In abnormal conditions, an operator's ability to deal with a large volume of data, and initiate the most appropriate remedial action is a fundamental concern in the design o f energy control tenters. During an emergency in a large power network. a myriad of exceptional conditions may exist and service personnel may not be able t o adequately ascertain critical conditions that are prevalent on the network. The application of a wrong set of information by an operator may result in a catastrophic recovery situation. So, the challenge in applying an expert system t o a power network is t o introduce procedures for recognizing the impact o f system contingencies, and develop strategies for restoring the normal operation in an interactive manner with the system operator. This paper describes some of the present problems which exist in the operation of power systems, and how an expert system may be utilized t o enhance the performance of the system by implementing the load shedding as one of alternatives in the restoration of a large scale power system. The proposed method is a part of an integrated package for power system restoration which will help a system operator recognize bottlenecks in the operation of the system and develop strategies for providing a reliable service t o customers. The governing rules for load shedding are introduced and the proposed approach is implemented on a six-bus and the IEEE 30-bus systems.