Information processing device, information processing method and program

Abstract

To enable sales transaction of power stored in a storage battery in consideration of the amount of power stored in the storage battery.SOLUTION: An information processing device 1 is an information processing device for assisting in sales transaction of power stored in a storage battery in a power trading market including a supply-demand adjustment market in which power is sold and purchased to adjust power supply and demand and a wholesale power trading market in which wholesale power is sold and purchased. The information processing device 1 includes: a trading specifics determination unit 135 which determines specifics of a sales transaction in association with each of a plurality of time zones; a battery level determination unit 136 which determines a battery level of the storage battery in each time zone, the battery level changing as a result of execution of sales transaction of the determined contents; and a display processing unit 137 which displays a battery level image showing the battery level determined by the battery level determination unit 136 on a display part, and displays the specifics of the sales transaction and an operation image for receiving a bidding operation for performing a sales transaction with the specifics in association with the battery level image for a certain time zone on the display part.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 8

Description

[Technical Field]

[0001] The present invention relates to an information processing device, an information processing method, and a program for supporting the buying and selling of electricity stored in a storage battery. [Background technology]

[0002] There is known a technique for displaying a bidding screen for a user to input bidding conditions related to power (see, for example, Patent Document 1). [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0003] [Patent Document 1] Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2014-56530 Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0004] Since the amount of power stored in a battery changes over time, appropriate bidding conditions also change over time. When a user bids for power using a conventional bidding screen, it is difficult for the user to make an appropriate bid because the user cannot grasp the amount of power stored in the battery.

[0005] Therefore, the present invention has been made in consideration of these points, and aims to enable the buying and selling of electricity stored in a storage battery, taking into account the amount of electricity stored in the storage battery. [Means for solving the problem]

[0006] An information processing device according to a first aspect of the present invention is an information processing device for supporting the buying and selling of electricity to be stored in a storage battery in an electricity buying and selling market, which includes a supply and demand adjustment market where electricity is bought and sold to adjust electricity supply and demand, and a wholesale electricity trading market where wholesale electricity is bought and sold, and has a transaction content determination unit that determines the content of the buying and selling transaction in association with each of a plurality of time periods, a remaining amount determination unit that determines the remaining amount of the storage battery by time period, which changes as the buying and selling transaction of the determined content is conducted, and a display processing unit that displays a remaining amount image indicating the remaining amount determined by the remaining amount determination unit in chronological order on a display unit, and displays on the display unit the content of the buying and selling transaction and an operation image that accepts bidding operations to conduct the buying and selling transaction with that content, in association with the remaining amount image for any of the time periods.

[0007] The display processing unit may display, in chronological order, information indicating the type of the energy trading market in each time slot and the remaining amount image in each of a plurality of sub-time slots included in each time slot.

[0008] The display processing unit may display the operation image that accepts sell bid operations during the time period when transactions in the supply and demand adjustment market are set, and may display the operation image that accepts sell bid or buy bid operations during the time period when transactions in the wholesale electricity trading market are set.

[0009] The display processing unit may display the operation image for bidding on a time slot basis during a time slot for which transactions in the supply and demand adjustment market are set, and may display the operation image for bidding on a multiple sub-time slot basis included in the time slot during a time slot for which transactions in the wholesale electricity trading market are set.

[0010] The display processing unit may display the operation image during a time period in which transactions are set in the wholesale electricity trading market, and may not display the operation image during a time period in which transactions are set in the supply and demand adjustment market.

[0011] The display processing unit may, when a first location in a predetermined time period is selected, display the operation image for bidding in a plurality of sub-time periods included in the time period corresponding to the selected first location, and, when a second location closer to the remaining amount image than the first location is selected, display the operation image for bidding in the sub-time period corresponding to the remaining amount image corresponding to the selected second location.

[0012] The information processing device further has an operation reception unit that receives bidding operations, and when the operation reception unit receives a bidding operation in which the content of the sales transaction displayed by the display processing unit is changed, the remaining capacity determination unit may determine the remaining capacity of the storage battery based on the changed content of the sales transaction, and the display processing unit may display remaining capacity images in chronological order that indicate the new remaining capacity determined by the remaining capacity determination unit.

[0013] The information processing device may further have a profit calculation unit that calculates the amount of profit per day generated from the buying and selling transaction by subtracting the purchase costs required for the buying bid from the amount of profit generated from the selling bid, and the display processing unit may display the calculated amount of profit per day.

[0014] An information processing method according to a second aspect of the present invention is an information processing method executed by a computer for supporting the buying and selling of electricity to be stored in a storage battery in an electricity buying and selling market, which includes a supply and demand adjustment market where electricity is bought and sold to adjust electricity supply and demand, and a wholesale electricity trading market where wholesale electricity is bought and sold, and includes a transaction content determination step for determining the content of the buying and selling transaction in association with each of a plurality of time periods, a remaining amount determination step for determining the remaining amount of the storage battery for each time period, which changes as the buying and selling transaction of the determined content is conducted, and a display processing step for displaying a remaining amount image showing the remaining amount determined in the remaining amount determination step in chronological order, and associating the remaining amount image for one of the time periods with the content of the buying and selling transaction and an operation image for accepting bidding operations to conduct the buying and selling transaction with that content on a display unit.

