The WGMHO also pursues to develop power system optimization test beds where the general applicability and effectiveness of emerging tools in the field of heuristic optimization can be evaluated and compared with one another. The first strides in this direction started in 2013 with the development of a test bed with focus on OPF problems and the subsequent organization and realization of a special panel and competition at the 2014 IEEE PES General Meeting, which overviewed the outcomes of the top five participant algorithms.

Motivated by insightful discussions during the panel and the yearly meeting of the WGMHO, it has been decided to organize a new test bed and competition for the 2015 IEEE PES General Meeting, which will focus on stochastic optimization problems.