In the paper an algorithm is described for solving the problem of secure economic load scheduling on a large power system. The method is an extension of that of Wells, which solves the problem as a linear program by means of the dual simplex algorithm. A dual form of the decomposition principle of Dantzig and Wolfe is used in order to reduce the size of the problem, so that it can be solved efficiently on a computer system. This is correlated with a corresponding decomposition of the power system into autonomous areas, co-ordinated by the specification of recommended boundary transfers and spinning spare capacity. Further levels of decomposition are incorporated in a similar fashion, allowing three or more levels, say, for the CEGB supply system. Although the entire problem can be solved on a single computer, for application to online control a more complex computing system is anticipated.