System and method for controlling power demand over an integrated wireless network

• US 20030036822A1
• Filed: 08/15/2001
• Published: 02/20/2003
• Est. Priority Date: 08/15/2001
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Landis+Gyr Inc. (Landis+Gyr Group AG)
• Original Assignee: Statsignal Systems Incorporated (Statsignal)
• Inventors: Davis, James, Petite, Thomas D.
• Granted Patent: US 6,671,586 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 700/295
• CPC Class Codes: H02J 13/00002 characterised by monitoring
• CPC Class Codes: H02J 13/00004 characterised by the power network being locally controlled
• CPC Class Codes: H02J 13/00017 using optical fiber
• CPC Class Codes: H02J 13/00022 using wireless data transmission
• CPC Class Codes: H02J 13/00034 the elements or equipment being or involving an electric power substation
• CPC Class Codes: H02J 2310/12 The local stationary network supplying a household or a building
• CPC Class Codes: H02J 3/14 by switching loads on to, or off from, network, e.g. progressively balanced loading
• CPC Class Codes: H02J 3/38 Arrangements for parallely feeding a single network by two or more generators, converters or transformers
• CPC Class Codes: Y02A 30/60 Planning or developing urban green infrastructure
• CPC Class Codes: Y02B 70/3225 Demand response systems, e.g. load shedding, peak shaving
• CPC Class Codes: Y02B 90/20 Smart grids as enabling technology in buildings sector smart grids supporting the management or operation of end-user stationary applications in general, or like technologies with no associated climate change mitigation effect Y04S20/00
• CPC Class Codes: Y04S 20/222 Demand response systems, e.g. load shedding, peak shaving
• CPC Class Codes: Y04S 40/124 using wired telecommunication networks or data transmission busses
• CPC Class Codes: Y04S 40/126 using wireless data transmission

Abstract

An intelligent network demand control system provides a system and method for controlling demand in an energy delivery system. The intelligent network demand control system employs a transceiver network with a plurality transceivers coupled to meters and appliances residing at a plurality of customer premises. Control room operators instruct a customer premises (CP) energy management controller to implement a reduction in system demand. A demand reduction control signal is relayed out to a predefined group of transceivers to shut off their respective controlled appliances. The predefined transceivers, identified by their identification codes, are specified in the demand reduction control signal. When the transceivers shut off the appliances in response to a broadcasted demand reduction control signal, the actual demand reduction is metered and relayed back to the CP energy management controller. The total demand reduction is aggregated into a single number and then communicated to the operators.

Claims

1. A system which controlling appliances comprising:

at least one appliance controller unit, the appliance controller unit coupled to at least one appliance; and

an energy management controller configured to communicate with the appliance controller unit such that a demand reduction control signal generated by the energy management controller is communicated to the appliance controller unit so that the appliance coupled to the appliance controller unit is shut off.

2. The system of claim 1, further comprising a plurality of appliance controller units, each one of the plurality of appliance controller units coupled to at least one appliance such that the demand reduction control signal generated by the energy management controller is communicated to the plurality of appliance controller units so that the appliance coupled to the appliance controller units are shut off.

3. The system of claim 2, further comprising:

an appliance controller unit memory residing in each one of the plurality of appliance controller units, the appliance controller unit memory configured to have a unique identification code identifying the appliance controller unit; and

an energy management controller memory residing in the energy management controller, the energy management controller memory having a data base identifying each one of the plurality of appliance controller units and the associated unique identification code such that the demand reduction control signal generated by the energy management controller is selectively communicated to selected ones of the plurality of appliance controller units.

4. The system of claim 3, further comprising logic residing in the energy management controller memory configured to select at least one unique appliance controller unit identification code such that when the demand reduction control signal is generated the selected ones of the plurality of appliance controller units are identified by the appliance controller unit identification code.

5. The system of claim 2, further comprising:

an appliance controller unit memory residing in each one of the plurality of appliance controller units, the appliance controller unit memory having logic configured to detect the operating status of a plurality of components residing in the appliance controller unit and configured to generate a status report that is transmitted by the appliance controller unit to the energy management controller; and

a transceiver residing in the energy management controller, the energy management controller transceiver configured to receive the status report such that the energy management controller generates a component failure report when the status report indicates failure of at least one component residing in the appliance controller unit.

6. The system of claim 2, further comprising:

a transceiver coupled to a meter and configured to detect demand metered by the meter such that the transceiver transmits metered demand information to the energy management controller; and

a transceiver residing in the energy management controller, the energy management controller transceiver configured to receive the metered demand information such that the energy management controller determines the difference between the metered demand information before generation of the demand reduction control signal and the metered demand information after generation of the demand reduction control signal.

7. The system of claim 6, further comprising a means for communicating information to components residing in an energy delivery system control center, the communicating means coupled to the energy management controller, such that operators understand the determined difference between the metered demand information before generation of the demand reduction control signal and the metered demand information after generation of the demand reduction control signal.

8. The system of claim 1, further comprising a means for receiving an instruction from components residing in an energy delivery system control center, the instruction receiving means coupled to the energy management controller such that the demand reduction control signal is generated when the instruction is received.

9. The system of claim 1, further comprising;

an interface coupled to the energy management controller and configured to interface with a communication network such that the generated demand reduction control signal is communicated to the communication network; and

a site controller, the site controller configured to interface with the communication network such that the generated demand reduction control signal is received from the communication network, and further configured to generate a broadcast demand reduction control signal that is communicated to the appliance controller unit.

