Application-based Simulations to Understand the Management Concepts of Electrical Load-shedding: A Case Study of the Electricity System on Offshore Platforms
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.59097/jasae.v4i1.69Keywords:
Load-shedding management, Offshore electrical systems , Power system stability , PLC automation, Simulation-based analysisAbstract
This article describes the management concepts of electrical load-shedding in the electricity system of the offshore platforms environments for drilling to produce gases and oils. Stable and efficient electrical systems are essential for offshore platforms to ensure safety, productivity, and operational continuity. Load-shedding is a critical function that maintains the balance between power generation and demand during contingency events. This study employs an application-based simulation methodology to evaluate management strategies for electrical load-shedding in offshore electricity systems. Eight simulation scenarios assessed various operational conditions, including generator capacity, transformer performance, cable characteristics, and load prioritization. The results identify the feasibility and limitations of each scenario, illustrating the effects of different shedding strategies on power flow distribution, voltage stability, and system losses. The analysis shows that some configurations maintain stability margins, while others result in operational infeasibility due to voltage drops and overloading. The findings emphasize the necessity of structured load prioritization and the integration of automation using programmable logic controller (PLC)-assisted systems to improve system resilience. These results offer practical guidance for offshore operators, supporting enhanced planning and decision-making for reliable load-shedding strategies.
References
American National Standards Institute (ANSI). 1993. IEEE Std 141-1993 IEEE Recommended Practice for Electric Power Distribution for Industrial Plants. https://dx.doi.org/10.1109/IEEESTD.1994.121642
A. L. Sheldrake, Handbook of Electrical Engineering: For Practitioners in the Oil, Gas and Petrochemical Industry. Chichester, U.K.: John Wiley & Sons, 2003, pp. 1–18.
A. B. Alias, “A proposed automatic load shedding scheme for an offshore platform (Bekok C),” Bachelor’s thesis, 2006. [Online]. Available: https://utpedia.utp.edu.my
A. Humphhries, “Power generation for offshore environments,” Audubon Companies, 2013. [Online]. Available: https://auduboncompanies.com/power-generation-for-offshore-environments/
G. MacAngus-Gerrard, Offshore Electrical Engineering Manual, 2nd ed. Amsterdam, The Netherlands: Elsevier, 2018.
X. Xie, J. Zhong, Y. Sun, J. Wang, and C. Wei, “Online optimal power control of an offshore oil-platform power system,” Technol. Econ. Smart Grids Sustain. Energy, vol. 3, no. 18, pp. 1–13, 2018, doi: 10.1007/s40866-018-0056-7.
J. Guan, W. Du, X. Wang, X. Luo, X. Liu, and X. Li, “A reliability evaluation method for independent small offshore electric systems,” Energies, vol. 14, no. 11, Art. no. 3035, 2020, doi: 10.3390/en14113035.
A. Ray and K. Rajashekara, “Electrification of offshore oil and gas production: Architectures and power conversion,” Energies, vol. 16, Art. no. 5812, 2023, doi: 10.3390/en16155812.
H. A. Hasan, A. A. M. M. Al-Salih, A. M. Zalzala, and I. K. Ibraheem, “Enhancing transient stability in offshore oilfield power systems utilizing ETAP,” Int. Rev. Appl. Sci. Eng., pp. 1–11, 2025, doi: 10.1556/1848.2025.00990.
A. Petriccioli, S. Grillo, D. Comunello, and A. Cacace, “Development and validation of a scalable fast load shedding technique for industrial power systems,” in 2021 IEEE Int. Conf. Environ. Electr. Eng. and 2021 IEEE Ind. Commercial Power Syst. Europe (EEEIC/I&CPS Europe), Bari, Italy, 2021, doi: 10.1109/EEEIC/ICPSEurope51590.2021.9584758.
M. G. Abidi, M. B. Smida, and M. Khalgui, “New forecasting-based solutions for optimal energy consumption in microgrids with load shedding—Case study: Petroleum platform,” in Proc. 5th Int. Conf. Pervasive Embedded Comput. Commun. Syst. (PECCS), 2015, pp. 289–296, doi: 10.5220/0005244002890296.
T. Jiang, Z. Feng, K. Wan, and Q. Li, “A power flow adjustment strategy based on weak bus identification and new bus type conversion,” Int. J. Electr. Power Energy Syst., vol. 137, Art. no. 107705, 2022, doi: 10.1016/j.ijepes.2021.107705.
J. J. Grainger and W. D. Stevenson, Power System Analysis. New York, NY, USA: McGraw-Hill, 1994.
J. D. Glover, M. S. Sarma, and T. J. Overbye, Power System Analysis and Design, 5th ed. Boston, MA, USA: Cengage Learning, 2012.
P. Kundur, Power System Stability and Control. New York, NY, USA: McGraw-Hill, 1994.
B. Stott, “Review of load-flow calculation methods,” Proc. IEEE, vol. 62, no. 7, pp. 916–929, 1974, doi: 10.1109/PROC.1974.9546.
