Method and system for computer-based auctioning of basic generation services

• US 7,409,360 B1
• Filed: 10/08/2003
• Issued: 08/05/2008
• Est. Priority Date: 10/08/2002
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Rockland Electric Co. (Consolidated Edison Incorporated), Atlantic City Electric Company (Constellation Energy Corp. (Maryland)), Jersey Central Power & Light Company (Firstenergy Corporation), Public Service Electric & Gas Company (Public Service Enterprise Group Incorporated)
• Original Assignee: Rockland Electric Co. (Consolidated Edison Incorporated), Atlantic City Electric Company (Constellation Energy Corp. (Maryland)), Jersey Central Power & Light Company (Firstenergy Corporation), Public Service Electric & Gas Company (Public Service Enterprise Group Incorporated)
• Inventors: Taylor, Robert, LaCasse, Chantale, Lark, Frederick W., Salant, David, Schirra, Gerald W., Loxley, Colin J., Robinson, Anthony R., Meehan, Eugene
• Primary Examiner(s): Garg; Yogesh C.
• Application Number:
  US10/680,407
• Time in Patent Office: 1,763 Days
• Field of Search: 705/26, 705/27, 705/37
• US Class Current: 705/26.3
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/00 Administration; Management
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/06 Buying, selling or leasing transactions
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0601 Electronic shopping [e-shopping]
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/08 Auctions
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 40/04 Trading; Exchange, e.g. stocks, commodities, derivatives or currency exchange

Abstract

A system for conducting a computer-based, simultaneous, multiple round, descending clock auction for basic generation services includes a web server for receiving bid data for one or more users for basic generation service products, an application server host application software, which processes the one or more bids according to at least one auction rule, tracks the auction, monitors the auction, and/or determines when to end the auction, and a database server, which stores auction data. A method of conducting a computer-based, simultaneous, multiple round, descending clock auction for basic generation services includes the repeating steps of receiving bids indicating desired tranche units of basic generation service products, calculating next round prices for each product, and sending round results to bidders. The subsequent round price for each of the products and a notice of the number of tranches bid during the immediately previous round of bidding for each of the products and/or the amount of excess supply offered. When the number of tranches bid for the round of bidding are equal to or less than the certain threshold for each of the products such that no further bidding can take place under the auction rules, the auction ends after the round of bidding and awarding winning bidders an ending price for each of the at least one of the plurality of products won by the winning bidders.

Claims

1. A system for conducting a computer-based, simultaneous, multiple round, descending clock auction for basic generation services, the system comprising:

a web server computer system receiving bid data from a plurality of users, wherein the bid data comprises at least one bid for at least one tranche of at least one of a plurality of products at a specified starting price set by an Auction Manager during multiple rounds of bidding, wherein each of the at least one of the plurality of products comprises a basic generation service load of an electric distribution company for a given period or time or term and wherein each of the at least one tranche represents an equal portion of the electric distribution company'"'"'s basic generation service load;

an application server computer system, in data communication with the web server computer system, wherein the application server computer system hosts application software, and wherein the application software;

(A) calculates a second round price for each of the at least one of the plurality of products for a second round of bidding based on the specified starting price and a number of tranches bid for each of the at least one of the plurality of products during a first round of bidding, wherein the second round price is lower than the specified starting price for any of the at least one of the plurality of products that received a number of tranches bid greater than a tranche target for that product during the first round of bidding and wherein the second round price is equal to the specified starting price for any of the at least one of the plurality of products that received a number of tranches bid one of equal to and less than the tranche target for that product during the first round of bidding,

(B) sends a first round result of the first round of bidding to qualified bidders, the first round result comprising the second round price for each of the at least one of the plurality of products and at least one of a notice of the number of tranches bid during the first round for each of the at least one of the plurality of products and an amount of excess supply offered during the first round of bidding for each of the plurality of products,

(C) determines when the second round price for at least one of the plurality of products is less than the first round,

(D) when the second round price for the at least one of the plurality of products is less than the first round, receives, from at least one of the qualified bidders, at least one of a withdrawal request and a switch request, wherein the withdrawal request indicates a request from the at least one of the qualified bidders to remove a first indicated number of tranches from at least one particular product of the at least one of the plurality of products and to reduce a maximum number bids that the at least one of the qualified bidders is capable of making in future rounds of the auction, and wherein a switch request indicates a request from the at least one of the qualified bidders to switch a second indicated number of tranches from one of the at least one of the plurality of products to at least one different one of the at least one of the plurality of products,

(E) repeats steps (A)-(D) for at least one subsequent round of bidding following the second round, wherein a subsequent round price for each of the plurality of products for the at least one subsequent round of bidding is based on a previous round price of an immediately previous round of bidding and a number of tranches bid for each of the at least one of the plurality of products during the immediately previous round of bidding, wherein the subsequent round price is lower than the previous round price for any of the at least one of the plurality of products that received a number of tranches bid greater than the tranche target for that product during the immediately previous round of bidding, wherein the subsequent round price is equal to the previous round price for any of the at least one of the plurality of products that received a number of tranches bid one of equal to and less than the tranche target for that product during the immediately previous round of bidding, and wherein a round result is sent during step (C), the round result comprising the subsequent round price for each of the plurality of products and at least one of a notice of the number of tranches bid during the immediately previous round of bidding for each of the plurality of products and an amount of excess supply offered during the immediately previous round of bidding for each of the plurality of products,

