The economic power dispatch problem is formulated as a nonlinear constrained complex optimization problem. Conventional optimization methods that make use of derivatives and gradients, in general, are not able to locate or identify the global optimum. In this paper, a novel evolution method termed queen-bee evolution is employed for solving the optimization problem of economic power dispatch. The queen-bee evolution is similar to nature in that the queen-bee plays a major role in the reproduction process. Two typical systems of 6 generators and 13 generators respectively are used to test the performance of the queen-bee algorithm; the numerical results demonstrate that the proposed algorithm is faster and more robust than the conventional genetic algorithm.