roles in determining levels of CO2 emissions. Also, "relative decoupling" and "no decoupling" were the main states during the study period. We also found that the decoupling index performed better (in terms of stability) than did the electricity output elasticity of CO2 emission. (C) 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.