Economic dispatch using chaotic bat algorithm

•The chaotic bat algorithm, a new metaheuristic optimization algorithm has been used.•The problem solved – the economic dispatch problem – is nonlinear, discontinuous.•It has number of equality and inequality constraints.•The algorithm has been demonstrated to be applicable on high dimensional problems.

This paper presents the application of a new metaheuristic optimization algorithm, the chaotic bat algorithm for solving the economic dispatch problem involving a number of equality and inequality constraints such as power balance, prohibited operating zones and ramp rate limits. Transmission losses and multiple fuel options are also considered for some problems. The chaotic bat algorithm, a variant of the basic bat algorithm, is obtained by incorporating chaotic sequences to enhance its performance. Five different example problems comprising 6, 13, 20, 40 and 160 generating units are solved to demonstrate the effectiveness of the algorithm. The algorithm requires little tuning by the user, and the results obtained show that it either outperforms or compares favorably with several existing techniques reported in literature.