10. The system of claim 9, wherein the communication network is a public switched telephone network.

11. The system of claim 9, wherein the communication network is a utility legacy communication system.

12. The system of claim 9, wherein the communication network is a digital communication system.

13. The system of claim 9, wherein the communication network is a radio frequency (RF) communication system.

14. The system of claim 9, wherein the communication network is an Internet network.

15. The system of claim 1, further comprising an appliance controller unit memory residing in the appliance controller unit, the appliance controller unit memory configured to have logic that compares a unique identification code identifying the appliance controller unit with an identification code residing in the demand reduction control signal, such that when the appliance controller unit identification code corresponds to the demand reduction control signal identification code, the appliance controller unit shuts off the appliance coupled to the appliance controller unit.

16. A method for controlling demand in an energy delivery system, the method comprising the steps of:

generating a demand reduction control signal by an energy management controller;

transmitting the demand reduction control signal from the energy management controller to at least one of a plurality of appliance control units, each one of the plurality of appliance control units coupled to at least one appliance;

shutting off the appliance coupled to the appliance control unit in response to receiving the demand reduction control signal;

metering a first change in demand at a plurality of meters, each one of the meters coupled to the appliance; and

determining a first aggregate change in demand, the first aggregate change in demand equaling a sum of the metered first change in demand at the plurality of meters.

17. The method of claim 16, further comprising the steps of:

assigning a unique identification code to each one of the plurality of appliance control units;

selecting a plurality of identification codes such that selected ones of the plurality of appliance control units are selected; and

receiving the generated demand reduction control signal by the selected ones of the plurality of appliance control units perform the step of shutting off each one of the appliances coupled to the selected ones of the plurality of appliance control units.

18. The method of claim 16, further comprising the step of communicating the demand reduction control signal from the energy management controller to the at least one of a plurality of appliance control units through a communication network.

19. The method of claim 18, wherein the communication network is a public switched telephone network.

20. The method of claim 18, wherein the communication network is a utility legacy communication system.

21. The method of claim 18, wherein the communication network is a digital communication system.

22. The method of claim 18, wherein the communication network is a radio frequency (RF) communication system.

23. The method of claim 18, wherein the communication network is an Internet network.

24. The method of claim 16, further comprising the step of receiving by the energy management controller a demand reduction instruction from operators of an energy delivery system such that the step of generating the demand reduction control signal is made in response to the received demand reduction instruction.

25. The method of claim 16, further comprising the steps of:

receiving a demand reduction instruction;

determining a difference between the determined first aggregate change in demand with the demand reduction instruction;

generating a second demand reduction control signal;

transmitting the second demand reduction control signal to a second plurality of appliance control units, each one of the second plurality of appliance control units coupled to at least one appliance;

shutting off at least one of the appliances coupled to the second plurality of appliance control units in response to receiving the second demand reduction control signal;

metering a second change in demand at the plurality of meters; and

determining a second aggregate change in demand, the second aggregate change in demand equaling the sum of the metered second change in demand at the plurality of meters.

26. The method of claim 25, further comprising the step of selecting a number of appliance control units to be members of the second plurality of appliance control units such that the second aggregate change in demand substantially equals the difference between the first aggregate change in demand and the demand reduction instruction.

27. The method of claim 16, further comprising the steps of:

selecting at least one of the plurality of appliance control units; and

transmitting the generated demand reduction control signal to the selected appliance control units such that the appliances coupled to the selected appliance control units are shut off.

28. The method of claim 16, further comprising the steps of:

generating a terminating signal; and

transmitting the terminating signal from the energy management controller to the plurality of appliance control units such that the demand reduction control signal is ended.

29. The method of claim 28, further comprising the steps of:

metering a second change in demand at each one of the plurality of meters after the demand reduction control signal is ended;

determining a second aggregate change in demand, the second aggregate change in demand equaling the sum of the metered second change in demand at each one of the plurality of meters; and

comparing the second aggregate change of demand with an aggregate metered demand determined before the demand reduction control signal is ended.

30. The method of claim 29, further comprising the steps of

selecting a number of appliance control units to be members of a second plurality of appliance control units;

generating a second demand reduction control signal;

transmitting the second demand reduction control signal to the second plurality of appliance control units, each one of the second plurality of appliance control units coupled to at least one appliance; and

shutting off each one of the appliances coupled to the second plurality of appliance control units in response to receiving the second demand reduction control signal such that a third aggregate change in demand substantially equals the difference between the second aggregate change of demand and the aggregate metered demand determined before the demand reduction control signal is ended.

31. The method of claim 16, further comprising the steps of:

assigning a unique identification code to each one of the plurality of appliance control units;

selecting a plurality of identification codes to define a first demand reduction load block; and

associating the selected identification codes with the generated demand reduction control signal such that when the demand reduction control signal is transmitted, only the appliance control units having their identification code selected perform the step of shutting off at least one of the appliances coupled to the appliance control unit.

32. The method of claim 31, further comprising the steps of:

defining a load block identification code such that the load block identification code corresponds to the selected unique identification codes; and

associating the load block identification code with the generated demand reduction control signal such that when the demand reduction control signal is transmitted, only the appliance control units having their identification code associated with the load block identification code perform the step of shutting off each one of the appliances coupled to the appliance control unit.

