2013 International Conference on Computer Communication and Informatics (ICCCI -2013), Jan.

04-06, 2013, Coimbatore, INDIA

Security constrained Economic Dispatch Using a

Hybrid Fuzzy Genetic Algorithm Approach
Dr. Barnali Goswami

Vanita Agrawal

Electrical Engineering Department

Assam Engineering College
Guwahati, India
goswamibarnali@yahoo.co.in

Electrical Engineering Department

Royal School of Engineering & Technology
Guwahati, India
vanita2006@hotmail.com

Abstract Premature convergence, which occurs due to loss of

diversity, is one of the major issues in Genetic Algorithm. The
adaptive probabilities of cross-over and mutation can be used to
realize the twin goals of maintaining diversity in the population
and sustaining the convergence capacity of the Genetic
Algorithm. In this work, the Genetic Algorithm operators of
cross-over and mutation are varied adaptively using the fuzzy
logic approach and it has been used to reach an optimal solution
for the Security Constrained Economic Dispatch problem. A
comparative study has been made between Simple Genetic
Algorithm and Fuzzy Genetic Algorithm on IEEE 6- bus 3-unit
and IEEE 30-bus 6-unit systems. Results of comparison with
other techniques are presented, showing the better computational
efficiency and convergence property of the proposed approach.

operator types which determined the selective pressure in the

case of linear ranking mechanism which were adjusted using a
Fuzzy Logic Controller.

Keywords- Genetic Algorithm, Security Constrained Economic

Dispatch, Fuzzy Logic

A. Security Constrained Economic Load Dispatch

SCED solution pertains to finding the optimum allocation
of generation amongst the various available generating units so
that the cost of generating power is minimized while
simultaneously satisfying the total load demand of the system
and the voltage and line flow constraints [5].

I.

INTRODUCTION

Genetic Algorithm (GA) is an optimization algorithm and

is suitable for finding solutions to complex non-linear problems
quite efficiently and accurately [1]. Though the Simple Genetic
Algorithm (SGA) locates the neighborhood of near-optimal
solutions, it often gets trapped in the local optima. The main
problem of SGA is premature convergence before the true
global optimum solution has been found [2].So, to find the
global optimum it is necessary that the algorithm searches the
unexplored regions of the solution space vigorously. In this
work, the GA parameters namely cross-over probability and
mutation probability is varied according to the performance of
the GA after each generation (iteration). This helps the GA to
search for the global optimum solution as is evident from the
results.
The Security Constrained Economic Dispatch (SCED)
problem has been solved using a number of approaches
including classical and artificial intelligence methods [10].
Some authors have tried to incorporate the use of Fuzzy logic
in solving SCED problems. Laoufi, Hazzab and Rahli have
applied fuzzy logic to control the change in probability of
mutation (pm) and probability of cross-over (pc) and population
size. They have also applied GA to automatically design and
tune the fuzzy knowledgebase system [3]. Herrera and Lozano
presented an extensive study of the application of fuzzy logic
controllers to adaptive GAs [4]. They defined two new

978-1-4673-2907-1/13/$31.00 2013 IEEE

In this work the pc and pm are varied by the Fuzzy Logic

Controller which computes new values of these operators based
on the current performance measures of the GA. These
performance measures are the diversity measures which are
computed using the fitness values in each generation. This
hybrid approach gives satisfactory results in locating the global
optimum as can be seen from the results.
II.

