Solving smooth and non-smooth economic dispatch using water cycle algorithm

This paper exposes a novel optimization technique named Water Cycle Algorithm (WCA) for solving Economic Dispatch (ED) problem considering practical generator constraints as Prohibited Operating Zones (POZ) and Ramp Rate Limits (RRL) for smooth and non-smooth fuel cost curve of objective function without and with valve point effect, respectively. The proposed technique is applied on three test systems including 6-units, 15-units and 40-units in order to investigate its ability for solving constrained and complex ED problems. The simulation results using the suggested method are compared with other metaheuristic optimization techniques in literature to assess the effectiveness of WCA for the same test systems.