33. The method of claim 32, further comprising the steps of:

defining a plurality of load block identification codes, each one of the load block identification codes corresponding to the selected unique group of identification codes, such that a plurality of demand reduction load blocks are defined;

estimating an aggregate amount of demand reduction for each of the plurality of demand reduction load blocks;

receiving a demand reduction instruction specifying a desired aggregate demand reduction; and

selecting at least one of the plurality of demand reduction load blocks such that the estimated amount of demand reduction for the selected demand reduction load blocks approximately equals a desired aggregate demand reduction specified by the demand reduction control signal.

34. The method of claim 33, further comprising the steps of:

metering an aggregate change in demand after the demand reduction control signal is transmitted to the plurality of appliance control units;

determining a difference between the aggregate metered demand change and the specified desired aggregate demand reduction;

selecting at least one second demand reduction load block such that the sum of the estimated aggregate amount of demand reduction associated with the selected second demand reduction load block substantially equals the determined difference; and

generating a second demand reduction control signal such that when the second demand reduction control signal is transmitted, only the appliance control units having their identification code associated with the second demand reduction load block perform the step of shutting off each one of the appliances coupled to the appliance control unit.

35. The method of claim 16, further comprising the step of transmitting to the energy management controller an acknowledgment signal from each one of the appliance control units that successfully shut off its respective appliance.

36. The method of claim 16, further comprising the steps of,

indicating failure of at least one component residing in one of the plurality of appliance control units by generating a status signal that is transmitted to the energy management controller;

and

requesting maintenance for the failed component.

37. The method of claim 36, further comprising the step of generating a status request signal by the energy management controller, such that when the status request signal is received by the plurality of appliance control units, the step of indicating failure of at least one component is initiated.

38. The method of claim 16, further comprising the steps of:

generating a notification control signal by the energy management controller, the generation of the notification control signal occurring before the step of generating the demand reduction control signal by a predefined amount of time;

transmitting the notification control signal from the energy management controller to at least one of the plurality of appliance control units;

receiving the notification control signal by the at least one appliance control unit; and

generating a notification communication signal by the at least one appliance control unit such that a customer understands that the step of shutting off the appliance will occur at a future time, the future time substantially corresponding to the predefined amount of time.

39. A system for controlling demand in an energy delivery system, comprising:

means for generating a demand reduction control signal by an energy management controller;

means for transmitting the demand reduction control signal from the energy management controller to at least one of a plurality of appliance control units, each one of the plurality of appliance control units coupled to at least one appliance;

means for shutting off the appliance coupled to the appliance control unit in response to receiving the demand reduction control signal;

means for metering a first change in demand at a plurality of meters, each one of the meters coupled to the appliance; and

means for determining a first aggregate change in demand, the first aggregate change in demand equaling a sum of the metered first change in demand at the plurality of meters.

40. The system of claim 39, further comprising:

means for assigning a unique identification code to each one of the plurality of appliance control units;

means for selecting a plurality of identification codes such that selected ones of the plurality of appliance control units are selected; and

means for receiving the generated demand reduction control signal by the selected ones of the plurality of appliance control units perform the step of shutting off each one of the appliances coupled to the selected ones of the plurality of appliance control units.

41. The system of claim 39, further comprising means for communicating the demand reduction control signal from the energy management controller to the at least one of a plurality of appliance control units through a communication network.

42. The system of claim 39, further comprising means for receiving by the energy management controller a demand reduction instruction from operators of an energy delivery system such that the step of generating the demand reduction control signal is made in response to the received demand reduction instruction.

43. The system of claim 39, further comprising:

means for receiving a demand reduction instruction, the demand reduction instruction having at least a requested amount of demand reduction;

means for determining a difference between the determined first aggregate change in demand with the requested amount of demand reduction;

means for generating a second demand reduction control signal;

means for transmitting the second demand reduction control signal to a second plurality of appliance control units, each one of the second plurality of appliance control units coupled to at least one appliance;

means for shutting off at least one of the appliances coupled to the second plurality of appliance control units in response to receiving the second demand reduction control signal;

means for metering a second change in demand at the plurality of meters; and

means for determining a second aggregate change in demand, the second aggregate change in demand equaling the sum of the metered second change in demand at the plurality of meters.

44. The system of claim 43, further comprising means for selecting a number of appliance control units to be members of the second plurality of appliance control units such that the second aggregate change in demand substantially equals the difference between the first aggregate change in demand and the demand reduction instruction selecting the number of appliance control units to be members of the second plurality of appliance control units such that the second aggregate change in demand substantially equals the difference between the first aggregate change in demand and the requested amount of demand reduction.

45. The system of claim 39, further comprising:

means for selecting at least one of the plurality of appliance control units; and

means for transmitting the generated demand reduction control signal to the selected appliance control units such that the appliances coupled to the selected appliance control units are shut off.

46. The system of claim 39, further comprising:

means for generating a terminating signal; and

means for transmitting the terminating signal from the energy management controller to the plurality of appliance control units such that the demand reduction control signal is ended.

47. The system of claim 46, further comprising:

means for metering a second change in demand at each one of the plurality of meters after the demand reduction control signal is ended;

means for determining a second aggregate change in demand, the second aggregate change in demand equaling the sum of the metered second change in demand at each one of the plurality of meters; and

means for comparing the second aggregate change of demand with an aggregate metered demand determined before the demand reduction control signal is ended.

