In this paper, Secant method is proposed to solve multi area economic dispatch (MAED) problem. Generator limits of all generators in each area are calculated at given area power demands plus export (or import) using secant method and the generator limits of all generators are modified as modified generator limits. Central economic dispatch (CED) problem is used to determine the output powers of all generators. Here, Secant method is applied to solve the CED problem. The proposed approach has been tested on two-area (two generators in each area) system and four-area (four generators in each area) system. It is observed from various cases that the proposed approach provides optimally best solution in terms of cost with tie line loss with less computational burden.