Electric Power Load Analysis for All-Electric Complex Ships: Methods, Challenges and Opportunities

The progressive electrification of ships, driven by environmental regulations, efficiency goals, and new functions required by the owners is significantly increasing the variability and complexity of shipboard electrical demand. The integration of electric propulsion, high-power mission loads, alternative fuels, and energy storage systems makes accurate sizing of the shipboard electric power plant critical, as inadequate assessments may lead to inefficient oversizing or reduced reliability and mission effectiveness. In this context, Electric Power Load Analysis (EPLA) remains a cornerstone of shipboard electrical system design. However, traditional deterministic EPLA approaches, while widely adopted and certification-friendly, exhibit limitations in capturing load dynamics and transient behavior. More advanced stochastic and simulation-based methods have been proposed to overcome these limitations, at the cost of increased modeling complexity and data requirements. This paper reviews and compares existing EPLA methodologies, highlighting their benefits and limitations, evaluates their applicability to different ship design use cases, and proposes a hybrid EPLA design framework as a set of best practices tailored to specific ship design scenarios.