48. The system of claim 47, further comprising:

means for selecting a number of appliance control units to be members of a second plurality of appliance control units;

means for generating a second demand reduction control signal;

means for transmitting the second demand reduction control signal to the second plurality of appliance control units, each one of the second plurality of appliance control units coupled to at least one appliance; and

means for shutting off each one of the appliances coupled to the second plurality of appliance control units in response to receiving the second demand reduction control signal such that a third aggregate change in demand substantially equals the difference between the second aggregate change of demand and the aggregate metered demand determined before the demand reduction control signal is ended.

49. The system of claim 39, further comprising:

means for assigning a unique identification code to each one of the plurality of appliance control units;

means for selecting a plurality of identification codes to define a first demand reduction load block; and

means for associating the selected identification codes with the generated demand reduction control signal such that when the demand reduction control signal is transmitted, only the appliance control units having their identification code selected perform the step of shutting off at least one of the appliances coupled to the appliance control unit.

50. The system of claim 49, further comprising:

means for defining a load block identification code such that the load block identification code corresponds to the selected unique identification codes; and

means for associating the load block identification code with the generated demand reduction control signal such that the when the demand reduction control signal is transmitted, only the appliance control units having their identification code associated with the load block identification code perform the step of shutting off each one of the appliances coupled to the appliance control unit.

51. The system of claim 50, further comprising:

means for defining a plurality of load block identification codes, each one of the load block identification codes corresponding to the selected unique group of identification codes, such that a plurality of demand reduction load blocks are defined;

means for estimating an aggregate amount of demand reduction for each of the plurality of demand reduction load blocks;

means for receiving a demand reduction instruction specifying a desired aggregate demand reduction; and

means for selecting at least one of the plurality of demand reduction load blocks such that the estimated aggregate amount of demand reduction for the selected demand reduction load blocks approximately equals the desired aggregate demand reduction specified by the demand reduction control signal.

52. The system of claim 51, further comprising:

means for metering an aggregate change in demand after the demand reduction control signal is transmitted to the plurality of appliance control units;

means for determining a difference between the aggregate metered demand change and the specified desired aggregate demand reduction;

means for selecting at least one second demand reduction load block such that the sum of the estimated aggregate amount of demand reduction associated with the selected second demand reduction load block substantially equals the determined difference; and

means for generating a second demand reduction control signal such that when the second demand reduction control signal is transmitted, only the appliance control units having their identification code associated with the second demand reduction load block perform the step of shutting off each one of the appliances coupled to the appliance control unit.

53. The system of claim 39, further comprising means for transmitting to the energy management controller an acknowledgment signal from each one of the appliance control units that successfully shut off its respective appliance.

54. The system of claim 39, further comprising:

means for indicating failure of at least one component residing in one of the plurality of appliance control units by generating a status signal that is transmitted to the energy management controller; and

means for requesting maintenance for the failed component.

55. The system of claim 54, further comprising means for generating a status request signal by the energy management controller, such that when the status request signal is received by the plurality of appliance control units, the step of indicating failure of at least one component is initiated.

56. The system of claim 39, further comprising:

means for generating a notification control signal by the energy management controller, the generation of the notification control signal occurring before the demand reduction control signal is generated by a predefined amount of time;

means for transmitting the notification control signal from the energy management controller to at least one of the plurality of appliance control units;

means for receiving the notification control signal by the at least one appliance control unit; and

means for generating a notification communication signal by the at least one appliance control unit such that a customer understands that the appliance will be shut off at a future time, the future time substantially corresponding to the predefined amount of time.

57. A system for controlling demand in an energy delivery system comprising:

an energy management controller configured to communicate with at least one appliance controller unit, the appliance controller unit coupled to at least one appliance and identified by a unique identification code; and

an energy management controller memory residing in the energy management controller, the energy management controller memory having a data base identifying each one of the plurality of appliance controller units and the associated unique identification code, such that a demand reduction control signal generated by the energy management controller is selectively communicated to selected ones of the plurality of appliance controller units so that appliances coupled to the selected appliance controller units are shut off.

58. The system of claim 57, further comprising logic residing in the energy management controller memory configured to select at least one unique appliance controller unit identification code such that when the demand reduction control signal is generated the selected ones of the plurality of appliance controller units are identified by the appliance controller unit identification code.

59. The system of claim 57, further comprising a transceiver residing in the energy management controller, the energy management controller transceiver configured to receive metered demand information from a plurality of meter transceivers, each meter transceiver coupled to a meter and configured to detect demand metered by the meter, such that the energy management controller determines a difference between the metered demand information before generation of the demand reduction control signal and the metered demand information after generation of the demand reduction control signal.

60. The system of claim 59, further comprising a means for communicating information to components residing in an energy delivery system control center, the communicating means coupled to the energy management controller, such that operators understand the determined difference between the metered demand information before generation of the demand reduction control signal and the metered demand information after generation of the demand reduction control signal.

61. The system of claim 57, further comprising a means for receiving an instruction from components residing in an energy delivery system control center, the instruction receiving means coupled to the energy management controller such that the demand reduction control signal is generated when the instruction is received.