PROBLEM FORMULATION

If there are n generators committed to the system and the

load (active power) demand is PD, then the SCED problem can
be stated as follows:
Minimize FC (PG) = i=1 n FC (PGi)

(1)

Where FC (PG) is the total fuel cost of generation of all the

n generators.
The FC (Fuel Cost) of the i th generating unit can be written
as a quadratic polynomial.
FC (PGi) = ci +bi *(PGi) + ai *(PGi) 2

(2)

Where suffix i stands for the unit number, FC(PGi) is the

fuel cost expressed in some monetary unit of the ith unit, PGi is
the ith unit output in KW and ai, bi and ci are the cost coefficient of the ith generating unit.
Subject to the given constraints:
A. Equality Constraint: The total system generation
equals the total load demand (PD) on the system.
i=1 n PGi = PD

(3)

B. Inequality Constraint:
(i)

Generator constraints: Active power output of each

2013 International Conference on Computer Communication and Informatics (ICCCI -2013), Jan. 04-06, 2013, Coimbatore, INDIA

generating unit ranges between a certain minimum and

maximum limits so as to ensure stable operation.
PGi min PGi PGi max

(4)

(ii) Security Constraints: The voltage at the buses and the

MVA line flow in the transmission lines stays within their
maximum and minimum limits.
(a) V i,min Vi V i,max

(5)

(b) S ij, min S ij S ij, max

(6)

Where V i represents the voltage at bus i; V i,min and V i,max

are the minimum and maximum voltage limits at the bus i; S ij
is the line flow between bus i and j; S ij, min and S ij, max are the
minimum and maximum limits of line flow (MVA limit).
III.

THE HYBRID APPROACH

In this section the Genetic Algorithm and the Fuzzy Logic

Controller approach used to solve this problem has been
described.
A. Genetic Algorithm
The process of Genetic Algorithm (GA) begins by the
random generation of the initial population of possible
solutions. Each possible solution is an individual which
represents a load dispatch schedule. This population then
undergoes evolution towards the fitter individuals. The
evolution is carried out in generations with the help of genetic
operators like mutation and cross-over probability [6]. These
individuals, modified by the operators then form the new
population and the process continues till the maximum number
of generations is reached. At the end of the search process, we
get the optimum dispatch schedule.
B. Fuzzy Logic Controller
Fuzzy Logic was developed by L.A. Zadeh in 1965 to
address the issue of uncertainty and imprecision in real world
problems. This imprecision or fuzziness is the core of Fuzzy
Logic applications. In Power Systems, where the search space
or the solution space is highly complex and non-linear, Fuzzy
Logic has been applied to solve a variety of problems.
A Fuzzy Logic Controller (FLC) maps a non-linear input
data set to a scalar output data. It consists of four main
components: Fuzzifier, Rules, Inference Engine and
Defuzzifier. Firstly, a crisp set of input data are gathered and
converted to a fuzzy set using fuzzy linguistic variables, fuzzy
linguistic terms and membership functions. This is known as
fuzzification. After this an inference is made based on a set of
rules. Lastly, the resulting fuzzy output is mapped to a crisp
output using the membership functions, in the defuzzification
step.
The process of fuzzy logic is explained in the following
algorithm:
1. Define the linguistic variables and terms
(initialization).
2. Construct the membership functions (initialization).
3. Construct the Rule base (initialization).

4.
5.
6.
7.

Convert crisp input data to fuzzy values using the

membership functions (fuzzification).
Evaluate the rules in the rule base (inference).
Combine the results of each rule (inference).
Convert the output data to non-fuzzy values
(defuzzification).

C. GA based on FLC
As mentioned earlier, GAs are quite robust algorithms
since they provide answers to problems which are otherwise
quite difficult to solve. They have a lot of advantages over
conventional optimization methods but still suffer from the
drawback of premature convergence. They have a tendency
to converge to the local optimum solution instead of a global
optimum solution.
To avoid being trapped in local optima GAs have to be
sensitive to the search process. Certain performance measures
(diversity measures) from the current state of the GA search
process are given as inputs to the FLC [4]. The FLC then
computes the values of the operators (pc and pm) based on the
Rule Base. These values are then used by the GA search
process to look for the global optima.
IV.

