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A Systematic Review of Hierarchical Control Frameworks in Resilient Microgrids: South Africa Focus.

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Title: A Systematic Review of Hierarchical Control Frameworks in Resilient Microgrids: South Africa Focus.
Authors: Wattegama, Rajitha1 (AUTHOR), Short, Michael1,2 (AUTHOR), Aggarwal, Geetika1 (AUTHOR), Al-Greer, Maher1,2 (AUTHOR), Naidoo, Raj2 (AUTHOR)
Source: Energies (19961073). Feb2026, Vol. 19 Issue 3, p644. 32p.
Subject Terms: *Microgrids, *Electrical load shedding, *Cascade control, *Disaster resilience, *Predictive control systems, *South Africans, *Clean energy, *Energy storage
Geographic Terms: South Africa
Abstract: This comprehensive review examines hierarchical control principles and frameworks for grid-connected microgrids operating in environments prone to load shedding and under demand response. The particular emphasis is on South Africa's current electricity grid issues, experiencing regular planned and unplanned outages, due to numerous factors including ageing and underspecified infrastructure, and the decommissioning of traditional power plants. The study employs a systematic literature review methodology following PRISMA guidelines, analysing 127 peer-reviewed publications from 2018–2025. The investigation reveals that conventional microgrid controls require significant adaptation to address the unique challenges brought about by scheduled power outages, including the need for predictive–proactive strategies that leverage known load-shedding schedules. The paper identifies three critical control layers of primary, secondary, and tertiary and their modifications for resilient operation in environments with frequent, planned grid disconnections alongside renewables integration, regular supply–demand balancing and dispatch requirements. Hybrid optimisation approaches combining model predictive control with artificial intelligence show good promise for managing the complex coordination of solar–storage–diesel systems in these contexts. The review highlights significant research gaps in standardised evaluation metrics for microgrid resilience in load-shedding contexts and proposes a novel framework integrating predictive grid availability data with hierarchical control structures. South African case studies demonstrate techno-economic advantages of adapted control strategies, with potential for 23–37% reduction in diesel consumption and 15–28% improvement in battery lifespan through optimal scheduling. The findings provide valuable insights for researchers, utilities, and policymakers working on energy resilience solutions in regions with unreliable grid infrastructure. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
Database: Energy & Power Source
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Header DbId: enr
DbLabel: Energy & Power Source
An: 191587123
AccessLevel: 6
PubType: Academic Journal
PubTypeId: academicJournal
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  Label: Title
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  Data: A Systematic Review of Hierarchical Control Frameworks in Resilient Microgrids: South Africa Focus.
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  Data: <searchLink fieldCode="AR" term="%22Wattegama%2C+Rajitha%22">Wattegama, Rajitha</searchLink><relatesTo>1</relatesTo> (AUTHOR)<br /><searchLink fieldCode="AR" term="%22Short%2C+Michael%22">Short, Michael</searchLink><relatesTo>1,2</relatesTo> (AUTHOR)<br /><searchLink fieldCode="AR" term="%22Aggarwal%2C+Geetika%22">Aggarwal, Geetika</searchLink><relatesTo>1</relatesTo> (AUTHOR)<br /><searchLink fieldCode="AR" term="%22Al-Greer%2C+Maher%22">Al-Greer, Maher</searchLink><relatesTo>1,2</relatesTo> (AUTHOR)<br /><searchLink fieldCode="AR" term="%22Naidoo%2C+Raj%22">Naidoo, Raj</searchLink><relatesTo>2</relatesTo> (AUTHOR)
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  Data: <searchLink fieldCode="JN" term="%22Energies+%2819961073%29%22">Energies (19961073)</searchLink>. Feb2026, Vol. 19 Issue 3, p644. 32p.
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  Data: *<searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Microgrids%22">Microgrids</searchLink><br />*<searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Electrical+load+shedding%22">Electrical load shedding</searchLink><br />*<searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Cascade+control%22">Cascade control</searchLink><br />*<searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Disaster+resilience%22">Disaster resilience</searchLink><br />*<searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Predictive+control+systems%22">Predictive control systems</searchLink><br />*<searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22South+Africans%22">South Africans</searchLink><br />*<searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Clean+energy%22">Clean energy</searchLink><br />*<searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Energy+storage%22">Energy storage</searchLink>
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  Data: <searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22South+Africa%22">South Africa</searchLink>
– Name: Abstract
  Label: Abstract
  Group: Ab
  Data: This comprehensive review examines hierarchical control principles and frameworks for grid-connected microgrids operating in environments prone to load shedding and under demand response. The particular emphasis is on South Africa's current electricity grid issues, experiencing regular planned and unplanned outages, due to numerous factors including ageing and underspecified infrastructure, and the decommissioning of traditional power plants. The study employs a systematic literature review methodology following PRISMA guidelines, analysing 127 peer-reviewed publications from 2018–2025. The investigation reveals that conventional microgrid controls require significant adaptation to address the unique challenges brought about by scheduled power outages, including the need for predictive–proactive strategies that leverage known load-shedding schedules. The paper identifies three critical control layers of primary, secondary, and tertiary and their modifications for resilient operation in environments with frequent, planned grid disconnections alongside renewables integration, regular supply–demand balancing and dispatch requirements. Hybrid optimisation approaches combining model predictive control with artificial intelligence show good promise for managing the complex coordination of solar–storage–diesel systems in these contexts. The review highlights significant research gaps in standardised evaluation metrics for microgrid resilience in load-shedding contexts and proposes a novel framework integrating predictive grid availability data with hierarchical control structures. South African case studies demonstrate techno-economic advantages of adapted control strategies, with potential for 23–37% reduction in diesel consumption and 15–28% improvement in battery lifespan through optimal scheduling. The findings provide valuable insights for researchers, utilities, and policymakers working on energy resilience solutions in regions with unreliable grid infrastructure. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
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        Value: 10.3390/en19030644
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      – Code: eng
        Text: English
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        PageCount: 32
        StartPage: 644
    Subjects:
      – SubjectFull: Microgrids
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: Electrical load shedding
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: Cascade control
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: Disaster resilience
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: Predictive control systems
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: South Africans
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      – SubjectFull: Clean energy
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      – SubjectFull: Energy storage
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: South Africa
        Type: general
    Titles:
      – TitleFull: A Systematic Review of Hierarchical Control Frameworks in Resilient Microgrids: South Africa Focus.
        Type: main
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            NameFull: Wattegama, Rajitha
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            NameFull: Short, Michael
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            NameFull: Aggarwal, Geetika
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            NameFull: Al-Greer, Maher
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            NameFull: Naidoo, Raj
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            – D: 01
              M: 02
              Text: Feb2026
              Type: published
              Y: 2026
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              Value: 19
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