W. F. Tinney and C. E. Hart, “Power flow solution by Newton’s method,” IEEE Trans. Power App. Syst., vol. PAS-86, no. 11, pp. 1449–1460, 1967, doi: 10.1109/TPAS.1967.291823.
F. Milano, Power System Modelling and Scripting. London, U.K.: Springer, 2010.
R. D. Zimmerman, C. E. Murillo-Sánchez, and R. J. Thomas, “MATPOWER: Steady-state operations, planning, and analysis tools for power systems research and education,” IEEE Trans. Power Syst., vol. 26, no. 1, pp. 12–19, 2011, doi: 10.1109/TPWRS.2010.2051168.
J. Undrill, Primary Frequency Response and Control of Power System Frequency. Berkeley, CA, USA: Lawrence Berkeley Nat. Lab., 2018.
B. J. Kirby and E. Hirst, Frequency Regulation Basics and Trends. Oak Ridge, TN, USA: Oak Ridge Nat. Lab., 2004.
North American Electric Reliability Corporation, Reliability Guideline: Primary Frequency Control. Atlanta, GA, USA: NERC, 2023. [Online]. Available: https://www.nerc.com/comm/RSTC_Reliability_Guidelines/Primary_Frequency_Control_Reliability_Guideline_v_4.0_Clean_V3%20-%20DR.pdf
W. C. New, “Application note: Load shedding, load restoration and generator protection using solid-state and electromechanical underfrequency relays,” Publ. Ref. GER-6449, GE Vernova, Markham, ON, Canada. [Online]. Available: https://www.gevernova.com/grid-solutions/sites/default/files/resources/products/applications/get6449.pdf
IEC/CIGRÉ, Technical Brochure 486: Power System Restoration—Glossary, Classification and Strategy, 2013.
G. Effiong, P. K. Ainah, and J. Karniliyus, “Determination of effective load shedding schemes in electric power plants,” Energy Power Eng., vol. 12, no. 10, pp. 555–567, 2020, doi: 10.4236/epe.2020.1210034.
A. Aghajan, M. Jimenez Aparicio, M. E. Ropp, and J. I. Poveda, “Distributed priority based load shedding over time varying communication networks,” arXiv preprint arXiv:2412.18033, 2024, doi: 10.48550/arXiv.2412.18033.
K. Salah, R. Paige, and P. Cairns, “A systematic literature review for agile development processes and user centred design integration,” in Proc. 18th Int. Conf. Eval. Assessment Softw. Eng. (EASE), 2014, pp. 1–10, doi: 10.1145/2601248.2601276.
T. Worzyk, Submarine Power Cables: Design, Installation, Repair, Environmental Aspects. Heidelberg, Germany: Springer, 2009.
F. Sharkey, “Offshore electrical networks and grid integration of wave and tidal energy,” Ph.D. dissertation, Dublin Inst. Technol., Dublin, Ireland, 2015.
A. Estebsari, E. Pons, T. Huang, and E. Bompard, “Techno-economic impacts of automatic undervoltage load shedding under emergency,” Electr. Power Syst. Res., vol. 134, pp. 20–30, 2016, doi: 10.1016/j.epsr.2015.10.016.
R. M. Larik, M. W. Mustafa, and M. N. Aman, “A critical review of the state-of-the-art schemes for under-voltage load shedding,” Int. Trans. Electr. Energy Syst., vol. 29, no. 5, Art. no. e2828, 2019, doi: 10.1002/2050-7038.2828.
T. Bambaravanage, S. Kumarawadu, A. S. Rodrigo, and L. W. Widanagama Arachchchige, “Comparison of three under-frequency load shedding methods for stability control,” Int. J. Electr. Power Energy Syst., vol. 78, pp. 175–184, 2016.
T. Bambaravanage, S. P. Kumarawadu, and A. S. Rodrigo, “Comparison of three under-frequency load shedding schemes referring to the power system of Sri Lanka,” Engineer, J. Inst. Eng. Sri Lanka, vol. 49, no. 1, pp. 41–52, 2016, doi: 10.4038/engineer.v49i1.6917.
H.-T. Zhang, C. S. Lai, L. L. Lai, and F. Xu, “A novel load shedding strategy combining undervoltage and underfrequency with considering of high penetration of wind energy,” in 2015 IEEE Int. Conf. Syst., Man, Cybern. (SMC), Kowloon, Hong Kong, 2015, pp. 659–664, doi: 10.1109/SMC.2015.125.
G. Cai, S. Zhou, C. Liu, Y. Zhang, S. Guo, and Z. Cao, “Hierarchical under-frequency load shedding scheme for interconnected power systems,” Protection Control Mod. Power Syst., vol. 8, no. 2, pp. 1–12, 2023, doi: 10.1186/s41601-023-00307-9.
Downloads
Published
How to Cite
Issue
Section
License
Copyright (c) 2026 Arief Goeritno, Tangtang Syamsudin, Irham Muhammad Azama, Roy Waluyo, Fitriani Fitriani
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.
