Fuzzy based fast dynamic programming solution of unit commitment with ramp constraints

: A fast dynamic programming technique based on a fuzzy based unit selection procedure is proposed in this paper for the solution of the unit commitment problem with ramp constraints. The curse of dimensionality of the dynamic programming technique is eliminated by minimizing the number of prospective solution paths to be stored at each stage of the search procedure. Heuristics like priority ordering of the units, unit grouping, fast economic dispatch based on priority ordering, and avoidance of repeated economic dispatch through memory action have been employed to make the algorithm fast. The proposed method produced comparable results with the best performing methods found in the literature.