62. The system of claim 57, further comprising an interface coupled to the energy management controller and configured to interface with a communication network such that the generated demand reduction control signal is communicated to the communication network.

63. The system of claim 62, wherein the communication network is a public switched telephone network.

64. The system of claim 62, wherein the communication network is a utility legacy communication system.

65. The system of claim 62, wherein the communication network is a digital communication system.

66. The system of claim 62, wherein the communication network is a radio frequency (RF) communication system.

67. The system of claim 62, wherein the communication network is an Internet network.

68. A method for controlling demand in an energy delivery system comprising, the method comprising the steps of:

generating a demand reduction control signal by an energy management controller;

transmitting the demand reduction control signal from the energy management controller to at least one of a plurality of appliance control units, each one of the plurality of appliance control units coupled to at least one appliance and configured to shut off the appliance coupled to the appliance control unit in response to receiving the demand reduction control signal;

receiving a first metered change in demand from a plurality of meters, each one of the meters coupled to the appliance; and

determining a first aggregate change in demand, the first aggregate change in demand equaling a sum of the metered first change in demand at the plurality of meters.

69. The method of claim 68, further comprising the step of communicating the demand reduction control signal from the energy management controller to the plurality of appliance control units through a communication network.

70. The method of claim 69, wherein the communication network is a public switched telephone network.

71. The method of claim 69, wherein the communication network is a utility legacy communication system.

72. The method of claim 69, wherein the communication network is a digital communication system.

73. The method of claim 69, wherein the communication network is a radio frequency (RF) communication system.

74. The method of claim 69, wherein the communication network is an Internet network.

75. The method of claim 68, further comprising the step of receiving by the energy management controller a demand reduction instruction from operators of an energy delivery system such that the step of generating the demand reduction control signal is made in response to the received demand reduction instruction.

76. The method of claim 68, further comprising the steps of:

receiving a demand reduction instruction, the demand reduction instruction having at least a requested amount of demand reduction;

determining a difference between the determined first aggregate change in demand with the requested amount of demand reduction;

generating a second demand reduction control signal;

transmitting the second demand reduction control signal to a second plurality of appliance control units, each one of the second plurality of appliance control units coupled to at least one appliance so that the appliances coupled to the second plurality of appliance control units are shut off in response to receiving the second demand reduction control signal;

receiving a second metered change in demand from a plurality of second meters, each one of the second meters coupled to the shut off appliances; and

determining a second aggregate change in demand, the second aggregate change in demand equaling the sum of the metered second change in demand at the plurality of second meters.

77. The method of claim 76, further comprising the step of selecting a number of appliance control units to be members of the second plurality of appliance control units such that the second aggregate change in demand substantially equals the difference between the first aggregate change in demand and the requested amount of demand reduction.

78. The method of claim 68, further comprising the steps of:

generating a terminating signal; and

transmitting the terminating signal from the energy management controller to the plurality of appliance control units such that the demand reduction control signal is ended.

79. The method of claim 68, further comprising the steps of:

assigning a unique identification code to each one of the plurality of appliance control units;

selecting a plurality of identification codes to define a first demand reduction load block; and

associating the selected identification codes with the generated demand reduction control signal such that when the demand reduction control signal is transmitted, only the appliance control units having their identification code selected shut off the appliance coupled to the appliance control unit.

80. The method of claim 79, further comprising the steps of:

defining a load block identification code such that the load block identification code corresponds to the selected unique identification codes; and

associating the load block identification code with the generated demand reduction control signal such that the when the demand reduction control signal is transmitted, only the appliance control units having their identification code associated with the load block identification code shut off the appliance coupled to the appliance control unit.

81. The method of claim 80, further comprising the steps of:

defining a plurality of load block identification codes, each one of the load block identification codes corresponding to the selected unique group of identification codes, such that a plurality of demand reduction load blocks are defined;

estimating an aggregate amount of demand reduction for each of the plurality of demand reduction load blocks; and

selecting at least one of the plurality of demand reduction load blocks such that an estimated amount of demand reduction for the selected demand reduction load blocks approximately equals a desired aggregate demand reduction specified by the demand reduction control signal.

82. The method of claim 68, further comprising the step of receiving an acknowledgment signal from each one of the appliance control units that successfully shut off its respective appliance.

83. The method of claim 68, further comprising the steps of:

receiving a status signal generated by one of the plurality of appliance control units, the status signal indicating failure of at least one component residing in the appliance control unit; and

requesting maintenance for the failed component.

84. The method of claim 83, further comprising the step of generating a status request signal by the energy management controller, such that when the status request signal is received by the plurality of appliance control units, the step of receiving a status signal is initiated.

85. The method of claim 68, further comprising the steps of:

generating a notification control signal by the energy management controller, the generation of the notification control signal occurring before the step of generating the demand reduction control signal by a predefined amount of time; and

transmitting the notification control signal from the energy management controller to at least one of the plurality of appliance control units such that when the notification control signal is received by the at least one appliance control unit a customer understands that the step of shutting off the appliance will occur at a future time, the future time substantially corresponding to the predefined amount of time.

86. A system for controlling demand in an energy delivery system comprising:

means for generating a demand reduction control signal by an energy management controller;

means for transmitting the demand reduction control signal from the energy management controller to at least one of a plurality of appliance control units, each one of the plurality of appliance control units coupled to at least one appliance and configured to shut off the appliance coupled to the appliance control unit in response to receiving the demand reduction control signal;

means for receiving a first metered change in demand from a plurality of meters, each one of the meters coupled to the appliance; and

means for determining a first aggregate change in demand, the first aggregate change in demand equaling a sum of the metered first change in demand at the plurality of meters.

