Electronic withdrawal and/or exit price requests for computer-based auctioning of basic generation services

• US 9,940,666 B1
• Filed: 09/14/2012
• Issued: 04/10/2018
• Est. Priority Date: 10/08/2002
• Status: Expired due to Term

• 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 & Gas Company
• Inventors: Lark, Frederick W., Robinson, Anthony R., Meehan, Eugene, LaCasse, Chantale, Salant, David, Loxley, Colin J., Schirra, Gerald W., Taylor, Robert
• Primary Examiner(s): Garg, Yogesh C
• Application Number:
  US13/616,541
• Time in Patent Office: 2,034 Days
• Field of Search: 705 263, 705 37, 705 39
• 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 and method of conducting a computer-based, simultaneous, multiple round, descending clock auction for basic generation services (BGS) includes receiving bids by an application server host application for processing bids according to auction rules, for tranche units of BGS products, calculating next round prices, and sending round results to bidders, the subsequent round prices and a notice of the number of tranches bid during the previous round and/or the amount of excess supply offered. Subsequently, an electronic withdrawal request to remove tranches from a product and reduce a maximum number bids the bidder can make in future rounds, and/or bidder exit price, is received, but may be partially or fully refused. When the number of tranches bid are equal to or less than a certain threshold for each of the products, the auction may end and bidders are awarded an ending price for each of the products won.

Claims

1. A method of conducting a computer-based auction in simultaneous, multiple round, descending clock format, the method comprising at least one of sequential, non-sequential, and sequence-independent steps of:

(A) providing at least one bidder with confidential identification information in advance of commencement of the auction for identifying the at least one bidder manually in the event of an electronic communication failure during the auction;

(B) upon commencement of the auction, receiving at least one electronic bid from the at least one bidder by a web server computer system of a computer system using secure technology, via a network, wherein each client browser interactively communicates with a web-based auction software, wherein different client browsers are provided for each of the bidders to submit each bid over a network using the secure technology, wherein the web server computer system is in data communication with an application server computer system of the computer system, wherein the application server computer system hosting application software is configured to read and write the at least one electronic bid submitted by the at least one bidder to an auction database server of the computer system, wherein the at least one electronic bid indicates at least one desired tranche of at least one of a plurality of products, each of the at least one of the plurality of products comprising a basic generation service load of an electric distribution company for a given period of time or term and the at least one tranche representing an equal portion of the electric distribution company'"'"'s basic generation service load, wherein the at least one electronic bid was entered using secure and encrypted procedures, wherein at least one code key is used for support or backup bidding, wherein the at least one electronic bid includes a time stamp, the time stamp being the time at which the at least one electronic bid is logged into the web server computer system, wherein the validity of the at least one electronic bid is based on a maximum number of allowable tranches that the at least one bidder can bid on for each round, each EDC, the auction, or pursuant to state and local rules;

(C) automatically processing by the computer system the at least one electronic bid according to at least one auction rule using auction software and controlling the auction database server separately from the web server and the application server to maintain the security of the information stored in the auction database and provide server and network security for the auction software being executed on the application server, wherein the client browsers, the application server, the web server, the auction software, and the auction database server provide a multi-tier architecture and field-level database access control in combination with a constituent hierarchy, wherein the automatic processing increases the speed of the computer-based auction relative to manual processing;

(D) electronically sending by the computer system, via the network, an auction result to the at least one bidder each located at the different client browsers, wherein each client browser transmits the auction result to at least a processor and a computer display for each bidder, wherein the auction result comprises at least one of current prices of the at least one of the plurality of products, a current number of tranches bid for each of the at least one plurality of products, and at least one winning bidder from the at least one bidder for each of the at least one of the plurality of products, wherein the winning bidders fulfil the at least one tranche associated with the electric distribution company'"'"'s basic service load by supplying energy requirements including at least one of capacity, energy, ancillary, transmission services to be distributed to a customer requiring electricity via the basic generation services,

wherein during a first round of bidding, the at least one electronic bid is received by the computer system at a specified starting price set by an Auction Manager for each of the at least one of the plurality of products; and

during at least one round subsequent to the first round of bidding in the multiple round auction, repetitively calculating a subsequent round price for each of the plurality of products for the at least one subsequent round of bidding 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 the 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 the number of tranches bid equal to or less than the tranche target for that product during the immediately previous round of bidding, and receiving, by the computer system, at least one second electronic bid comprising receiving, from the at least one bidder, at least one of a withdrawal request, a switch request, and an ending price for each of the at least one of the plurality of products;

and further wherein the processing in (C) comprises;