[0015] A program according to a third aspect of the present invention causes a processor of an information processing device for supporting the buying and selling of electricity to be stored in a storage battery in an electricity trading market, including a supply and demand adjustment market where electricity is bought and sold to adjust electricity supply and demand, and a wholesale electricity trading market where wholesale electricity is bought and sold, to function as: a transaction content determination unit that determines the content of the buying and selling transaction by associating it with each of a plurality of time periods; a remaining capacity identification unit that identifies the remaining capacity of the storage battery by time period, which changes as the buying and selling transaction of the determined content is conducted; and a display processing unit that displays remaining capacity images indicating the remaining capacity identified by the remaining capacity identification unit in chronological order, and associates the content of the buying and selling transaction with the remaining capacity image for any of the time periods, and displays on a display unit an operation image that accepts bidding operations to conduct the buying and selling transaction with that content. [Effects of the Invention]

[0016] According to the present invention, it is possible to carry out buying and selling transactions of electricity stored in a storage battery, taking into consideration the amount of electricity stored in the storage battery. [Brief explanation of the drawings]

[0017] [Figure 1] FIG. 1 is a diagram showing an overview of electricity transactions between an electric power company E and each market. [Figure 2] FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating an outline of the operation of the information processing system S. [Figure 3] FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating an example of a configuration related to a trading plan creation function of the information processing device 1. [Figure 4] FIG. 10 is a diagram illustrating an example of business operator data. [Figure 5A] FIG. 10 is a diagram showing the first half of a graph showing the transition of the amount of stored power. [Figure 5B] FIG. 10 is a diagram showing the second half of a graph showing the transition of the amount of stored power. [Figure 6] 10 is a flowchart showing the flow of a transaction plan creation process. [Figure 7] 1 is a graph showing an example of a supply and demand curve in a bidding. [Figure 8] 2 is a diagram illustrating an example of a configuration related to a bidding operation support function of the information processing device 1. FIG. [Figure 9] FIG. 10 is a diagram showing an example of a display when bidding for electricity is conducted on a graph showing the transition of the amount of stored electricity. [Figure 10A] FIG. 10 is a diagram showing an example of a display when bidding for power in block units is conducted on a graph showing the transition of the amount of stored power. [Figure 10B] FIG. 10 is a diagram showing an example of a display when bidding for electricity in units of frames is conducted on a graph showing the transition of the amount of stored electricity. [Figure 11] 10 is a flowchart showing the flow of a bidding operation support process. [Figure 12] 2 is a diagram showing an example of the configuration of an information terminal 2. FIG. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0018] [Outline of Information Processing System S] An overview of an information processing system S according to this embodiment will be described using Figures 1 and 2. In recent years, power generation using renewable energy such as solar power and wind power has been attracting attention. However, power generation using renewable energy fluctuates in amount depending on weather, etc., making it difficult to provide a stable power supply. Therefore, power supply using a grid storage battery has been attracting attention. A grid storage battery is a storage battery connected to a grid (power transmission and distribution network). By using a grid storage battery, it is possible to store power generated by solar power generation or wind power generation.

[0019] Incidentally, the wholesale electricity trading market and the supply and demand balancing market are typical electricity trading markets where electric power companies that supply electricity to general electricity transmission and distribution companies and the like can buy and sell electricity. Figure 1 is a diagram showing an overview of electricity trading between electric power company E and each market. The wholesale electricity trading market (JPEX) is a market where wholesale electricity is bought and sold. As shown in Figure 1, electric power company E can buy or sell electricity in the wholesale electricity trading market. The supply and demand balancing market is a market where electricity is bought and sold to balance the supply and demand of electricity. As shown in Figure 1, electric power company E can sell electricity in the supply and demand balancing market.

[0020] In addition to the variable income earned by actually selling electricity in the balancing market, fixed income is also earned by simply reserving to sell electricity. For this reason, it is generally more profitable for Power Provider E to sell electricity in the balancing market than to sell electricity in the wholesale electricity trading market. Therefore, when selling electricity, priority is given to selling electricity in the balancing market.

[0021] However, if, after making a contract in the balancing market, power supplier E receives an activation command from the balancing market that includes an instruction to supply electricity, but is unable to supply the amount of electricity specified in the activation command, a penalty may be imposed on power supplier E. Therefore, it is necessary to make appropriate plans regarding the amount of electricity to be procured in the wholesale electricity trading market and at what time periods, and at what time periods to make a contract in the balancing market.