87. The system of claim 86, further comprising means for communicating the demand reduction control signal from the energy management controller to the plurality of appliance control units through a communication network.

88. The system of claim 87, wherein the communication network is a public switched telephone network.

89. The system of claim 87, wherein the communication network is a utility legacy communication system.

90. The system of claim 87, wherein the communication network is a digital communication system.

91. The system of claim 87, wherein the communication network is a radio frequency (RF) communication system.

92. The system of claim 87, wherein the communication network is an Internet network.

93. The system of claim 86, further comprising means for receiving by the energy management controller a demand reduction instruction from operators of an energy delivery system such that the step of generating the demand reduction control signal is made in response to the received demand reduction instruction.

94. The system of claim 86, further comprising:

means for receiving a demand reduction instruction, the demand reduction instruction having at least a requested amount of demand reduction;

means for determining a difference between the determined first aggregate change in demand with the requested amount of demand reduction;

means for generating a second demand reduction control signal;

means for transmitting the second demand reduction control signal to a second plurality of appliance control units, each one of the second plurality of appliance control units coupled to at least one appliance so that the appliances coupled to the second plurality of appliance control units are shut off in response to receiving the second demand reduction control signal;

means for receiving a second metered change in demand from a plurality of second meters, each one of the second meters coupled to the shut off appliances; and

means for determining a second aggregate change in demand, the second aggregate change in demand equaling the sum of the metered second change in demand at the plurality of second meters.

95. The system of claim 94, further comprising means for selecting a number of appliance control units to be members of the second plurality of appliance control units such that the second aggregate change in demand substantially equals the difference between the first aggregate change in demand and the requested amount of demand reduction.

96. The system of claim 86, further comprising:

means for generating a terminating signal; and

means for transmitting the terminating signal from the energy management controller to the plurality of appliance control units such that the demand reduction control signal is ended.

97. The system of claim 86, further comprising:

means for assigning a unique identification code to each one of the plurality of appliance control units;

means for selecting a plurality of identification codes to define a first demand reduction load block; and

means for associating the selected identification codes with the generated demand reduction control signal such that when the demand reduction control signal is transmitted, only the appliance control units having their identification code selected shut off the appliance coupled to the appliance control unit.

98. The system of claim 97, further comprising:

means for defining a load block identification code such that the load block identification code corresponds to the selected unique identification codes; and

means for associating the load block identification code with the generated demand reduction control signal such that when the demand reduction control signal is transmitted, only the appliance control units having their identification code associated with the load block identification code shut off the appliance coupled to the appliance control unit.

99. The system of claim 98, further comprising:

means for defining a plurality of load block identification codes, each one of the load block identification codes corresponding to the selected unique group of identification codes, such that a plurality of demand reduction load blocks are defined;

means for estimating an aggregate amount of demand reduction for each of the plurality of demand reduction load blocks; and

means for selecting at least one of the plurality of demand reduction load blocks such that an estimated amount of demand reduction for the selected demand reduction load blocks approximately equals a desired aggregate demand reduction specified by the demand reduction control signal.

100. The system of claim 86, further comprising means for receiving an acknowledgment signal from each one of the appliance control units that successfully shut off its respective appliance.

101. The system of claim 86, further comprising:

means for receiving a status signal generated by one of the plurality of appliance control units, the status signal indicating failure of at least one component residing in the appliance control unit; and

means for requesting maintenance for the failed component.

102. The system of claim 101, further comprising means for generating a status request signal by the energy management controller, such that when the status request signal is received by the plurality of appliance control units, a status signal is initiated.

103. The system of claim 86, further comprising:

means for generating a notification control signal by the energy management controller, the generation of the notification control signal occurring before the step of generating the demand reduction control signal by a predefined amount of time; and

means for transmitting the notification control signal from the energy management controller to at least one of the plurality of appliance control units such that when the notification control signal is received by the at least one appliance control unit a customer understands that the step of shutting off the appliance will occur at a future time, the future time substantially corresponding to the predefined amount of time.

104. A computer readable medium having a program for controlling demand in an energy delivery system, the program comprising logic configured to perform the steps of:

generating a demand reduction control signal by an energy management controller so that the demand reduction control signal is transmitted from the energy management controller to at least one of a plurality of appliance control units, each one of the plurality of appliance control units coupled to at least one appliance and configured to shut off the appliance coupled to the appliance control unit in response to receiving the demand reduction control signal, and so that a first metered change in demand is received from a plurality of meters, each one of the meters coupled to the appliance; and

determining a first aggregate change in demand, the first aggregate change in demand equaling the sum of the metered first change in demand at the plurality of meters.

105. The computer readable medium of claim 104, the program further comprising logic configured to perform the steps of receiving a demand reduction instruction from operators of an energy delivery system such that the step of generating the demand reduction control signal is made in response to the received demand reduction instruction.

