SMART GRID PRICE RESPONSE SERVICE FOR DYNAMICALLY BALANCING ENERGY SUPPLY AND DEMAND
First Claim
1. A method for balancing energy supply with energy demand between a plurality of energy consumers and one or more energy providers, comprising steps for:
- providing a statistical model of price-based energy demand characteristics of a plurality of energy consumers;
periodically evaluating the statistical model in combination with a model of available energy supply one or more energy providers to determine optimal real-time energy pricing for balancing an actual energy demand of the energy consumers relative to the available energy supply;
periodically reporting the real-time energy pricing to the energy consumers and the energy providers;
delivering energy to one or more of the each energy consumers from one or more of the energy providers; and
monitoring actual energy consumer energy usage over time to record the energy use of each energy consumer relative to the corresponding real-time energy pricing.
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Accused Products
Abstract
A “Smart Grid Pricer” enables automated balancing of the supply and demand of energy supply and consumption, such as the generation and consumption of electricity between electricity providers and electricity consumers. The Smart Grid Pricer automatically computes and delivers real-time energy pricing information to consumers on behalf of energy retailers (e.g., electricity utilities) to help drive the balance of demand with supply. In various embodiments, real-time pricing is determined by using various probabilistic models to estimate overall consumer demand as a function of factors such as energy price, time of day, region, weather, etc. to compute a price that will result in an energy demand that is closely balanced to the available supply. On the consumer side, various components of the Smart Grid Pricer automatically respond to such pricing information to optimize energy consumption in accordance with a variety of automated and/or user defined rules and preferences.
281 Citations
20 Claims
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1. A method for balancing energy supply with energy demand between a plurality of energy consumers and one or more energy providers, comprising steps for:
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providing a statistical model of price-based energy demand characteristics of a plurality of energy consumers; periodically evaluating the statistical model in combination with a model of available energy supply one or more energy providers to determine optimal real-time energy pricing for balancing an actual energy demand of the energy consumers relative to the available energy supply; periodically reporting the real-time energy pricing to the energy consumers and the energy providers; delivering energy to one or more of the each energy consumers from one or more of the energy providers; and monitoring actual energy consumer energy usage over time to record the energy use of each energy consumer relative to the corresponding real-time energy pricing. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9)
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10. A system for providing a scalable intermediary service for balancing energy supply and demand between energy providers and energy consumers in real time, comprising:
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a device for periodically modeling consumer energy demand characteristics of a group of energy consumers; a device for periodically computing real-time energy pricing as a function of the modeled consumer energy demand characteristics relative to a limited variable energy supply level available for delivery from an energy provider; wherein the real-time pricing is set at a level that is designed to closely balance current consumer energy demand relative to the current available energy supply levels; a device for periodically reporting the real-time energy pricing to the group of energy consumers; a device for distributing portions of the current available energy supply to each of the group of energy consumers based on the energy demand of each individual energy consumer; and a device for monitoring actual consumer energy usage of each energy consumer relative to the corresponding real-time energy pricing. - View Dependent Claims (11, 12, 13, 14, 15)
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16. A computer-readable medium having computer executable instructions stored therein for computing real-time electricity prices for balancing electricity supply and demand between electricity providers and electricity consumers, said instructions comprising:
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periodically modeling consumer electricity demand characteristics based on historical and current consumer electricity usage and a current and forecast available electricity delivery capacity; periodically setting a real-time electricity price as a function of the modeled consumer electricity demand characteristics at a level intended to balance current consumer electricity demand relative to the available electricity delivery capacity; periodically reporting the real-time electricity price to the electricity consumers via a staggered reporting wherein subgroups of the electricity consumers are notified over a period of time sufficient to partially smooth rapid changes in current consumer electricity usage; delivering the available electricity to the electricity consumers; and monitoring actual electricity usage of each electricity consumer relative to the corresponding real-time electricity price. - View Dependent Claims (17, 18, 19, 20)
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Specification