[0022] Therefore, the information processing system S according to this embodiment provides a function of supporting the improvement of the profitability of the electric power supplier E. Specifically, the information processing system S provides a function of creating an electricity trading plan (trading plan creation function) for improving the profitability of the electric power supplier E in the electricity trading market, and a function of supporting the electric power supplier E in making a bid for electricity by referring to the created trading plan (bidding operation support function).

[0023] FIG. 2 is a diagram showing an overview of the operation of the information processing system S. The information processing system S includes an information processing device 1 and an information terminal 2. The information processing device 1 is a computer such as a server that provides a trading plan creation function and a bidding operation support function. The information terminal 2 is an information terminal used by the electric power company E. The information processing device 1 and the information terminal 2 are capable of communicating with each other.

[0024] First, the information terminal 2 transmits a business operator ID for identifying the power business operator E to the information processing device 1. The information processing device 1 references business operator data that associates the business operator ID with the storage capacity, which is the maximum amount of power that can be stored in a storage battery, and the remaining amount of power at the end of the previous day, and creates a trading plan for buying and selling electricity based on the storage capacity and remaining amount of power corresponding to the received business operator ID, and transmits the created trading plan to the information terminal 2. The power business operator E performs an operation to instruct a bid for electricity from a screen showing the trading plan received by the information terminal 2. Then, the information terminal 2 transmits information indicating a bid instruction to the information processing device 1, whereby a bid for electricity is made. Below, the trading plan creation function and the bidding operation support function will be described in detail.

[0025] <Trading plan creation function> [Processing Overview] The electricity trading plan indicates the details of the transaction for each time slot. As an example, a day is divided into eight time slots of three hours each, and in this specification, each time slot is referred to as a block. For each of the eight blocks, the information processing device 1 determines whether to purchase electricity in the wholesale electricity trading market, sell electricity in the wholesale electricity trading market, enter into a contract with the balancing market, or wait without trading electricity. The information processing device 1 makes this determination, for example, the day before the electricity trading transaction, using the predicted electricity unit price for the day of the electricity trading transaction. Entering into a contract with the balancing market means deciding to sell electricity in the balancing market. The configuration and operation of the information processing device 1 will be described in detail below.

[0026] [Configuration and Operation of Information Processing Device 1] The following describes the configuration of the information processing device 1. Fig. 3 is a diagram showing an example of the configuration related to the trading plan creation function of the information processing device 1. The information processing device 1 includes a device communication unit 11, a storage unit 12, and a control unit 13. The control unit 13 includes a first determination unit 131, a second determination unit 132, a third determination unit 133, a fourth determination unit 134, a remaining amount identification unit 136, and a display processing unit 137.

[0027] The device communication unit 11 is a communication interface for communicating with the information terminal 2 via a communication network such as the Internet. The device communication unit 11 inputs the business operator ID received from the information terminal 2 to the first determination unit 131. The device communication unit 11 also transmits data indicating the trading plan for buying and selling electricity input from the display processing unit 137 to the information terminal 2.

[0028] The storage unit 12 is a storage medium including a ROM (Read Only Memory), a RAM (Random Access Memory), etc. The storage unit 12 stores a program executed by the control unit 13. For example, the storage unit 12 stores an information processing program that causes the control unit 13 to function as a first determination unit 131, a second determination unit 132, a third determination unit 133, a fourth determination unit 134, a remaining amount specifying unit 136, and a display processing unit 137. The storage unit 12 stores business operator data.

[0029] FIG. 4 is a diagram showing an example of business operator data. In the business operator data, business operator identification information (business operator ID), storage capacity, remaining storage amount the day before, priority electricity market, releaseable energy amount, and maximum activation command response amount are associated with each other. The business operator ID is an ID for identifying the power business operator E that buys and sells electricity. The storage capacity is the maximum amount of electricity that can be stored in the storage battery. The remaining storage amount the day before is the remaining amount of electricity in the storage battery at the end of the day before the day to which the first time slot belongs (= the day before the electricity buying and selling transaction). The priority electricity market is an electricity market where electricity buying and selling should be carried out on a priority basis.

[0030] One time period (one block) equivalent to three hours is further divided into, for example, six sub-time periods (frames). The releasable amount of power is the maximum amount of power that power company E can release per frame. The maximum activation command response amount is the maximum amount of power that power company E can release per block in response to a power activation command. The maximum activation command response amount can be calculated by multiplying the releasable amount of power per frame by the number of frames per block. For example, if the releasable amount of power is 500 kWh and one block has six frames, the maximum activation command response amount is 500 kWh x 6 = 3,000 kWh.

[0031] The control unit 13 is, for example, a CPU (Central Processing Unit). The control unit 13 executes an information processing program stored in the storage unit 12, thereby functioning as a first determination unit 131, a second determination unit 132, a third determination unit 133, a fourth determination unit 134, a remaining amount specifying unit 136, and a display processing unit 137.

