Innovation Management Journal

Innovation Management Journal

The Role of Government in Regulating the Smart Transformation of Electric power industry in Iran

Document Type : Original Article

Authors
Fatemeh Kanani 1
پریسا Rasoulian 2
Majid Rasooli Disfani 3
1 . Assistant Professor, Department of Innovation Policy and Foresight, Institute for Technology Studies, Tehran, Iran. Corresponding author. kanani@tsi.ir
2 PhD in Entrepreneurship, Institute of Technology Studies, Tehran, Iran. p.rasoulian@ut.ac.ir
3 Assistant Professor, Institute of Communication and Information Technology, Tehran, Iran. mrasoolid@gmail.com
10.22034/imj.2025.529622.2918
Abstract
Smart transformation of the Electric power industry, plays a crucial role in improving efficiency, enhancing sustainability,strengthening the security and management of production and consumption. This transformation, driven by the integration of technologies such as IOT, AI,and Big Data, has disrupted traditional structures and created a need for effective regulation aligned with emerging conditions.
This paper aims to investigate the government’s role in the regulatory processes of the electricity sector.Using a qualitative approach and thematic analysis, data were collected through semi-structured interviews with eight experts during the summer 2024 and subsequently analyzed.
Based on the qualitative data and expert insights, three key requirements for effective regulation were identified: (1)the need to align regulatory approaches with different phases of the electricity value chain; (2)the necessity of adopting agile, participatory, and data-driven regulatory styles; and (3)the importance of considering local contexts, technological maturity, and the implementation capacity of electric power industry stakeholders.In the generation phase, proactive regulation combined with co-regulation between the government and technical institutions is recommended.In the transmission phase,data-driven regulation and the use of regulatory sandboxes are proposed to enable the gradual development of smart technologies.For the distribution phase, outcome-based and inter-agency integrated regulation are identified as suitable approaches.Finally, the study offers several policy recommendations to enhance the government’s effective role in process of the regulation of the electric power industry.
Keywords
Smart transformation
electricity power Industry
Regulation
Energy Policymaking
Subjects
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  • Receive Date 11 June 2025
  • Revise Date 15 October 2025
  • Accept Date 18 October 2025