SUMMARYThis paper introduces the Newton‐like method of modifying the right‐hand‐side vector into the power flow solution. Based on this method, the accelerated Newton–Raphson (ANR) power flow algorithm is proposed. In the proposed algorithm, a constant Jacobian matrix in the correction equations is employed to reduce the computation burden, while the power mismatch vector is multiplied by a factor to guarantee the convergence. Case studies on different test systems under different loading levels are presented to show the accuracy and efficiency of the proposed power flow algorithm. Copyright © 2011 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.