Bidding for Energy Supply

Abstract

<heading lvl="0">Abstract of Disclosure< / heading> An auction service is provided that stimulates competition between energy suppliers (i.e., electric power or natural gas). A bidding moderator (Moderator) receives offers from competing suppliers specifying the economic terms each is willing to offer to end users for estimated quantities of electric power or gas supply (separate auctions). Each supplier receives feedback from the Moderator based on competitors offers and has the opportunity to adjust its own offers down or up, depending on whether it wants to encourage or discourage additional energy delivery commitments in a particular geographic area or to a particular customer group. Each supplier s offers can also be changed to reflect each supplier s capacity utilization. The Moderator selects at least two suppliers to provide energy to each end user, with each supplier providing a portion of the energy to be used by each end user at an end-user facility during a specific future time interval.

Description

Cross Reference to Related Applications[0001] This Application claims the benefit of the priority of Provisional Applications Serial # 60 / 039,041 filed February 24, 1997 and Serial # 60 / 064,421, filed October 30, 1997 andreturnFillreturnFill Application Serial # 09 / 023,968, filed February 13, 1998, now U.S. Pat. #6,047,274, issued April 4, 2000, and is a Continuation of co-pending Application Ser. #09 / 542,451, filed April 4, 2000.Background of Invention[0002] The electric power and natural gas industries will experience fundamental changes over the next few years as the results of continuing deregulation take hold. One of those results is to give end users a choice of energy providers. Until now, substantially all end users purchased the electric power or natural gas they needed from the local electric or gas utility serving their geographic area. Electric utilities have generally operated as vertically integrated local monopolies, producing or purchasing (on a wholesale basis), the...

AI Technical Summary

Benefits of technology

This system stimulates competition among providers, allows end users to make economic choices, and optimizes energy distribution by adjusting bids based on actual usage, leading to reduced energy costs and improved management of energy supply and demand.

Problems solved by technology

However, because of technological and regulatory changes, the provision of these sources of energy is becoming more of a commodity, with competition between providers expected to increase dramatically in the next few years.

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