A system for conducting performing real-time harmonics analysis of an electrical power distribution and transmission system is disclosed. The system includes a data acquisition component, a power analytics server and a client terminal. The data acquisition component is communicatively connected to a sensor configured to acquire real-time data output from the electrical system. The power analytics server is communicatively connected to the data acquisition component and is comprised of a virtual system modeling engine, an analytics engine and a machine learning engine. The machine learning engine is configured to store and process patterns observed from the real-time data output and the predicted data output, forecasting harmonic distortions in the electrical system subjected to a simulated contingency event.