(C1) processing by the computer system the at least one second electronic bid and at least partially rejecting, by at least one of the computer system, the auction software, or the Auction Manager, for a refused number of tranches, when accepting the withdrawal request in full would cause the number of tranches bid for at least one particular product of the at least one of the plurality of products from which the bid would be withdrawn to fall below a tranche target for that at least one particular product, wherein the at least partial rejection of the refused number of tranches by the Auction Manager, if any, is facilitated, at least in part, by the auction software;

(C2) retaining, by at least one of the computer system, the auction software, or the Auction Manager, at least one of the refused number of tranches for the at least one of the plurality of products on which the refused number of tranches was bid, wherein the retention of the at least one of the refused number of tranches by the Auction Manager, if any, is facilitated, at least in part, by the auction software; and

(C3) transmitting and reporting, by at least one of the computer system, the auction software, or the Auction Manager, the refused number of tranches to the at least one bidder located at the client browser, wherein the client browser is configured to display the refused number of tranches on the computer display, wherein the transmission and report of the refused number of tranches by the Auction Manager, if any, is facilitated, at least in part, by the auction software.

2. The method of claim 1, further comprising qualifying the at least one bidder during a pre-auction qualification process.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein the method further comprises, electronically receiving by the computer system, from the at least one bidder, at least one of an exit price for the first indicated number of tranches in the withdrawal request and a null exit price for the first indicated number of tranches in the withdrawal request.

4. The method of claim 3, wherein the method further comprises, determining, a same exit price for all bids in the first indicated number of tranches when an exit price is named by at least one of the at least one bidder and at least one second bidder.

5. The method of claim 1, wherein the method further comprises, when the bidder names an exit price, retaining, by the computer system, the at least one of the refused number of tranches for which withdrawal is refused for the at least one of the plurality of products on which the refused number of tranches was bid at a price equal to the named exit price.

6. The method of claim 1, wherein the method further comprises, retaining, by the computer system, the at least one of the refused number of tranches for which withdrawal is refused, when the at least one bidder abstains from naming an exit price, for the at least one of the plurality of products on which the refused number of tranches was bid at a price equal to a price of a last round during which the refused number of tranches was freely bid before the withdrawal request was made.

7. The method of claim 1, wherein the method further comprises, lowering a bidder eligibility of the at least one bidder, by the first indicated number of tranches even when the withdrawal request is refused.

8. The method of claim 1, wherein the method further comprises, retaining first bids of a bidder having a lower named exit price, when at least two bidders make withdrawal requests and name an exit price and the withdrawal requests are refused.

9. The method of claim 1, wherein the method further comprises, when at least two bidders make withdrawal requests and name an identical exit price and the withdrawal requests are refused, determining which tranches are to be retained, wherein the decision comprises one of an earlier confirmed bid in the round of bidding and a decision made on a random, tranche by tranche basis.

10. The method of claim 9, wherein the method further comprises, releasing the at least one of the refused number of tranches retained for the at least one of the plurality of products, and enabling the at least one of the refused number of tranches retained for the at least one of the plurality of products to be withdrawn during a first subsequent round during which a sufficient number of new bids are entered for the at least one of the plurality of products such that a total number of tranches bid for that product for the first subsequent round is one of equal to and greater than the tranche target for that product, and wherein the release of the retained bids is reported to the at least one bidder.

11. The method of claim 1, further comprising processing the received bids comprising the at least one electronic bid and the at least one manual bid when present and determining whether the received bid comprises a minimum amount of tranches, whether the received bid is within the at least one bidder'"'"'s initial eligibility, and whether the received bid is within a predetermined load cap.

12. The method of claim 11, method further comprising determining whether to proceed to another round of the auction or complete the auction and award at least one winning bidder responsive to the processing of the received bids.

