Abstract

This paper presents a novel heuristic algorithm for solving economic dispatch (ED) problems, by employing iteration particle swarm optimization with time varying acceleration coefficients (IPSO-TVAC) method. Due to the effect of valve-points and prohibited operation zones (POZs) in the generating units’ cost functions, ED problem is a non-linear and non-convex optimization problem. The problem even may be more complicated if transmission losses are taken into account. The effectiveness of the proposed method is examined and validated by carrying out extensive tests on three different test systems. Valve-point effects, POZs, ramp-rate constraints and transmission losses are modeled. Numerical results show that the IPSO-TVAC method has a good convergence property. Furthermore, the generation costs of the IPSO-TVAC method are lower than other optimization algorithms reported in recent literature.