Abstract This paper presents backtracking search algorithm (BSA) for solving economic dispatch (ED) problems with considering valve-point loading effects, prohibited operating zones, and multiple fuel options. The proposed method is an evolutionary technique of optimization with simple structure and single control parameter to solve numerical optimization problems. It is a powerful method for effectively exploring the search space of an optimization problem to find the optimal solution within a low computation time. Different test systems with up to 160 generating units have been used to show the performance of BSA to solve ED problems with high nonlinearities. The results are compared with several methods of optimization to verify the high performance of BSA for solving the ED problems. Statistical analysis of the results among 50 independent runs has been carried out to validate the BSA as a highly robust method.