This paper describes the secant method for solving the economic dispatch (ED) problem with generator constraints and transmission losses. The ED problem is an important optimization problem in the economic operation of a power system. The proposed algorithm involves selection of minimum and maximum incremental costs (lambda values) and then the evaluation of optimal lambda at required power demand is done by secant method. The proposed algorithm has been tested on a power system having 6, 15, and 40 generating units. Studies have been made on the proposed method to solve the ED problem by taking 120 and 200 units with generator constraints. Simulation results of the proposed approach were compared in terms of solution quality, convergence characteristics, and computation efficiency with conventional methods such as lambda iterative method, heuristic methods such as genetic algorithm, and meta-heuristic methods like particle swarm optimization. It is observed from different case studies that the proposed method provides qualitative solutions with less computational time compared to various methods available in the literature.