(F) retains the withdrawn tranches when the number of tranches bid during a previous round for each of the at least one of the plurality of products is greater than the tranche target for that product and when the bid during a current round for that product is less than the tranche target for that product,

(G) denies the switch request when the number of tranches bid during the previous round for each of the at least one of the plurality of products is greater than the tranche target for that product and when the bid during the current round for that product and the withdrawn tranches for that product is less than the tranche target for that product,

(H) determines when at least one of a plurality of denied switches from at least one particular product in the previous round is released for bidding, and when the at least one of the plurality of denied switches in the previous round is released for bidding, reports the tranche target for that product, wherein at least one of the tranches to fill that product is obtained from at least one of;

(i) bidding at current round charges, (ii) retaining withdrawn tranches, and (iii) denying switches,

(I) accepts the withdrawal of the tranches from at least one of the plurality of denied switches when at least one of the denied switches from at least one particular product in the previous round is outbid, wherein the at least one of the plurality of denied switches in the previous round is released for bidding,

(J) determines when the number of tranches bid during a round of bidding are one of equal to and less than the tranche target for each of the at least one of the plurality of products, and

(K) when the number of tranches bid for the round of bidding are one of equal to and less than a certain threshold for each of the at least one of the plurality of products such that no further bidding can take place under auction rules, ends the auction after the round of bidding and awarding winning bidders an ending price for each of the at least one of the plurality of products won by the winning bidders; and

a database server computer system, in data communication with the web server computer system and the application server computer system, wherein the database server computer system stores auction data,

wherein a maximum number of tranches bid by a single one of the qualified bidders is eligible to make for a particular product of the at least one of the plurality of products is one of equal to and less than a load cap for that particular product, and

wherein the ending price for each of the at least one of the plurality of products is one of a final price from a final round of bidding, a named exit price, a price at which retained withdrawn bids were last freely bid, and a price at which denied switched bids were last freely bid.

2. The system of claim 1, further comprising a plurality of client browsers embedded in a client computer system, wherein the plurality client browsers enables the plurality of users to submit the bid data to the web server computer system.

3. The system of claim 2, further comprising a wide-area network, wherein the wide-are network enables communication between the plurality of client browsers and the web server computer system.

4. The system of claim 1, wherein the web server computer system and the application server computer system are integrated into a single server.

5. The system of claim 1, wherein the web server computer system and the application server computer system are maintained on separate servers.

6. The system of claim 1, wherein the auction data stored by the database server computer system comprises user data obtained through an auction application and a qualification process and information regarding the at least one of the plurality of products, the information comprising at least one of a target auction volume for the auction, a tranche target for each of the at least one of the plurality of products, and a load cap for one of each of the at least one of the plurality of products and all of the plurality of products.

7. The system of claim 6, wherein the Auction Manager is capable of revising the target auction volume stored in the database server computer system.

8. The system of claim 1, further comprising a system login computer, wherein the system login computer logs all hits to at least one of the web server computer system and the application server computer system.

9. The system of claim 1, further comprising a back-up server, wherein the back-up server computer system provides back-up support and maintenance for at least one of the web server computer system, the application server computer system, and the database server computer system.

10. The system of claim 1, wherein the withdrawal request indicates the at least one of the qualified bidders removing a first indicated number of tranches from at least one particular product of the at least one of the plurality of products at the previous going price.

11. The system of claim 1, wherein the application software removes from the auction at least one of the plurality of withdrawn tranches of at least one of the bidders, and wherein another of the withdrawn tranches are retained at a same exit price from at least two of the plurality of bidders.

12. The system of claim 1, wherein the application software removes the eligibility of the qualified bidder associated with the first indicated number of withdrawn tranches from the at least one particular product of the at least one of the plurality of products.

13. The system of claim 1, wherein the plurality of users are registered bidders, wherein the registered bidders provide qualifying information comprising indicative offers and financial guarantees, wherein the indicative offers comprises number of tranches each of the plurality of users are willing to provide at a maximum starting price, and wherein the financial guarantee is in proportion to the indicative offer.

14. The system of claim 1, wherein the basic generation service load comprises hourly electric price basic generation service load.

15. The system of claim 1, wherein the basic generation service load comprises fixed price basic generation service load.

16. The system of claim 1, wherein the plurality of users are provided access privilege, wherein the access privilege comprises at least one of Administrative, Administrative Viewer, Bidder, and Bid Viewer.

17. The system of claim 1, wherein the application software is capable of operating in a plurality of operation modes, wherein the operation modes comprises Demo Clock Off, Demo Clock On, and Automatic Mode.

18. The system of claim 1, wherein the application software is capable of altering a schedule of bidding rounds.

19. The system of claim 1, wherein the application software provides messages from an auction administrator, wherein the messages comprises bids sorted by bidders and audit of exit bids.

20. The system of claim 19, wherein the at least one reporting message from the auction administrator provides access to at least one report in at least one of the current round and previous round.

21. The system of claim 1, wherein the application software provides messages based on at least one of a plurality of events during the auction.

22. The system of claim 1, wherein the application software is capable of adjusting the total number of tranches available for the at least one of the plurality of products.

23. The system of claim 1, wherein the application software determines when each of the plurality of bidders is associated with at least one of the plurality of the other bidders, and when the bidder is associated with the other bidders, requests the bidder to provide the identity of the other bidders.