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

a web server computer configured to receive bid data from a plurality of users using secure technology, 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 of 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, in data communication with the web server computer, wherein the application server hosts application software, and wherein the application server computer is configured to perform;

(A) providing at least one bidder with confidential identification information in advance of commencement of the auction for identifying the at least one bidder manually in the event of an electronic communication failure during the auction;

(B) upon commencement of the auction, receiving at least one electronic bid from the at least one bidder by a computer system indicating at least one desired tranche of at least one of a plurality of products, wherein each client browser interactively communicates with a web-based auction software, wherein different client browsers are provided for each of the bidders to submit each bid over a network using secure technology, wherein each of the at least one of the plurality of products comprising a basic generation service load of an electric distribution company for a given period of time or term and the at least one tranche representing an equal portion of the electric distribution company'"'"'s basic generation service load, wherein the at least one electronic bid was entered using secure and encrypted procedures, wherein at least one code key is used for support or backup bidding, wherein the at least one electronic bid includes a time stamp, the time stamp being the time at which the at least one electronic bid is logged into the web server computer, wherein the validity of the at least one electronic bid is based on a maximum number of allowable tranches that the at least one bidder can bid on for each round, each EDC, the auction, or pursuant to state and local rules;

(C) automatically processing the at least one electronic bid according to at least one auction rule using auction software and controlling an auction database separately from the web server computer and the application server computer to maintain the security of the information stored in the auction database and provide server and network security for the auction software being executed on the application server computer, wherein the client browsers, the application server computer, the web server computer, the auction software, and the auction database provide a multi-tier architecture and field-level database access control in combination with a constituent hierarchy, wherein the automatic processing increases the speed of the computer-based auction relative to manual processing;

(D) electronically sending by the computer system an auction result to the at least one bidder each located at different client browsers, the auction result comprising at least one of current prices of the at least one of the plurality of products, a current number of tranches bid for each of the at least one plurality of products, and at least one winning bidders from the at least one bidder for each of the at least one of the plurality of products, wherein the winning bidders fulfil the at least one tranche associated with the electric distribution company'"'"'s basic service load by supplying energy requirements including at least one of capacity, energy, ancillary, transmission services to be distributed to a customer requiring electricity via the basic generation services;

(E) wherein during a first round of bidding, the at least one electronic bid is received by the computer system at a specified starting price set by an Auction Manager for each of the at least one of the plurality of products; and

during at least one round subsequent to the first round of bidding in the multiple round auction, repetitively calculating a subsequent round price for each of the plurality of products for the at least one subsequent round of bidding 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 the 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 the number of tranches bid equal to or less than the tranche target for that product during the immediately previous round of bidding, and receiving, by the computer system, at least one second electronic bid comprising receiving, from the at least one bidder, at least one of a withdrawal request, a switch request, and an ending price-for each of the at least one of the plurality of products;

(F) processing by the computer system the at least one second electronic bid and at least partially rejecting, by at least one of the computer system, the auction software, or the Auction Manager, for a refused number of tranches, when accepting the withdrawal request in full would cause the number of tranches bid for at least one particular product of the at least one of the plurality of products from which the bid would be withdrawn to fall below a tranche target for that at least one particular product, wherein the at least partial rejection of the refused number of tranches by the Auction Manager, if any, is facilitated, at least in part, by the auction software;

(G) retaining, by at least one of the computer system, the auction software, or the Auction Manager, at least one of the refused number of tranches for the at least one of the plurality of products on which the refused number of tranches was bid, wherein the retention of the at least one of the refused number of tranches by the Auction Manager, if any, is facilitated, at least in part, by the auction software; and

(H) transmitting and reporting, by at least one of the computer system, the auction software, or the Auction Manager, the refused number of tranches to the at least one bidder, wherein the transmission and report of the refused number of tranches by the Auction Manager, if any, is facilitated, at least in part, by the auction software.

14. The system of claim 13, wherein the at least one bidder is qualified during a pre-auction qualification process.

15. The system of claim 13, wherein the system is configured to electronically receive from the at least one bidder, at least one of an exit price for the first indicated number of tranches in the withdrawal request and a null exit price for the first indicated number of tranches in the withdrawal request.

16. The system of claim 13, wherein a same exit price is determined for all bids in the first indicated number of tranches when an exit price is named by at least one of the at least one bidder and at least one second bidder.

17. The system of claim 13, wherein the application server computer generates a report detailing the refused number of tranches, and transmits the report to the client browser configured to accept the transmitted report from the application server and to display the report on a computer display for each bidder.