106. The computer readable medium of claim 104, the program further comprising logic configured to perform the steps of:

determining a difference between the determined first aggregate change in demand with a requested amount of demand reduction;

generating a second demand reduction control signal so that the second demand reduction control signal is transmitted to a second plurality of appliance control units, each one of the second plurality of appliance control units coupled to at least one appliance so that the appliances coupled to the second plurality of appliance control units are shut off in response to receiving the second demand reduction control signal, and so that a second metered change in demand is received from a plurality of second meters, each one of the second meters coupled to the shut off appliances; and

determining a second aggregate change in demand, the second aggregate change in demand equaling the sum of the metered second change in demand at the plurality of second meters.

107. The computer readable medium of claim 106, the program further comprising logic configured to perform the steps of selecting a number of appliance control units to be members of the second plurality of appliance control units such that the second aggregate change in demand substantially equals the difference between the first aggregate change in demand and the requested amount of demand reduction.

108. The computer readable medium of claim 104, the program further comprising logic configured to perform the steps of:

assigning a unique identification code to each one of the plurality of appliance control units;

selecting a plurality of identification codes to define a first demand reduction load block; and

associating the selected identification code s with the generated demand reduction control signal such that when the demand reduction control signal is transmitted, only the appliance control units having their identification code selected shut off the appliance coupled to the appliance control unit.

109. The computer readable medium of claim 108, the program further comprising logic configured to perform the steps of:

defining a load block identification code such that the load block identification code corresponds to the selected unique identification codes; and

associating the load block identification code with the generated demand reduction control signal such that when the demand reduction control signal is transmitted, only the appliance control units having their identification code associated with the load block identification code shut off the appliance coupled to the appliance control unit.

110. The computer readable medium of claim 109, the program further comprising logic configured to perform the steps of:

defining a plurality of load block identification codes, each one of the load block identification codes corresponding to the selected unique group of identification codes, such that a plurality of demand reduction load blocks are defined;

estimating an aggregate amount of demand reduction for each of the plurality of demand reduction load blocks; and

selecting at least one of the plurality of demand reduction load blocks such that an estimated amount of demand reduction for the selected demand reduction load blocks approximately equals a desired aggregate demand reduction specified by the demand reduction control signal.

111. The computer readable medium of claim 104, the program further comprising logic configured to perform the step of requesting maintenance for the failed component in response to receiving a status signal generated by one of the plurality of appliance control units, the status signal indicating failure of at least one component residing in the appliance control unit.

112. The computer readable medium of claim 111, the program further comprising logic configured to perform the steps of generating a status request signal such that when the status request signal is received by the plurality of appliance control units, generation of the status signal is initiated.

113. A system which controlling appliances comprising:

at least one appliance controller unit, the appliance controller unit coupled to at least one appliance and configured to receive a demand reduction control signal having an identification code; and

an appliance controller unit memory residing in the appliance controller unit, the appliance controller unit memory configured to have a unique identification code identifying the appliance controller unit such that when the demand reduction control signal identification code corresponds to the appliance controller unit unique identification code appliance coupled to the appliance controller unit is shut off.

114. The system of claim 113, further comprising a transceiver configured to receive the demand reduction control signal.

115. The system of claim 114, wherein the transceiver is a radio frequency (RF) transceiver.

116. The system of claim 113, further comprising an appliance controller, the appliance controller coupled to the appliance and configured to generate a shut-off control signal in response to the demand reduction control signal so that the appliance is shut off.

117. The system of claim 113, further comprising an appliance controller power switch, the appliance controller power switch coupled to an electrical source of the appliance and configured to shut off power to the appliance in response to the demand reduction control signal so that the appliance is shut off.

118. The system of claim 113, further comprising a plurality of appliance controllers, each one of the appliance controllers coupled to at least one appliance and configured to generate a shut-off control signal in response to the demand reduction control signal so that the appliance is shut off.

119. The system of claim 118, wherein each one of the plurality of appliance controllers is associated with a unique appliance controller identification code such that when an identification code portion of the demand reduction control signal corresponds to the unique appliance controller identification code, the respective appliance controller generates the shut-off control signal.

120. The system of claim 113, further comprising a notification interface configured to generate a notification communication signal in response to a notification control signal received from an energy management controller, the generation of the notification control signal occurring before the demand reduction control signal is received by a predefined amount of time, such that the notification communication signal is communicated to a customer device such that a customer understands that the appliance will be shut off at a future time, the future time substantially corresponding to the predefined amount of time.

121. The system of claim 113, further comprising a light configured to generate a light signal in response to a notification control signal received from an energy management controller, the generation of the notification control signal occurring before the demand reduction control signal is received by a predefined amount of time, such that the light signal is communicated to a customer so that the customer understands that the appliance will be shut off at a future time, the future time substantially corresponding to the predefined amount of time.

122. The system of claim 113, further comprising an interface coupled to the appliance controller unit memory and configured to receive at least the unique identification code identifying the appliance controller unit and further configured to transmit the unique identification code to the appliance controller unit memory for storage.

123. A computer readable medium having a program for controlling demand in an energy delivery system, the program comprising logic configured to perform the steps of:

assigning a unique identification code to an appliance control unit;

comparing the appliance control unit unique identification code with an identification code portion of a demand reduction control signal in response to receiving the demand reduction control signal generated by an energy management controller; and

shutting off an appliance when the appliance control unit unique identification code corresponds to the identification code portion of the demand reduction control signal.

