Open Access

ARTICLE

Refined Load-Shedding Optimization for Active Islanded Distribution Networks Using AHP–CRITIC Combined Weighting and Comprehensive Load Evaluation

Xiangdong Meng¹, Fengxiang Pei^2,*, Dexin Li¹, Haifeng Zhang¹, Shuyu Zhou¹, Yuhui Chen²
1 State Grid Jilin Electric Power Company Electric Power Science Research Institute, Changchun, China
2 Key Laboratory of Modern Power System Simulation and Control & Renewable Energy Technology, Ministry of Education (Northeast Electric Power University), Jilin, China
* Corresponding Author: Fengxiang Pei. Email:
(This article belongs to the Special Issue: Next-Generation Distribution System Planning, Operation, and Control)

Energy Engineering https://doi.org/10.32604/ee.2026.078161

Received 25 December 2025; Accepted 26 February 2026; Published online 02 April 2026

Abstract

To address power imbalance in medium- and low-voltage distribution networks with high penetration of distributed generation (DG) following upstream-grid disconnection and transition to active islanded operation, this paper proposes a refined load shedding strategy based on comprehensive load weights. A comprehensive load evaluation framework is developed to quantify nodal load value by integrating user-side subjective preferences with system-side objective operating information. Subjective and objective weights are derived using the analytic hierarchy process (AHP) and the CRITIC method, respectively, and are then fused to obtain comprehensive load weights and priority rankings. Based on these rankings, a security-constrained load shedding optimization model is formulated to satisfy power balance and operating limits, and the resulting nonlinear, nonconvex problem induced by power-flow constraints is solved using an fmincon-based sequential quadratic programming (SQP) procedure, producing implementable “where-to-shed and how-much-to-shed” actions. Simulations on a modified IEEE 33-bus system under two disturbance scenarios show that, in Scenario 1, the proposed comprehensive-weight scheme provides the most favorable overall trade-off among the compared weighting baselines and reduces the economic loss of load shedding by 33.2% relative to the objective-weight-only baseline; in Scenario 2, it achieves a 10–16× reduction in computation time compared with PSO-, GWO-, and DE-based strategies while maintaining feasible operating constraints. Overall, the proposed strategy can rapidly generate feasible load shedding decisions under emergency power deficits, prioritize critical loads, and satisfy network operating constraints and frequency-security requirements.

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Keywords

Distributed generation; active islanded operation; comprehensive load weight; AHP–CRITIC weighting; load shedding optimization model

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