18. The system of claim 13, further comprising:

the client browser in a first tier;

the application server computer and the web server computer in a second tier, wherein the client browser in the first tier communicates with the application server and the web server in the second tier over a secure network;

the application server computer of the second tier configured to implement application software in a third tier having computer executable instructions to control the computer-based auction including tracking, monitoring, and determining when to end the auction;

an auction database server in a fourth tier configured to store bidder data obtained through an application and qualification process and the information regarding the plurality of products being auctioned in an auction database, wherein the application software of the application server is configured to write bidder and product data to the database server and to read the data from the auction database server; and

wherein the auction database server is controlled separately from the web server and the application server to maintain the security of the information stored in the auction database.

19. The system of claim 18, wherein the computer system is further configured to execute the following functions:

communicate to the client browser of qualified bidders,

generate a round report detailing the number of tranches bid in the round and the subsequent round price;

receive withdrawal and switching requests, and release retained withdrawal and switching requests for the next round.

20. The system of claim 18, wherein the application server computer is capable of executing at least the following:

generate a round report detailing the number of tranches bid in the round, number of withdrawn tranches during the auction, and the bids made by each qualified bidder in the round;

determine whether to adjust the subsequent round price responsive to the round report;

adjust the subsequent round price responsive to said determining when to end the auction;

determine the ending price and award the at least one bidder the at least one of the plurality of products comprising distribution of the basic generation service load of the electric distribution company for the given period of time or term.

21. The system of claim 13 wherein withdrawn tranches are retained when the number of tranches bid during the previous round for each of the at least 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.

22. The system of claim 13, wherein a switch request is rejected 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.

32. The system of claim 13, wherein the application server computer electronically sends the auction result to the client browser, wherein the client browser is configured to transmit the auction result to at least a processor and computer display for each bidder such that the auction result is displayed on the computer display.

23. A system for conducting a computer-based, simultaneous, multiple round, descending clock auction, the system comprising:

a web server computer configured to receive bid data from a plurality of users using secure technology, 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;

an application server computer, in data communication with the web server computer, wherein the application server hosts application software, and wherein the application server computer is configured to perform;

(A) providing at least one bidder with confidential identification information in advance of commencement of the auction for identifying the at least one bidder manually in the event of an electronic communication failure during the auction;

(B) upon commencement of the auction, receiving at least one electronic bid from the at least one bidder by a computer system indicating at least one desired tranche of at least one of a plurality of products, wherein each client browser interactively communicates with a web-based auction software, wherein different client browsers are provided for each of the bidders to submit each bid over a network using secure technology, wherein the at least one electronic bid was entered using secure and encrypted procedures, wherein at least one code key is used for support or backup bidding, wherein the at least one electronic bid includes a time stamp, the time stamp being the time at which the at least one electronic bid is logged into the web server computer, wherein the validity of the at least one electronic bid is based on a maximum number of allowable tranches that the at least one bidder can bid on for each round, each EDC, the auction, or pursuant to state and local rules;

(C) automatically processing the at least one electronic bid according to at least one auction rule using auction software and controlling an auction database separately from the web server computer and the application server computer to maintain the security of the information stored in the auction database and provide server and network security for the auction software being executed on the application server computer, wherein the client browsers, the application server computer, the web server computer, the auction software, and the auction database provide a multi-tier architecture and field-level database access control in combination with a constituent hierarchy, wherein the automatic processing increases the speed of the computer-based auction relative to manual processing;

(D) electronically sending by the computer system an auction result to the at least one bidder each located at the different client browsers, the auction result comprising at least one of current prices of the at least one of the plurality of products and at least one winning bidders from the at least one bidder for each of the at least one of the plurality of products, wherein the winning bidders fulfil the at least one tranche associated with the electric distribution company'"'"'s basic service load by supplying energy requirements including at least one of capacity, energy, ancillary, transmission services to be distributed to a customer requiring electricity via the basic generation services;

(E) in the event a communication failure occurs such that the at least one electronic bid cannot be submitted for the auction, implementing at least one communication failure procedure, which enables the at least one bidder to be verified by receiving the confidential identification information from the at least one bidder, the at least one communication failure procedure including at least;

receiving and implementing at least one manual bid from the at least one bidder via at least one of a telephone, facsimile, hand delivery and mail, and accepting the at least one manual bid responsive to the verification of the confidential information, thereby ensuring that the auction does not have to be postponed or canceled due to the communication failure of the at least one electronic bid;

