This paper aims to solve the economic dispatch problem of the 28-bus Nigerian power system using genetic algorithm. The power flow solution of the network is first obtained using Newton-Raphson technique; the solution thus obtained is used to determine the loss coefficients of the network. For this study, a forecasted load demand of 2000MW will be considered, MATLAB's genetic algorithm optimization toolbox is used to obtain the optimum generation level of each unit. The optimal power output of each scheduled generating units was obtained after 200 iterations at a minimal generation cost of ₦136,370.205/hr. A power loss of 11.32MW in the network was also obtained using Kron's loss formula.