[0032] The first determination unit 131, the second determination unit 132, the third determination unit 133, and the fourth determination unit 134 determine the type of energy trading market for each time slot, for example, on the day before the energy trading. Furthermore, the remaining capacity specifying unit 136 specifies the remaining capacity of the storage battery for each of a plurality of time slots, for example, on the day before the energy trading. As a result, a graph showing the transition of the stored energy amount shown in FIG. 5 is created.

[0033] FIG. 5A shows the first half (0:00 to 12:00) of a graph showing the transition of the amount of stored energy. FIG. 5B shows the second half (12:00 to 24:00) of a graph showing the transition of the amount of stored energy. The amount of stored energy (kWh) on the vertical axis indicates the remaining capacity of the storage battery. On the horizontal axis, blocks correspond to time periods, and frames correspond to sub-time periods. On the horizontal axis, role indicates the type of energy trading market in each block, and trading market indicates the market in which energy trading takes place. On the horizontal axis, bidding date indicates the timing when bidding for energy buying and selling transactions is held. Details of this timing will be explained in the section on bidding operation support function.

[0034] The first determination unit 131 determines the amount of power to be purchased in the wholesale electricity trading market during the first time slot until the amount of power stored in the storage battery reaches a predetermined value required for contracting with the supply and demand balancing market. The first determination unit 131 may, for example, determine the amount of power required to reach the capacity of the storage battery (i.e., the amount of power required for full charging) as the amount of power to be purchased. Note that the first time slot is, for example, the first time slot of a day, but may also be a time slot after the first time slot.

[0035] The first determination unit 131 may determine the amount of power to be purchased based on the capacity of the storage battery and the remaining amount of power in the storage battery at the end of the previous day. Specifically, the first determination unit 131 may determine, as the amount of power to be purchased during the first time slot, the amount of power obtained by subtracting the remaining amount of power stored the previous day corresponding to the business operator ID received by the device communication unit 11 in the business operator data (see FIG. 4) from the storage capacity corresponding to the business operator ID received by the device communication unit 11 in the business operator data. This allows each power business operator E to purchase an amount of power that is appropriate for itself.

[0036] Specifically, in the first block in the example of Figure 5A, the first determination unit 131 determines the amount of electricity to be purchased for each frame in the first block by allocating to each frame 3,000 kWh, which is the amount of electricity to be purchased to increase from the previous day's remaining storage amount of 1,000 kWh to the storage capacity of 4,000 kWh.

[0037] The second determination unit 132 determines whether to sell electricity in the balancing market or the wholesale electricity trading market in the second time slot, based on the result of comparing the predicted purchase price corresponding to the amount of electricity to be purchased in the first time slot with the expected amount of profit to be obtained by selling the amount of electricity to be purchased in the balancing market or the wholesale electricity trading market in a second time slot that is after the first time slot. The second determination unit 132 calculates the predicted purchase price, for example, by multiplying the amount of electricity to be purchased by the expected electricity price at the time of purchasing the amount of electricity.

[0038] The second determination unit 132 calculates the expected amount of revenue when selling electricity in the wholesale electricity trading market, for example, by multiplying the amount of purchased electricity by the expected electricity price at the time of selling the amount of purchased electricity. Also, the second determination unit 132 calculates the expected amount of revenue when selling electricity in the supply and demand balancing market, for example, by adding up the fixed revenue obtained by reserving the sale of electricity in the supply and demand balancing market and the variable revenue calculated by multiplying the expected electricity price at the time of selling the amount of purchased electricity by the amount of purchased electricity.

[0039] As will be explained later in the overview of the bidding operation support function, in an electricity buying and selling transaction, the contract unit price, which is the unit price at which electricity is actually bought and sold, is determined based on the supply and demand balance between selling bids and buying bids. Therefore, the bid unit price, which is the electricity unit price at the time of bidding, may differ from the contract unit price. The expected electricity unit price is, for example, the expected contract unit price. The expected contract unit price is, for example, the average value of past contract unit prices for the same time period.

[0040] For example, the second decision unit 132 decides to sell the electricity when it determines that the expected amount of profit to be obtained by selling the amount of electricity purchased in the first time slot in the balancing market or the wholesale electricity trading market in the second time slot is greater than the predicted purchase amount corresponding to the amount of electricity purchased in the first time slot. This allows the electricity supplier E to sell the electricity when profits are expected from selling the electricity, thereby increasing profitability.

[0041] On the other hand, when the second decision unit 132 determines that the expected amount of profit to be obtained by selling the amount of electricity purchased in the first time slot in the balancing market or the wholesale electricity trading market in the second time slot is equal to or less than the predicted purchase amount corresponding to the amount of electricity purchased in the first time slot, the second decision unit 132 decides to wait without selling electricity in the second time slot. This allows the electric power supplier E to wait without selling electricity if no profit is expected from selling electricity, thereby enabling the electric power supplier E to sell electricity at a time when profit is expected.

