METHOD AND SYSTEM FOR THE MORE EFFICIENT UTILIZATION AND CONSERVATION OF ENERGY AND WATER RESOURCES
First Claim
1. A computer-implemented method of providing an incentive program in association with the sale and usage of a commodity by an end user that is active at all times, comprising:
- a commodity provider selling a commodity to an end user of the commodity in accordance with a commodity contract;
the commodity provider offering to award rewards to the end user as a function of the usage of the commodity by the end user;
the commodity provider monitoring the usage of the commodity by the end user;
the commodity provider calculating rewards to award as a function of the monitored commodity usage where such rewards are dispensed continuously through each day; and
the commodity provider awarding the calculated rewards to the end user.
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Accused Products
Abstract
A method of and system for providing a consumable resource such as electricity, natural gas, oil, air or water together with an incentive program of variable resource points to reward the buyer for not using the resource being provided. The invention monitors utilization of the resource at a location, and then determines a type and quantity of variable resource points to be provided to an account associated with the location or with a participant by analyzing the monitored resource utilization with respect to a plurality of varying conditions (time-variant, location-variant, cost-variant etc.). The resource points are then stored in an account associated with the location or with a participant for future use.
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Citations
14 Claims
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1. A computer-implemented method of providing an incentive program in association with the sale and usage of a commodity by an end user that is active at all times, comprising:
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a commodity provider selling a commodity to an end user of the commodity in accordance with a commodity contract; the commodity provider offering to award rewards to the end user as a function of the usage of the commodity by the end user; the commodity provider monitoring the usage of the commodity by the end user; the commodity provider calculating rewards to award as a function of the monitored commodity usage where such rewards are dispensed continuously through each day; and the commodity provider awarding the calculated rewards to the end user. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6)
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7. A computer-implemented method of providing an incentive program in association with the sale and usage of a commodity by a group of end users that are active at all times, comprising:
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a commodity provider selling a commodity to master buyer on behalf of a group of end users of the commodity in accordance with a master buyer contract; the commodity provider offering to award rewards to the master buyer on behalf of the group of end users as a function of the usage of the commodity by the group of end users; the master buyer distributing the commodity to the group of end users under individual end user subcontracts; the commodity provider monitoring the usage of the commodity by the group of end users; the commodity provider calculating rewards to award as a function of the monitored commodity usage by the group of end users where such rewards are dispensed continuously through each day; and the commodity provider awarding the calculated rewards. - View Dependent Claims (8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14)
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Specification