IMPLEMENTATION STEPS

In this work an adaptive real coded GA [7] based on FLC

for the solution of SCED is proposed. The FLC uses two
diversity measures Gdm1 and Gdm2 as inputs. The outputs of
the FLC are: (i) pc: cross-over probability (ii) pm: mutation
probability.
A. Diversity Measures
Diversity measures used for adaptation of GA parameter
settings are defined through the combination of some of the
following measures:
i.
Average fitness ( fav)
ii.
Best fitness (fbest)
iii.
Worst fitness (fworst)
In the present approach i.e. Fuzzy Genetic Algorithm
(FGA), two diversity measures (Gdm1 and Gdm2) are defined
as follows:
Gdm1 = fav / fbest ;

Gdm2 = fworst / fbest

(7)

Gdm1 and Gdm2 belong to the interval [0 1]. When they

are near to one, it indicates all individuals have almost the
same value; in this case diversity is the smallest; so to avoid
premature convergence, probability of mutation and probability
of cross-over must be changed in such a way as to introduce
new genetic characteristics but also at the same time reduce the
loss of genetic material. So pm must be augmented and pc
reduced. In the other case, if Gdm1 and Gdm2 are much less
than one then it means that there is a lot of genetic diversity
introduced by the mutation operation. To avoid a basically
random search, pm must be reduced and pc augmented.

2013 International Conference on Computer Communication and Informatics (ICCCI -2013), Jan. 04-06, 2013, Coimbatore, INDIA

B. Implemented Algorithms
The following algorithm is used in this work for solving the
real-coded SCED problem incorporating Fuzzy Logic Control
in the GA:
I.

II.

III.
IV.

Read generator data (a, b & c coefficients), Pmin &

Pmax limits, Power demand (PD) and the bus data and
the line data. Set the limit for maximum number of
generations (NGEN) and the number of populations
(NPOP).

fitness of the entire population of solutions. Calculate

the diversity measures as given by (7).
XI.

Construct the membership function for the two

diversity measures (inputs of FLC) and probability of
cross-over (pc) and probability of mutation (pm) values
(outputs of FLC).

XII.

The Rule Base that describes the relation between

inputs and outputs is given in Table I.

Generate the initial population of solutions randomly.

The individuals in the parent solution thus generated
are the real power outputs of the committed NG
number of generating units.

Gdm1

Gdm2

Pc

Pm

Set the generation counter and the population counter

to 1.

vs
vs

vs
s

m
s

vs
s

vs

vs

vs

TABLE I.

Perform Newton Raphson load flow calculations and

the line flow calculations for each of the individual
solutions. Determine the amount of voltage violation
at the buses and the MVA line flow violation in the
lines.

RULE BASE

vs

V.

Calculate the actual fuel cost for each generating unit

for a particular individual solution using (2).

vs

vs

VI.

Sum up the cost for all the generating units of a

particular individual solution.

vs

vs

vs

Where FC (PG) is the total fuel cost (for each

individual solution).

vs

Form the penalty function for each solution.

FC

VII.

(PG) =i=1NG

FC (PGi)

(8)

PF =K1* (LOAD-i=1NG PGi) 2 +K2 *i=1Nl (Ii Imax) 2

+K3 *i=1NB (Vi Vmax) 2
(9)
Where PF is the penalty function, K1 , K2 & K3 are
positive constants (usually a very large number)
reflecting the constraints weight, Ii is the line flow
(MVA) of i th line, Vi is the voltage at the i th bus, NL
is the total number of transmission lines and NB is
the total number of buses in the system..

XIII.

Defuzzify the outputs of the FLC to get the value of pc

and pm using the centroid method of defuzzification.

XIV.

Select the individuals for the mating pool according to

their fitness values and then perform cross-over and
mutation using pc and pm.

XV.

The new population (formed after cross-over and

mutation) replaces the old population, and then the
generation counter is incremented by 1 and the new
population is again subjected to the same process
from step number IV, till the maximum number of
generations (NGEN) is reached.

XVI.

The optimum solution for the security constrained

economic load dispatch is then obtained.