[0042] As described above, the expected profit from selling electricity in the balancing market includes fixed income, so selling electricity in the balancing market generally results in higher profitability than selling electricity in the wholesale electricity trading market. Therefore, as described below, the second determination unit 132 may first determine whether or not to sell electricity in the balancing market, and then determine whether or not to sell electricity in the wholesale electricity trading market.

[0043] The second determination unit 132 determines to sell the electricity in the balancing market when it determines, on the day before the day to which the first time slot belongs, that the expected amount of profit to be obtained by selling the amount of electricity purchased in the first time slot in the balancing market in the second time slot is greater than the forecast purchase price corresponding to the amount of electricity purchased in the first time slot. Specifically, in the example of Fig. 5A , the second determination unit 132 determines that the expected amount of profit to be obtained by selling 3,000 kWh, which is the amount of electricity purchased in the first block, in the balancing market in the second block is greater than the forecast purchase price corresponding to 3,000 kWh, which is the amount of electricity purchased in the first block, and determines to sell the electricity in the balancing market in the second block.

[0044] The second decision unit 132 decides to sell electricity in the wholesale electricity trading market if it determines, on the day before the day to which the first time slot belongs, that the expected amount of profit to be obtained by selling the amount of electricity purchased in the first time slot in the supply and demand adjustment market in the second time slot is less than the forecast purchase amount corresponding to the amount of electricity purchased in the first time slot, and that the expected amount of profit to be obtained by selling the amount of electricity purchased in the second time slot in the wholesale electricity trading market is greater than the forecast purchase amount.

[0045] In this way, the second decision unit 132 determines preferentially whether or not to sell the electricity in the balancing market. Then, when it is determined that the electricity should not be sold in the balancing market because selling the electricity in the balancing market is not expected to bring in profits, the second decision unit 132 determines whether or not to sell the electricity in the wholesale electricity trading market. This allows the electricity supplier E to preferentially sell the electricity in the balancing market, which is more profitable.

[0046] However, in some cases, selling electricity in the wholesale electricity trading market may be expected to result in higher profits than selling electricity in the balancing market. Therefore, the second decision unit 132 may compare the profit amount when selling electricity in the wholesale electricity trading market with the profit amount when selling electricity in the balancing market, and determine to sell electricity in the market where the profit amount is positive and larger. This allows electricity supplier E to sell electricity in the market where it is expected to result in higher profits.

[0047] Note that, depending on the power supplier E, it may be decided in advance whether to sell power preferentially in the balancing market or the wholesale power trading market. In this case, when the second decision unit 132 determines that the expected amount of profit to be obtained by selling the amount of power purchased in the first time slot in the balancing market or the wholesale power trading market in the second time slot is greater than the predicted purchase amount corresponding to the amount of power purchased in the first time slot, the second decision unit 132 decides to sell power in the priority power market corresponding to the provider ID received by the device communication unit 11 in the provider data (see FIG. 4). This allows the power supplier E to sell power in the desired power market.

[0048] When selling electricity in the wholesale electricity trading market, the second determination unit 132 may determine, as the amount of electricity to be sold in the second time slot, an amount of electricity that is not less than the amount of electricity that can be charged until the storage battery reaches its capacity in the next third time slot. When selling electricity in the supply and demand balancing market, the second determination unit 132 may determine, as the amount of electricity to be sold in the second time slot, an amount of electricity that is obtained by multiplying the maximum activation command response amount that corresponds to the business operator ID received by the device communication unit 11 in the business operator data (see FIG. 4) by an expected activation command rate (for example, 20%).

[0049] However, if electric power utility E receives an activation command for power that exceeds the maximum activation command response amount in the time slot following the time slot in which it sold electric power, electric power utility E may not be able to respond to the activation command in the next time slot. If electric power utility E is unable to respond to the activation command, a fine may be imposed and the credibility of electric power utility E may also be reduced. For this reason, as described below, the second determination unit 132 may determine whether to sell electric power in the second time slot based on whether the electric power utility E can respond to the maximum activation command response amount in the third time slot if it sells electric power in the second time slot.

[0050] That is, the second decision unit 132 may determine whether to sell power in the second time slot based on a result of comparing the remaining amount of power in the storage battery when power is sold in the second time slot with the maximum activation command response amount in a third time slot that follows the second time slot. The second decision unit 132 may determine whether to sell power in the second time slot based on a result of comparing, for example, the amount of power in the storage battery at the end of the second time slot, which is calculated by subtracting the amount of power to be sold if it is decided to sell power in the second time slot from the amount of power in the storage battery at the start of the second time slot, with the maximum activation command response amount that corresponds to the provider ID received by the device communication unit 11 in the provider data (see FIG. 4).

[0051] If the second decision unit 132 determines that the maximum activation command response amount in the third time slot is smaller than the remaining amount of power in the storage battery when selling power in the second time slot, it decides to sell power in the second time slot. On the other hand, if the second decision unit 132 determines that the maximum activation command response amount in the third time slot is equal to or greater than the remaining amount of power in the storage battery when selling power in the second time slot, it sets the second time slot as an additional procurement frame for additionally procuring power.

