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Summary This paper formulates a new multi‐objective model for the optimal power flow (OPF) problem considering 3 non‐commensurable and contradictory objectives, namely cost, emission, and loss. The proposed multi‐objective OPF problem takes a complete model for power generators including valve‐point effects, ramp rate limits, prohibited operating zones, spinning reserve, and multi‐fuel operation. Considering these constraints results in a non‐convex and non‐linear optimization problem and requires powerful methods to cope with. In this regard, the present paper proposes a multi‐objective electromagnetism‐like algorithm (EMA) based on the Pareto dominance concept and external archive strategy to solve this problem. The original EMA has poor search space exploration ability; hence, this paper proposes an improved EMA with modified local search process, which increases both exploration and intensification capabilities of the algorithm. The feasibility and effectiveness of the proposed method are tested on the IEEE 30‐ and 118‐bus test systems and the obtained numerical results are compared with the results of the original EMA and other heuristic methods reported in the recent literature.