Efficient method for estimation of smooth and nonsmooth fuel cost curves for thermal power plants

Summary For accurate economic dispatch solution, it is necessary to periodically estimate the parameters of fuel cost function. This paper proposes an improved differential evolution algorithm for computing the optimal parameters of fuel cost functions for thermal power plants. A new mutation strategy is suggested to enhance convergence rate and improve solution quality of original differential evolution. The proposed approach is examined on different test systems with several generator cost curve models involving smooth and nonsmooth/nonconvex functions. The results using the proposed approach are compared to those available in recent literature. The results show the efficiency of the proposed estimation approach for obtaining accurate fuel cost parameters without any restriction on the mathematical model of the generator cost curve.