[0052] The second determination unit 132 may determine the amount of electricity required to reach the storage capacity corresponding to the provider ID received by the device communication unit 11 in the provider data (see Figure 4) as the amount of electricity to be purchased and procured in the second time period.

[0053] In this way, the second decision unit 132 decides to sell electricity during the second time slot if there is a remaining amount of electricity that can handle the maximum activation command response amount during the third time slot at the end of the second time slot, thereby preventing the occurrence of a situation in which the power company E is unable to respond to the activation command during the third time slot. As a result, it is possible to prevent the imposition of fines and a decline in the credibility of the power company E.

[0054] If power is sold in the second time slot, the third time slot after the second time slot will, in principle, be an additional procurement frame for additional power procurement. That is, if the third determination unit 133 determines to sell power in the second time slot, it determines that the third time slot after the second time slot will be an additional procurement frame for additional power procurement. Specifically, in the example of FIG. 5A , if the third determination unit 133 determines to sell power in the second block, it determines that the third block following the second block will be an additional procurement frame for additional power procurement. In this way, by the third determination unit 133 determining that the third time slot after the second time slot will be an additional power procurement frame, power utility E can prepare for the next activation command by procuring additional power in the third time slot, even if the remaining amount of power becomes low after selling power in the second time slot.

[0055] However, as an exception, if there is still surplus power remaining at the end of the second time slot, the third decision unit 133 may decide to sell power in the third time slot as well. That is, if the second decision unit 132 decides to sell power in the second time slot and the remaining power in the storage battery at the end of the second time slot is equal to or greater than the maximum activation command response amount in the third time slot that follows the second time slot, the third decision unit 133 decides to sell power in the third time slot. This allows power company E to continue selling power in the following third time slot if there is still surplus power remaining even after selling power in the second time slot, thereby increasing profitability.

[0056] In addition, the third decision unit 133 may, for example, execute the exception processing described in the previous paragraph when the second decision unit 132 decides to sell electricity in the supply and demand adjustment market during the second time slot, and may, in principle, set the third time slot as an additional electricity procurement quota when the second decision unit 132 decides to sell electricity in the wholesale electricity trading market during the second time slot.

[0057] The third determination unit 133 can determine the amount of power to be sold or purchased in the third time slot in the same manner as the second determination unit 132.

[0058] The fourth determination unit 134 determines to sell the power stored in the storage battery during the last time slot of the same day as the first time slot, within a range that does not fall below the minimum charge amount that can be charged until the storage battery reaches its capacity during the first time slot of the following day. For example, the fourth determination unit 134 determines to sell the power stored in the storage battery during the last time slot of the same day as the first time slot or the time slot just before the last time slot, within a range that does not fall below the minimum charge amount calculated by subtracting the upper limit of the amount of power that can be charged during one time slot from the storage capacity corresponding to the provider ID received by the device communication unit 11 in the provider data (see FIG. 4).

[0059] 5B, the fourth determination unit 134 determines to sell power in the seventh block within a range not below 1,000 kWh, which is the minimum charge amount calculated by subtracting 3,000 kWh, which is the upper limit of the amount of power that can be charged in one block, from the storage capacity of 4,000 kWh. In this way, by the fourth determination unit 134 determining to sell power stored in the storage battery within a range not below the minimum charge amount, power company E can reliably fully charge the battery in the first time slot of the next day, thereby preventing a situation from occurring in which it is unable to respond to an activation command in the second time slot of the next day.

[0060] If the power company E can fully charge the storage battery from a state where the amount of power is 0 during the first time slot of the next day, or if the power company E does not wish to charge the storage battery to its capacity during the first time slot of the next day, the fourth determination unit 134 may decide to sell all of the power stored in the storage battery during the last time slot of the same day as the first time slot. This allows the power company E to further increase its profitability on the day that includes the last time slot.

[0061] After determining the type of energy trading market for each time slot, the first determination unit 131, the second determination unit 132, the third determination unit 133, and the fourth determination unit 134 may determine the amount of energy to be traded in each of a plurality of sub-time slots included in each time slot. For example, the first determination unit 131, the second determination unit 132, the third determination unit 133, and the fourth determination unit 134 may divide the amount of energy determined to be traded in each time slot by the number of a plurality of sub-time slots included in each time slot, and determine the amount of energy to be traded in each sub-time slot as a value.

[0062] For example, the first determination unit 131, the second determination unit 132, the third determination unit 133, and the fourth determination unit 134 may divide the amount of electricity determined to be traded in each time slot by 2, and determine the amount of electricity to be traded in each of the first sub-time slot in the first half of each time slot and the first sub-time slot in the second half of each time slot. As an example, if the second determination unit 132 determines to sell 600 kWh of electricity in the balancing market in the second time slot, the second determination unit 132 may sell 300 kWh of electricity in the first sub-time slot in the second time slot, and sell the remaining 300 kWh of electricity in the fourth sub-time slot in the second time slot.

