Bat algorithm is a recent addition to the bioinspired algorithms, considered as a new metaheuristic algorithm based on Bat behaviour. This work presents, the optimal solution of economic load dispatch (ELD) is obtained using the proposed bat algorithm. Here the operating cost of a thermal power plant is optimized using Bat algorithm. Numerical results show that the proposed method has good convergence property and better in quality of solution than PSO and IWD reported in recent literature. The main advantage of the proposed technique is easy is implement and capable of finding feasible near global optimal solution with less computational effort. BAT algorithm is easy to implement and priory in terms of accuracy and efficiency compared to other algorithms. In order to illustrate the effectiveness of the proposed method, it has been tested on 3 and 6-unit system. © 2013 IEEE.