(F) wherein during a first round of bidding, the at least one electronic bid is received by the computer system for each of the at least one of the plurality of products, and during at least one round subsequent to the first round of bidding in the multiple round auction, repetitively calculating a subsequent round price for each of the plurality of products for the at least one subsequent round of bidding 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 the 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 the number of tranches bid equal to or less than the tranche target for that product during the immediately previous round of bidding, and receiving, by the computer system, at least one second electronic bid comprising receiving, from the at least one bidder, at least one of a withdrawal request, a switch request, and an ending price for each of the at least one of the plurality of products;

(G) processing by the computer system the at least one second electronic bid and at least partially rejecting, by at least one of the computer system, the auction software, or the Auction Manager, for a refused number of tranches, when accepting the withdrawal request in full would cause the number of tranches bid for at least one particular product of the at least one of the plurality of products from which the bid would be withdrawn to fall below a target for that at least one particular product, wherein the at least partial rejection of the refused number of tranches by the Auction Manager, if any, is facilitated, at least in part, by the auction software; and

(H) transmitting and reporting, by at least one of the computer system, the auction software, or the Auction Manager, the refused number of tranches to the at least one bidder, wherein the transmission and report of the refused number of tranches by the Auction Manager, if any, is facilitated, at least in part, by the auction software.

24. The system of claim 23, wherein the application server computer electronically sends the auction result to the client browser, wherein the client browser is configured to transmit the auction result to at least a processor and computer display for each bidder such that the auction result is displayed on the computer display.

25. The system of claim 23, wherein a report is generated detailing the refused number of tranches, and transmits the report to a client browser configured to accept the transmitted report from the application server and to display the report on a computer display for each bidder.

26. The system of claim 23, further comprising:

the client browser in a first tier;

the application server computer and the web server computer in a second tier, wherein the client browser in the first tier communicates with the application server and the web server in the second tier over a secure network;

the application server computer of the second tier configured to implement application software in a third tier having computer executable instructions to control the computer-based auction including tracking, monitoring, and determining when to end the auction;

an auction database server in a fourth tier configured to store bidder data obtained through an application and qualification process and the information regarding the plurality of products being auctioned in an auction database, wherein the application software of the application server is configured to write bidder and product data to the database server and to read the data from the auction database server; and

wherein the auction database server is controlled separately from the web server and the application server to maintain the security of the information stored in the auction database.

27. The system of claim 26, wherein the computer system is further configured to execute the following functions:

communicate to the client browser of qualified bidders,

generate a round report detailing the number of tranches bid in the round and the subsequent round price;

receive withdrawal and switching requests, and release retained withdrawal and switching requests for the next round.

28. The system of claim 26, wherein the application server computer is capable of executing at least the following:

generate a round report detailing the number of tranches bid in the round, number of withdrawn tranches during the auction, and the bids made by each qualified bidder in the round;

determine whether to adjust the subsequent round price responsive to the round report;

adjust the subsequent round price responsive to said determining when to end the auction;

determine the ending price and award the at least one bidder the at least one of the plurality of products comprising distribution of the basic generation service load of the electric distribution company for the given period of time or term.

29. The system of claim 23 wherein withdrawn tranches are retained when the number of tranches bid during the previous round for each of the at least 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.

30. The system of claim 23, wherein a switch request is rejected 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.

31. A system for conducting a computer-based, simultaneous, multiple round, descending clock auction, the system comprising:

a web server computer configured to receive bid data from a plurality of users using secure technology, 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;

an application server computer, in data communication with the web server computer, wherein the application server hosts application software, and wherein the application server computer is configured to perform;

(A) providing at least one bidder with confidential identification information in advance of commencement of the auction for identifying the at least one bidder manually in the event of an electronic communication failure during the auction;

(B) upon commencement of the auction, receiving at least one electronic bid from the at least one bidder by a computer system indicating at least one desired tranche of at least one of a plurality of products, wherein each client browser interactively communicates with a web-based auction software, wherein different client browsers are provided for each of the bidders to submit each bid over a network using secure technology, wherein the at least one electronic bid was entered using secure and encrypted procedures, wherein at least one code key is used for support or backup bidding, wherein the at least one electronic bid includes a time stamp, the time stamp being the time at which the at least one electronic bid is logged into the web server computer, wherein the validity of the at least one electronic bid is based on a maximum number of allowable tranches that the at least one bidder can bid on for each round, each EDC, the auction, or pursuant to state and local rules;

