Chaotic particle swarm optimization (CPSO) methods are optimization approaches based on the proposed particle swarm optimization (PSO) with adaptive inertia weight factor (AIWF) and chaotic local search (CLS). In this paper, two CPSO methods based on the logistic equation and the Tent equation are presented to solve economic dispatch (ED) problems with generator constraints and applied in two power system cases. Compared with the traditional PSO method, the convergence iterative numbers of the CPSO methods are reduced, and the solutions generation costs decrease around 5 $/h in the six unit system and 24 $/h in the 15 unit system. The simulation results show that the CPSO methods have good convergence property. The generation costs of the CPSO methods are lower than those of the traditional particle swarm optimization algorithm, and hence, CPSO methods can result in great economic effect. For economic dispatch problems, the CPSO methods are more feasible and more effective alternative approaches than the traditional particle swarm optimization algorithm. (c) 2006 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.