ABSTRACT
Power system engineering has the longest history of development among the various areas of electrical engineering. Ever since practical numerical optimization methods have been applied to power system engineering and operation, they have played a very important role. The value contributed by system optimization is considerable in economical terms with hundreds of millions of dollars saved annually in large utilities in terms of fuel cost, improved operational reliability and system security [1, 2]. As power systems are getting larger and more complicated due to the increase of load demand, the fossil fuel demand of thermal power plants increases which causes rising costs and rising emissions into the environment. Therefore, optimization has become essential for the operation of power system utilities in terms of fuel cost savings and environmental preservation [3].