(C) automatically processing the at least one electronic bid according to at least one auction rule using auction software and controlling an auction database separately from the web server computer and the application server computer to maintain the security of the information stored in the auction database and provide server and network security for the auction software being executed on the application server computer, wherein the client browsers, the application server computer, the web server computer, the auction software, and the auction database provide a multi-tier architecture and field-level database access control in combination with a constituent hierarchy, wherein the automatic processing increases the speed of the computer-based auction relative to manual processing;

(D) electronically sending by the computer system an auction result to the at least one bidder each located at the different client browsers, the auction result comprising at least one of current prices of the at least one of the plurality of products and at least one winning bidders from the at least one bidder for each of the at least one of the plurality of products, wherein the winning bidders fulfil the at least one tranche associated with the electric distribution company'"'"'s basic service load by supplying energy requirements including at least one of capacity, energy, ancillary, transmission services to be distributed to a customer requiring electricity via the basic generation services;

(E) wherein during a first round of bidding, the at least one electronic bid is received by the computer system for each of the at least one of the plurality of products, and during at least one round subsequent to the first round of bidding in the multiple round auction, repetitively calculating a subsequent round price for each of the plurality of products for the at least one subsequent round of bidding 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 the 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 the number of tranches bid equal to or less than the tranche target for that product during the immediately previous round of bidding, and receiving, by the computer system, at least one second electronic bid comprising receiving, from the at least one bidder, at least one of a withdrawal request, a switch request, and an ending price for each of the at least one of the plurality of products;

(F) processing by the computer system the at least one second electronic bid and at least partially rejecting, by at least one of the computer system, the auction software, or the Auction Manager, for a refused number of tranches, when accepting the withdrawal request in full would cause the number of tranches bid for at least one particular product of the at least one of the plurality of products from which the bid would be withdrawn to fall below a target for that at least one particular product, wherein the at least partial rejection of the refused number of tranches by the Auction Manager, if any, is facilitated, at least in part, by the auction software; and

(G) transmitting and reporting, by at least one of the computer system, the auction software, or the Auction Manager, the refused number of tranches to the at least one bidder, wherein the transmission and report of the refused number of tranches by the Auction Manager, if any, is facilitated, at least in part, by the auction software.

33. The system of claim 31, wherein the application server computer electronically sends the auction result to the client browser, wherein the client browser is configured to transmit the auction result to at least a processor and computer display for each bidder such that the auction result is displayed on the computer display.

34. The system of claim 31, wherein the application server computer generates a report detailing the refused number of tranches, and transmits the report to the client browser configured to accept the transmitted report from the application server and to display the report on a computer display for each bidder.

35. The system of claim 31, further comprising:

the client browser in a first tier;

the application server computer and the web server computer in a second tier, wherein the client browser in the first tier communicates with the application server and the web server in the second tier over a secure network;

the application server computer of the second tier configured to implement application software in a third tier having computer executable instructions to control the computer-based auction including tracking, monitoring, and determining when to end the auction;

an auction database server in a fourth tier configured to store bidder data obtained through an application and qualification process and the information regarding the plurality of products being auctioned in an auction database, wherein the application software of the application server is configured to write bidder and product data to the database server and to read the data from the auction database server; and

wherein the auction database server is controlled separately from the web server and the application server to maintain the security of the information stored in the auction database.

36. The system of claim 35, wherein the computer system is further configured to execute the following functions:

communicate to the client browser of qualified bidders,

generate a round report detailing the number of tranches bid in the round and the subsequent round price;

receive denied withdrawal and switching requests, and release retained withdrawal and switching requests are released for the next round.

37. The system of claim 35, wherein the application server computer is capable of executing at least the following:

generate a round report detailing the number of tranches bid in the round, number of withdrawn tranches during the auction, and the bids made by each qualified bidder in the round;

determine whether to adjust the subsequent round price responsive to the round report;

adjust the subsequent round price responsive to said determining when to end the auction;

determine the ending price and award the at least one bidder the at least one of the plurality of products comprising distribution of the basic generation service load of the electric distribution company for the given period of time or term.

38. The system of claim 31 wherein withdrawn tranches are retained when the number of tranches bid during the previous round for each of the at least 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.

39. The system of claim 31, wherein a switch request is rejected 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.