124. The computer readable medium of claim 123, the program further comprising logic configured to perform the steps of:

generating a confirmation signal when the appliance controller unit shuts off the appliance; and

transmitting the confirmation signal such that the confirmation signal is received by the energy management controller to confirm that the appliance controller unit shut off the appliance.

125. The computer readable medium of claim 123, the program further comprising logic configured to perform the steps of:

assigning a load block identification code such that the load block identification code corresponds to the unique identification code; and

associating the load block identification code with the received demand reduction control signal such that when the demand reduction control signal is received, the appliance control units shuts off the appliance when the appliance control unit unique identification code corresponds to the load block identification code portion of the demand reduction control signal.

126. The computer readable medium of claim 123, the program further comprising logic configured to perform the steps of generating an acknowledgment signal such that the acknowledgment signal is transmitted from the appliance control unit indicating that the appliance control unit successfully shut off its respective appliance.

127. The computer readable medium of claim 126, the program further comprising logic configured to perform the steps of indicating failure of at least one component residing the appliance control unit by generating a status signal that is transmitted to the energy management controller so that maintenance for the failed component is requested.

128. The computer readable medium of claim 127, the program further comprising logic configured to perform the steps of:

detecting a status request signal transmitted by the energy management controller; and

responding to the status request signal by generating the status signal.

129. The computer readable medium of claim 123, the program further comprising logic configured to perform the steps of:

detecting a notification control signal transmitted by the energy management controller, the generation of the notification control signal occurring before the step of generating the demand reduction control signal by a predefined amount of time; and

generating a notification communication signal by the appliance control unit such that a customer understands that the step of shutting off the appliance will occur at a future time, the future time substantially corresponding to the predefined amount of time.

130. A system for controlling demand in an energy delivery system, comprising:

means for assigning a unique identification code to an appliance control unit;

means for receiving a demand reduction control signal generated by an energy management controller;

means for comparing the appliance control unit unique identification code with an identification code portion of the demand reduction control signal; and

means for shutting off the appliance when the appliance control unit unique identification code corresponds to the identification code portion of the demand reduction control signal.

131. The system of claim 130, further:

means for generating a confirmation signal when the appliance controller unit shuts off the appliance; and

means for transmitting the confirmation signal such that the confirmation signal is received by the energy management controller to confirm that the appliance controller unit shut off the appliance.

132. The system of claim 130, further comprising:

means for defining a load block identification code such that the load block identification code corresponds to the unique identification code; and

means for associating the load block identification code with the received demand reduction control signal such that when the demand reduction control signal is received, the appliance control unit shuts off the appliance when the appliance control unit unique identification code corresponds to the load block identification code portion of the demand reduction control signal.

133. The system of claim 130, further comprising means for transmitting to the energy management controller an acknowledgment signal from the appliance control unit indicating that the appliance control unit successfully shut off its respective appliance.

134. The system of claim 130, further comprising means for indicating failure of at least one component residing in the appliance control unit by generating a status signal that is transmitted to the energy management controller so that maintenance for the failed component is requested.

135. The system of claim 134, further comprising:

means for receiving a status request signal transmitted by the energy management controller; and

means for responding to the status request signal by generating the status signal.

136. The system of claim 130, further comprising:

means for receiving a notification control signal transmitted by the energy management controller, the generation of the notification control signal occurring before the step of generating the demand reduction control signal by a predefined amount of time; and

means for generating a notification communication signal by the appliance control unit such that a customer understands that the step of shutting off the appliance will occur at a future time, the future time substantially corresponding to the predefined amount of time.

137. A computer readable medium having a program for controlling demand in an energy delivery system, the program comprising logic configured to perform the steps of:

assigning a unique identification code to an appliance control unit;

receiving a demand reduction control signal generated by an energy management controller;

comparing the appliance control unit unique identification code with an identification code portion of the demand reduction control signal; and

shutting off the appliance when the appliance control unit unique identification code corresponds to the identification code portion of the demand reduction control signal.

138. The method of claim 137, further comprising the steps of:

generating a confirmation signal when the appliance controller unit shuts off the appliance; and

transmitting the confirmation signal such that the confirmation signal is received by the energy management controller to confirm that the appliance controller unit shut off the appliance.

139. The method of claim 137, further comprising the steps of:

defining a load block identification code such that the load block identification code corresponds to the unique identification code; and

associating the load block identification code with the received demand reduction control signal such that when the demand reduction control signal is received, the appliance control units shuts off the appliance when the appliance control unit unique identification code corresponds to the load block identification code portion of the demand reduction control signal.

140. The method of claim 137, further comprising the step of transmitting to the energy management controller an acknowledgment signal from the appliance control unit indicating that the appliance control unit successfully shut off its respective appliance.

141. The method of claim 137, further comprising the step of indicating failure of at least one component residing in the appliance control unit by generating a status signal that is transmitted to the energy management controller so that maintenance for the failed component is requested.

142. The method of claim 141, further comprising the steps of:

receiving a status request signal transmitted by the energy management controller; and

responding to the status request signal by generating the status signal.

143. The method of claim 137, further comprising the steps of:

receiving a notification control signal transmitted by the energy management controller, the generation of the notification control signal occurring before the step of generating the demand reduction control signal by a predefined amount of time; and

generating a notification communication signal by the appliance control unit such that a customer understands that the step of shutting off the appliance will occur at a future time, the future time substantially corresponding to the predefined amount of time.