[0063] The remaining capacity specifying unit 136 specifies the remaining capacity of the storage battery for each of the plurality of time slots based on the amount of power to be bought and sold in each of the plurality of determined time slots. The remaining capacity specifying unit 136 may also specify the remaining capacity of the storage battery for each of the plurality of sub-time slots based on the amount of power to be bought and sold in each of the plurality of determined sub-time slots. The remaining capacity specifying unit 136 may specify the remaining capacity of the storage battery for the current sub-time slot, for example, by adding or subtracting the amount of power determined to be bought and sold in the current sub-time slot to the remaining capacity of the storage battery at the end of the previous sub-time slot.

[0064] The display processing unit 137 displays, on the display unit of the information terminal 2, a graph (not shown) showing the transition of the amount of stored energy, including the type of energy trading market for each time slot determined by the first determination unit 131, the second determination unit 132, the third determination unit 133, and the fourth determination unit 134, and a remaining amount image showing the remaining amount of the storage battery for each time slot specified by the remaining amount specifying unit 136. By referring to the graph showing the transition of the amount of stored energy on the day before the energy purchase and sale transaction, the power company E can grasp the type of energy trading market and the remaining amount of the storage battery for each time slot on the following day.

[0065] Furthermore, the display processing unit 137 may, for example, display on the display unit of the information terminal 2 a graph showing the transition of the amount of stored energy, including the type of energy trading market in each time slot and a remaining amount image showing the remaining amount of the storage battery in each sub-time slot identified by the remaining amount identifying unit 136. By referring to the graph showing the transition of the amount of stored energy on the day before the energy purchase and sale transaction, the power company E can grasp the type of energy trading market in each time slot on the following day and the remaining amount of the storage battery in each sub-time slot on the following day.

[0066] [Processing flow in information processing device 1] The flow of the trading plan creation process executed by the information processing device 1 will be described. Fig. 6 is a flowchart showing the flow of the trading plan creation process. Note that this flowchart shows the determination process regarding the buying and selling of electricity, which is part of the trading plan creation process.

[0067] The first determination unit 131 sets the first block as a procurement quota for procuring power (S1), and determines the amount of power to be purchased in the wholesale power trading market.

[0068] The second determination unit 132 determines whether the expected revenue to be obtained by selling the amount of electricity purchased in the previous procurement limit in the current block is greater than the predicted purchase amount (previous procurement cost) corresponding to the amount of electricity purchased in the previous procurement limit (S2).

[0069] If the second determination unit 132 determines that the expected profit amount of the current block is equal to or less than the most recent procurement cost (S2: NO), the second determination unit 132 sets the current block as a standby slot in which power is not sold (S3). Then, the second determination unit 132 executes the process of step S2 again for the next block.

[0070] On the other hand, if the second decision unit 132 determines that the expected profit amount of the current block is greater than the most recent procurement cost (S2: YES), the second decision unit 132 decides to sell the power in the current block (S4).

[0071] Next, the third determination unit 133 determines whether or not the remaining amount of power in the storage battery at the end of the previous block is equal to or greater than the maximum activation command corresponding amount of the current block (S5).

[0072] If the third determination unit 133 determines that the remaining amount of power at the end of the previous block is smaller than the maximum activation command corresponding amount of the current block (S5: NO), the third determination unit 133 sets the current block as the additional procurement quota (S6). Note that if the second determination unit 132 has decided to sell power in the wholesale power trading market in step S4, the third determination unit 133 may set the current block as the additional procurement quota regardless of the determination result in step S5. Then, the third determination unit 133 executes the process of step S2 again for the next block.

[0073] On the other hand, if the third decision unit 133 determines that the remaining amount of electricity at the end of the previous block is equal to or greater than the maximum activation command response amount of the current block (S5: YES), the third decision unit 133 decides to sell electricity in the current block (S7).

[0074] Next, the fourth determination unit 134 determines whether the current block is the last slot of the day (S8). If the fourth determination unit 134 determines that the current block is not the last slot (S8: NO), the process returns to S5.

[0075] On the other hand, if the fourth determination unit 134 determines that the current block is the final slot (S8: YES), the fourth determination unit 134 determines whether the expected revenue to be obtained by selling the amount of electricity purchased in the previous procurement slot in the final block is greater than the predicted purchase amount (the previous procurement cost) corresponding to the amount of electricity purchased in the previous procurement slot (S9).

[0076] When the fourth determination unit 134 determines that the expected profit amount of the final block is equal to or less than the immediately preceding procurement cost (S9: NO), the fourth determination unit 134 sets the final block as a waiting frame (S10).

[0077] On the other hand, if the fourth determination unit 134 determines that the expected profit amount of the final block is greater than the immediately preceding procurement cost (S9: YES), the fourth determination unit 134 determines to sell power in the final block (S11).

