Genetic algorithm for power load dispatch

Few investigations of the genetic algorithm (GA) have been studied for the real-world power economic load dispatch (PELD) problem. This paper proposes an improved genetic algorithm with multiplier updating (IGAMU) to solve practical PELD problems of complexity having nonconvex cost curves where conventional mathematical methods are inapplicable. The proposed IGAMU integrates the improved genetic algorithm (IGA) and the multiplier updating (MU). A practical example is employed to demonstrate that the proposed algorithm has merits of straightforward concept; easy implementation; better effectiveness than previous methods; better effectiveness and efficiency than the GA with MU (GA-MU); automatic adjustment of the randomly assigned penalty to an appropriate value, and the requirement for only a small population in applications of real life PELD operations.