Scheduling short-term hydrothermal generation using predator prey optimization technique

• Predator–prey optimization technique is applied for generation scheduling of fixed/variable -head hydrothermal system.
• In PPO, predator helps to maintain diversity in the swarm and prevents premature convergence to local sub-optimal.
• Initially all initial prey population make feasible by implementing the random heuristic search.
• Variable elimination method is applied to handle the equality constraint by eliminating variable explicitly.

Paper presents predator–prey based optimization (PPO) technique to obtain optimal generation scheduling of short-term hydrothermal system. PPO is a part of the swarm intelligence family and is capable to solve large scale non-linear optimization problems. PPO based algorithm combines the idea of particle swarm optimization concept with predator effect that helps to, maintain diversity in the swarm and preventing premature convergence to local sub-optimal. In this paper first of all feasible solution is obtained through random heuristic search and then thermal and hydro power generations are searched for optimum hydrothermal scheduling problem using PPO. Variable elimination method is implemented to handle the equality constraint by eliminating variable explicitly. These eliminated variables are considered by penalty method restricts slack units with in limits. Slack thermal generating unit for each sub-interval handles power balance equality constraint and slack hydro units handle water equality constraint. The performance of the proposed approach is illustrated on, fixed-head and variable-head hydrothermal power systems. The results obtained from the proposed technique are compared with the existing technique. From the numerical results, it is experienced that the PPO based approach is able to provide a better solution.