Add this penalty function to the total fuel cost (FC

(PG)) to get the new Objective Function.
F (PG) = PF+ FC (PG)

(10)

Where F (PG) is the new objective function.

VIII.

Calculate the fitness of each individual solution as:

Fit = 1/F (PG)

(11)

Where Fit is the fitness of each individual solution.

IX.

Repeat the steps from step number IV to step number

VIII till the fitness of all the individuals in a
population have been found out.

X.

Find out the value of the fitness of the bestfit

solution (the solution having maximum fitness) and
the fitness of the worstfit solution (the solution
having least fitness value). Calculate the average

V.

RESULTS AND DISCUSSIONS

The Security Constrained Economic Dispatch problem has

been approached using Simple GA (SGA) and Fuzzy GA
(FGA). To prove the effectiveness of the proposed algorithm
(FGA), it has been tested on IEEE 6-bus 3-unit system for a
load of 400 MW without incorporating security constraints
initially and then on IEEE 30-bus 6-unit system incorporating
the security constraints. The data has been taken from [8] and
[6] respectively.

2013 International Conference on Computer Communication and Informatics (ICCCI -2013), Jan. 04-06, 2013, Coimbatore, INDIA

The convergence of fuel cost is shown in Fig.1 for IEEE 6bus 3-unit system for a load of 400 MW without incorporating
security constraints. Table II presents a comparison of fuel
costs with other techniques for a load of 400 MW for IEEE 6
bus 3 unit system.
The objective function is the total fuel cost represented by
quadratic cost functions as given by (8). In this work a dynamic
penalty function method is used for constraint handling. A
penalty proportional to the extent of constraint violation is
added to the objective function value if any violation (voltage
and line flow) occurs. Penalty methods use a mathematical
function that will increase the objective function value for any
given constraint violation as given in (9).
In the case of FGA, triangular membership function with
height unity has been used to quantify a linguistic term for the
two inputs and the two outputs. Four linguistic terms vs (very
small), s (small), m (medium) and b (big) have been used. For
each linguistic term, there is a triangular fuzzy set that defines
its semantic, i.e. its meaning. The database i.e. the linguistic
label associated with each input and output is shown in Figs. 36.
In a FLC, a Rule Base is constructed to control the output
variable. All the inputs and outputs use the same linguistic
variables. Based on the linguistic, rules are established. A
fuzzy rule is a simple IF-THEN rule with a condition and a
conclusion. Table I shows the matrix representation of the
fuzzy rules. First two columns contain the inputs gdm1 and
gdm2 which are diversity indicators. Next two columns denote
the output pc and pm. The interpretation for the first row of the
table is that IF gdm1 and gdm2 are very small THEN pc and pm
have to be medium and very small respectively. Similarly,
other rows are interpreted.

The power system equipment is designed to operate at fixed

voltages with allowable variations of 5-10% of the rated
values. The voltage profile of one of the initial population
solutions for IEEE 30 Bus system is shown in Fig. 7, where the
maximum voltage limits of 1.1 pu has been exceeded. Fig 8
shows the voltage profile at the buses without maximum limit
violation in the optimum schedule. This proves the efficacy of
the proposed methodology (FGA) in solving SCED problem in
a reliable manner.
Line flow limit violations in the initial population have
been reported. The line flow limit has been violation in one
such case is shown in Fig. 9. The problem has been solved
using the proposed algorithm (FGA) and the line flows
corresponding to optimum schedule are shown in Fig. 10.
There is no line flow limit violation in the case corresponding
to the optimum schedule. This fact demonstrates that the
proposed algorithm is reliable in eliminating the line flow limit
violations.

TABLE II.

COMPARISON OF FUEL COSTS (RS./HR) FOR ELD WITH

OTHER TECHNIQUES WHEN LOAD=400MW FOR IEEE 6 BUS SYSTEM

GA [8]

PSO [8]

SGA

FGA

20828.5

20812.4

20513

20500

SIMULATION RESULTS OF SCED OF IEEE 30 BUS

SYSTEM

TABLE III.

