Fast computation evolutionary programming algorithm for the economic dispatch problem

This paper essentially aims to propose a new EP based algorithm for solving the ED problem. The ED problem is solved using EP with system lambda as decision variable and power mismatch as fitness function. The algorithm is made fast through judicious modifications in initialization of the parent population, offspring generation and selection of the normal distribution curve. The proposed modifications reduce the search region progressively and generate only effective offsprings. The proposed algorithm is tested on a number of sample systems with quadratic cost function and also on a 10-unit system with piecewise quadratic cost function. The computational results reveal that the proposed algorithm has an excellent convergence characteristic and is superior to other EP based methods in many respects. Copyright (c) 2005 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.