Development of Iran’s Electricity Transmission Capacity, Based on Forecasting the Demand Trend Using the System Dynamics Approach

This research models and simulates the development of transmission capacity considering electricity supply and demand dynamics. After presenting a causal loop diagram and designing a stock and flow diagram, the model’s validity is confirmed using validation methods for system dynamics models. The analysis then proceeds to scenarios for the total electricity demand in Iran. Firstly, the country’s electricity demand structure is broken into industrial, household, agricultural, and other sectors. By studying consumption trends in each sector, linear and nonlinear regression are used to predict total electricity demand. Next, three scenarios - optimistic, moderate, and pessimistic - are defined in terms of electricity demand, and the required transmission capacity is calculated and designed for 400, 230, 132, and 63-66 kilovolt substations to cover and meet future electricity demand over twenty years. The research findings over a 20-year horizon indicate that in the moderate scenario, where electricity demand increases by 90 percent, the transmission capacity needs to increase by 106 percent to meet the demand. In the optimistic scenario, where electricity demand increases by 71 percent, the transmission capacity needs to increase by 85 percent. In the pessimistic scenario, where electricity demand increases by 110 percent, the transmission capacity needs to increase by 126 percent.