Optimizing Technology Selection for Power Smart Grid Systems: a Case Study of Iran Power Distribution Industry (IPDI)

The power smart grid (PSG) as a well-established research area is recently dealing with a wider range of topics such as power systems, energy generation and telecommunication. Selecting proper technologies for PSG systems is a complicated and multi-criteria decision making process. The present paper aims to identify the most important technologies for PSG at IPDI using a multi-criteria decision making (MCDM) technique, simple additive weighting (SAW). To this purpose, competent and knowledgeable decision makers in the field of PSG technologies were requested to evaluate the PSG technologies and its affiliated criteria and comment on them. They were also asked to rate each technology based on criteria set within the framework of SAW. The six-step algorithm of SAW has successfully identified moment billing, wireless technology and load forecasting as the most important technologies for PSG. This study suggests that both potential PSG technologies and criteria should be taken into account to optimize selecting important technologies. © 2017, Springer Science+Business Media Singapore.