# PowerGNN: A Topology-Aware Graph Neural Network for Electricity Grids

arXiv: https://arxiv.org/abs/2503.22721 · HTML: https://mlsanity.com/paper/2503.22721/

## Key facts

- Cited by 3 papers in the map (data through 14 Oct 2026).
- Builds on 24 of its 61 references that are in the map.
- First posted on arXiv 26 Mar 2025.

## Builds on (most cited first, 24 of 24)

- [Adam: A Method for Stochastic Optimization](https://mlsanity.com/paper/1412.6980/) (2014)
- [PyTorch: An Imperative Style, High-Performance Deep Learning Library](https://mlsanity.com/paper/1912.01703/) (2019)
- [Semi-Supervised Classification with Graph Convolutional Networks](https://mlsanity.com/paper/1609.02907/) (2016)
- [Graph Attention Networks](https://mlsanity.com/paper/1710.10903/) (2017)
- [Inductive Representation Learning on Large Graphs](https://mlsanity.com/paper/1706.02216/) (2017)
- [Learning Phrase Representations using RNN Encoder-Decoder for Statistical Machine Translation](https://mlsanity.com/paper/1406.1078/) (2014)
- [A Comprehensive Survey on Graph Neural Networks](https://mlsanity.com/paper/1901.00596/) (2019)
- [Fast Graph Representation Learning with PyTorch Geometric](https://mlsanity.com/paper/1903.02428/) (2019)
- [Graph Neural Networks: A Review of Methods and Applications](https://mlsanity.com/paper/1812.08434/) (2018)
- [Spatial Temporal Graph Convolutional Networks for Skeleton-Based Action Recognition](https://mlsanity.com/paper/1801.07455/) (2018)
- [Spatio-Temporal Graph Convolutional Networks: A Deep Learning Framework for Traffic Forecasting](https://mlsanity.com/paper/1709.04875/) (2017)
- [Geometric deep learning: going beyond Euclidean data](https://mlsanity.com/paper/1611.08097/) (2016)
- [Graph WaveNet for Deep Spatial-Temporal Graph Modeling](https://mlsanity.com/paper/1906.00121/) (2019)
- [Graph networks as learnable physics engines for inference and control](https://mlsanity.com/paper/1806.01242/) (2018)
- [Traffic Graph Convolutional Recurrent Neural Network: A Deep Learning Framework for Network-Scale Traffic Learning and Forecasting](https://mlsanity.com/paper/1802.07007/) (2018)
- [Optimal Power Flow Using Graph Neural Networks](https://mlsanity.com/paper/1910.09658/) (2019)
- [Model-Free Renewable Scenario Generation Using Generative Adversarial Networks](https://mlsanity.com/paper/1707.09676/) (2017)
- [Review of Smart Meter Data Analytics: Applications, Methodologies, and Challenges](https://mlsanity.com/paper/1802.04117/) (2018)
- [Real-time Power System State Estimation and Forecasting via Deep Neural Networks](https://mlsanity.com/paper/1811.06146/) (2018)
- [DeepOPF: Deep Neural Network for DC Optimal Power Flow](https://mlsanity.com/paper/1905.04479/) (2019)
- [Learning for DC-OPF: Classifying active sets using neural nets](https://mlsanity.com/paper/1902.05607/) (2019)
- [Fault Location in Power Distribution Systems via Deep Graph Convolutional Networks](https://mlsanity.com/paper/1812.09464/) (2018)
- [Fast Calculation of Probabilistic Power Flow: A Model-based Deep Learning Approach](https://mlsanity.com/paper/1906.06017/) (2019)
- [Learning to Optimize Power Distribution Grids using Sensitivity-Informed Deep Neural Networks](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2007.03728/) (2020)

## Built on by (most cited first, 3 of 3)

- [Physics-Informed Inductive Biases for Voltage Prediction in Distribution Grids](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2509.25158/) (2025)
- [Towards Systematic Generalization for Power Grid Optimization Problems](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2605.02026/) (2026)
- [Refining Graphical Neural Network Predictions Using Flow Matching for Optimal Power Flow with Constraint-Satisfaction Guarantee](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2512.11127/) (2025)

## Abstract (arXiv)

The increasing penetration of renewable energy sources introduces significant variability and uncertainty in modern power systems, making accurate state prediction critical for reliable grid operation. Conventional forecasting methods often neglect the power grid's inherent topology, limiting their ability to capture complex spatio temporal dependencies. This paper proposes a topology aware Graph Neural Network (GNN) framework for predicting power system states under high renewable integration. We construct a graph based representation of the power network, modeling buses and transmission lines as nodes and edges, and introduce a specialized GNN architecture that integrates GraphSAGE convolutions with Gated Recurrent Units (GRUs) to model both spatial and temporal correlations in system dynamics. The model is trained and evaluated on the NREL 118 test system using realistic, time synchronous renewable generation profiles. Our results show that the proposed GNN outperforms baseline approaches including fully connected neural networks, linear regression, and rolling mean models, achieving substantial improvements in predictive accuracy. The GNN achieves average RMSEs of 0.13 to 0.17 across all predicted variables and demonstrates consistent performance across spatial locations and operational conditions. These results highlight the potential of topology aware learning for scalable and robust power system forecasting in future grids with high renewable penetration.