Parameters

SGA

FGA

P1 (MW)

137.0804

137.2411

P2 (MW)

52.4520

57.6718

P3 (MW)

35.3219

27.3223

P4 (MW)

19.3034

12.8398

P5 (MW)

12.8986

23.8060

P6 (MW)

26.3435

24.5189

Total Cost($/hr)

801.2817

795.5012

Cross-over probability and mutation probability were

bound by rates [0.5 1.0] and [0.001 0.05] respectively.
A population size of 50 is chosen. Population size is kept
the same in both the cases for the purpose of comparison. The
proposed algorithm has been implemented in the MATLAB
environment.
The results obtained have been compared with those
obtained from some other techniques in previously published
works and it has been found that a better optimal solution,
having lower overall minimum cost of generation can be
obtained from the proposed methodology (FGA), as can be
seen from Table II and IV. In Table III simulation results are
tabulated for IEEE 30 Bus system for SCED for a load of 283.4
MW and where P1-P6 are the unit outputs.
The fitness function convergence characteristics curves are
plotted for the two cases i.e. SGA and FGA for IEEE 30 Bus
system as shown in Fig. 2 for SCED case. It is seen that, the
initial fitness values for the two cases are different from each
other. This is due to the fact that, the initial population is
chosen through a random process. It can be seen that, the
fitness function converges smoothly to the optimum value
without oscillations. This shows the convergence reliability of
the proposed algorithm.

6 UNIT

COMPARISON OF FUEL COSTS (($/HR) WITH OTHER

TECHNIQUES FOR SCED FOR IEEE 30 BUS SYSTEM

TABLE IV.
[6]

[9]

SGA

FGA

806.42

802.4

801.3

795.5

2013 International Conference on Computer Communication and Informatics (ICCCI -2013), Jan. 04-06, 2013, Coimbatore, INDIA

Figure 4. Triangular membership function for pc

Figure 1. Convergence of Fuel Cost for IEEE 6 Bus 3 Unit system without
Security Constraints.

Figure 5. Triangular membership function for gdm1

Figure 2. Convergence of Fuel Cost for IEEE 30 Bus 6 Unit system with
Security Constraints.

Figure 6. Triangular membership function for gdm2

Figure 3. Triangular membership function for pm

Figure 7. Voltage profile at the buses without Security Constraints for IEEE
30 Bus

2013 International Conference on Computer Communication and Informatics (ICCCI -2013), Jan. 04-06, 2013, Coimbatore, INDIA

but suffer from the drawback of premature convergence. In this

work, an efficient and simple approach (FGA) has been applied
to solve the security constrained economic dispatch problem.
The approach has been tested on the IEEE 6-bus 3-generator
for Economic Load Dispatch (ELD) and IEEE 30-bus 6generator systems for SCED. Simulation results demonstrate
the ability of the FGA to solve the SCED problem efficiently.
As the total fuel cost obtained is less in the case of the FGA, it
is clear from the results obtained, that the FGA gives a better
optimal solution than the other techniques. The proposed
approach is relatively simple, reliable and efficient.
ACKNOWLEDGMENT
Figure 8. Voltage profile at the buses with Security Constraints for IEEE 30
Bus

The second author would like to thank the first author for
her valuable guidance and support and also to the Electrical
Engineering department of Assam Engineering College for
providing the necessary support.
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Figure 9. Line Flow with violation at line 1 for IEEE 30 Bus

Figure 10. Line Flow without violation for IEEE 30 Bus system

VI.

CONCLUSION

In this work a real coded GA based on FLC for the solution

of SCED is proposed. The classical optimization techniques
use gradient-based information by linearizing the objective
function and the system constraints around the operating point.
Thus, these methods that make use of derivatives and gradients
are not suitable to locate the global optimum for problems like
SCED which are highly non-linear. GAs solve this problem

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