Aggregated management system

• US 8,463,450 B2
• Filed: 06/21/2007
• Issued: 06/11/2013
• Est. Priority Date: 07/18/2006
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Flexitricity Limited (Reserve Power Holdings (Jersey) Ltd.)
• Original Assignee: Flexitricity Limited (Reserve Power Holdings (Jersey) Ltd.)
• Inventors: Martin, Alastair
• Primary Examiner(s): Padmanabhan, Kavita
• Assistant Examiner(s): STEVENS, THOMAS H
• Application Number:
  US12/374,197
• Publication Number:
  US 20100049371A1
• Time in Patent Office: 2,182 Days
• Field of Search: 700/293, 700/286, 700/295, 700/291, 397/11, 397/29, 397/32, 397/34, 397/154, 702182-185
• US Class Current: 700/291
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/08 Logistics, e.g. warehousing, loading or distribution; Inventory or stock management
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 50/06 Energy or water supply
• CPC Class Codes: Y04S 10/50 Systems or methods supporting the power network operation or management, involving a certain degree of interaction with the load-side end user applications

Abstract

An aggregated management system for managing a commodity, such as electricity or gas, is disclosed. The system includes: a plurality of commodity resources; an availability calculator; a resource aggregator, wherein each resource, depending on availability data from the availability calculator, is aggregated to represent an aggregated resource; a resource controller, wherein each commodity resource, depending on availability, is selectively operated by the resource controller in response to a resource instruction; and an interlace to provide information regarding the aggregated resource and receive resource instructions regarding the aggregated resource for the resource controller.

Claims

1. An aggregated management system for end user electricity consumer electricity loads in an electrical power system comprising:

a plurality of end user electricity consumer electricity loads;

an availability calculator for determining an availability of each end user electricity consumer electricity load for short term load curtailment according to a load'"'"'s current operating conditions by monitoring process or equipment variables of the end user electricity consumer electricity load;

a resource aggregator, wherein a plurality of end user electricity consumer electricity loads, depending on availability data from the availability calculator, are aggregated according to a common type and/or ownership of end user electricity consumer electricity load to represent at least one aggregated load, the or each aggregated load representing a potential increase or decrease in electricity demand to the electrical power system;

a resource controller, wherein electricity consumption of each end user electricity consumer electricity load, depending on the determined availability for short term load curtailment, is selectively changed by the resource controller in response to a resource instruction sent to the at least one aggregated load;

an interface to provide availability data of the at least one aggregated load from the resource aggregator and receive resource instructions regarding the at least one aggregated load for the resource controller; and

an aggregated demand forecaster using data from the availability calculator to predict each electricity load'"'"'s usage and to provide an aggregated demand forecast for the at least one aggregated load.

2. A system as claimed in claim 1, wherein the availability calculator monitors availability of the end user electricity consumer load by means of a state machine, providing two binary levels of availability.

3. A system as claimed in claim 1, wherein the availability calculator monitors availability by algorithm calculations, the algorithm calculations providing more than two levels of availability.

4. A system as claimed in claim 1, wherein the aggregated demand forecaster re-forecasts demand when an electricity load is altered from its predicted usage.

5. A system as claimed in claim 1, wherein at least one of the end user electricity consumer electricity loads is a variable speed drive (VSD) comprising a frequency compensator and an availability calculator, wherein the frequency compensator varies speed of a drive dependent on frequency of electricity supply and the availability of the drive as calculated by the availability calculator.

6. A system as claimed in claim 5, wherein the frequency compensator responds to a reduction or increase in the frequency of the electricity supply by reducing or increasing the speed of the variable speed drive respectively, if the availability calculator confirms availability.

7. A system as claimed in claim 6, wherein the frequency compensator reduces or increases the speed of the variable speed drive to a greater extent than the reduction or increase in the frequency of the electricity supply respectively, providing an enhanced balancing effect.

8. A system as claimed in claim 1, wherein at least one of the end user electricity consumer electricity loads is an energy store and is enabled, when required by the resource controller, to act as an electricity generator through release of the stored energy.

9. A system as claimed in claim 1, wherein at least one of the end user electricity consumer electricity loads has one or more alternative power sources other than the electrical power system and is enabled to load the, or at least one of the, alternative power sources when required by the resource controller, thereby reducing electricity load to the electrical power system.

10. A system as claimed in claim 9, wherein the end user electricity consumer electricity load is a portable electronic device having a communicator, the resource controller enabled to communicate with the portable electronic device to control a device'"'"'s power consumption.

14. A method as claimed in claim 10, further comprising a step of re-forecasting aggregated demand when an end user electricity consumer load is altered from its predicted usage.

11. A method of managing and aggregating end user electricity consumer electricity loads for an electrical power system comprising the steps of:

aggregating a plurality of end user electricity consumer electricity loads, depending on an electricity loads'"'"' availability and according to a common type and/or ownership of end user electricity consumer electricity load;

determining each end user electricity consumer electricity load'"'"'s availability for short term load curtailment, according to a load'"'"'s current operating conditions by monitoring process or equipment variables of the end user electricity consumer electricity loads, to represent at least one aggregated load;

controlling said end user electricity consumer electricity loads, wherein an electricity consumption of each end user electricity consumer load, depending on the determined availability for short term load curtailment, is changed in response to a resource instruction sent to the at least one aggregated load;

communicating availability data of the at least one aggregated load; and

receiving resource instructions regarding the at least one aggregated load and controlling said end user electricity consumer electricity loads accordingly; and

forecasting aggregated demand, using availability data from the end user electricity consumer electricity loads to predict load usage and to provide an aggregated demand forecast for the at least one aggregated load.

12. A method as claimed in claim 11 wherein each end user electricity consumer load'"'"'s availability is calculated by means of a state machine, providing two binary levels of availability.

13. A method as claimed in claim 11, wherein each end user electricity consumer load'"'"'s availability is calculated by algorithm calculations, the algorithm calculations providing more than two levels of availability.