An electric power system is a network of electrical components used to supply, transmit and use electric power. Power systems engineering is a subdivision of electrical engineering that deals with the generation, transmission, distribution and utilization of electric power and the electrical devices connected to such systems like generators, motors and transformers.

Commonly, artificial intelligence is known to be the intelligence exhibited by machines and software, for example, robots and computer programs. The term is generally used to the project of developing systems equipped with the intellectual processes features and characteristics of humans, like the ability to think, reason, find the meaning, generalize, distinguish, learn from past experience or rectify their mistakes. Artificial general intelligence (AGI) is the intelligence of a hypothetical machine or computer which can accomplish any intellectual assignment successfully which a human being can accomplish.

The modern power system operates close to the limits due to the ever increasing energy consumption and the extension of currently existing electrical transmission networks and lines. This situation requires a less conservative power system operation and control operation which is possible only by continuously checking the system states in a much more detail manner than it was necessary. Sophisticated computer tools are now the primary tools in solving the difficult problems that arise in the areas of power system planning, operation, diagnosis and design. Among these computer tools, Artificial Intelligence has grown predominantly in recent years and has been applied to various areas of power systems.

An expert system obtains the knowledge of a human expert in a narrow specified domain into a machine implementable form. Expert systems are computer programs which have proficiency and competence in a particular field. This knowledge is generally stored separately from the program’s procedural part and may be stored in one of the many forms, like rules, decision trees, models, and frames. They are also called as knowledge based systems or rule based systems. Expert systems use the interface mechanism and knowledge to solve problems which cannot be or difficult to be solved by human skill and intellect.

Many areas of applications in power systems match the abilities of expert systems like decision making, archiving knowledge, and solving problems by reasoning, heuristics and judgment. Expert systems are especially useful for these problems when a large amount of data and information must be processed in a short period of time.