Accurate power load forecasting is essential for efficient smart grid operation and dispatch optimization. In recent years, the rapid advancement of deep learning methods has garnered significant attention from the both academic and industrial communities for their application in power load forecasting. This paper provides a comprehensive overview of deep learning models used in this field. First, it introduces common deep learning models, including convolutional neural networks, graph neural networks, recurrent neural networks, generative adversarial networks, and autoencoders. Second, it analyzes and discusses power load forecasting models based on these deep learning approaches in detail. Third, public power load datasets are presented and adopted to evaluate four representative forecasting models through experiments. Finally, this paper summarizes future development trends in the field.