[0078] [Effects of information processing device 1] As described above, the information processing device 1 can determine the type of energy trading market for each time slot on the day before an energy trading transaction. As a result, the energy supplier E can save the time and effort required to decide what type of energy trading to conduct on the following day. Furthermore, as described above, the decision made by the information processing device 1 is to sell energy when profits are expected, and to wait without selling energy when profits are not expected. This allows the energy supplier E to earn greater profits from energy trading.

[0079] Furthermore, the information processing device 1 may cause the display unit of the information terminal 2 to display a graph showing the transition of the amount of stored energy, including the type of energy trading market in each time slot and a remaining amount image showing the remaining amount in each time slot identified by the remaining amount identifying unit 136. By referring to the graph showing the transition of the amount of stored energy on the day before the energy purchase and sale transaction, the energy business operator E can grasp the type of energy trading market and the remaining amount of the storage battery in each time slot on the following day.

[0080] <Bidding operation support function> [Processing Overview] Power company E can buy and sell electricity through bidding. When bidding, all bids are first divided into sell bids and buy bids. Figure 7 is a graph showing an example of a supply and demand curve in bidding, with the horizontal axis representing the bid volume (MW: megawatts) and the vertical axis representing the bid price (yen / kWh). The graph showing sell bids is an upward sloping graph, with the bid volume increasing from low bid prices to high bid prices. Conversely, the graph showing buy bids is a downward sloping graph, with the bid volume decreasing from high bid prices to low bid prices. The intersection point P of the graph showing sell bids and the graph showing buy bids is the contracted unit price and contracted volume.

[0081] In the past, when making such an electricity bid, power company E had to check the type of electricity trading market for each time slot on the following day, and then input the type of electricity bid (selling bid or buying bid), bid quantity, and bid price for that time slot on a dedicated bidding screen for processing the bid. This required a great deal of time and effort for the bidding process.

[0082] Therefore, the information processing device 1 enables the power company E to bid for electricity while viewing a graph showing the trading plan created by the trading plan creation function. The information processing device 1, for example, causes remaining charge images showing the remaining charge of the storage battery to be displayed in chronological order on the display unit of the information terminal 2, and also causes the display unit of the information terminal 2 to display, in association with the remaining charge image for any time period, the details of the buying and selling transaction (bid type, bid amount, and bid unit price) and an operation image for accepting bidding operations to conduct the buying and selling transaction with those details.

[0083] This allows the power supplier E to place bids for electricity on a screen that displays a graph showing a trading plan for electricity buying and selling, eliminating the need to open a separate bidding screen specifically for bidding processing. As a result, the power supplier E can efficiently process bids for electricity. The configuration and operation of the information processing device 1 will be described in detail below.

[0084] [Configuration and Operation of Information Processing Device 1] The configuration of the information processing device 1 will be described. Fig. 8 is a diagram showing an example of the configuration related to the bidding operation support function of the information processing device 1. The information processing device 1 includes a device communication unit 11, a storage unit 12, and a control unit 13. The control unit 13 differs from the configuration related to the bidding operation support function of the information processing device 1 shown in Fig. 3 in that it further includes a transaction content determination unit 135, an operation reception unit 138, and a profit amount calculation unit 139. The transaction content determination unit 135 includes the first determination unit 131, the second determination unit 132, the third determination unit 133, and the fourth determination unit 134 shown in Fig. 3.

[0085] 3, the device communication unit 11 is a communication interface for communicating with the information terminal 2 via a communication network such as the Internet. The device communication unit 11 inputs information indicating a bidding instruction received from the information terminal 2 to the operation reception unit 138. The device communication unit 11 also transmits data indicating the updated trading plan for electricity buying and selling input from the display processing unit 137 to the information terminal 2.

[0086] The storage unit 12 stores an information processing program that causes the control unit 13 to further function as a transaction content determination unit 135, an operation acceptance unit 138, and a profit amount calculation unit 139.

[0087] The control unit 13 executes the information processing program stored in the storage unit 12, thereby further functioning as a transaction content determination unit 135, an operation reception unit 138, and a profit amount calculation unit 139.

[0088] The transaction content determination unit 135 determines the content of the buying and selling transaction of electricity to be stored in the storage battery in association with each of the multiple time periods. For example, by the method described in the section on the trading plan creation function, the transaction content determination unit 135 determines the type of electricity trading market, the bid type indicating whether electricity will be bought or sold, the bid amount indicating the amount of electricity to be bought or sold, and the bid price indicating the expected electricity unit price as the content of the electricity buying and selling transaction in association with each of the multiple time periods.

[0089] The remaining capacity specifying unit 136 specifies the remaining capacity of the storage battery for each time period, which changes as a result of the determined buying and selling transaction being carried out. The remaining capacity specifying unit 136 specifies the remaining capacity of the storage battery for the current time period, for example, by adding or subtracting the bid amount for the current time period determined by the transaction content determining unit 135 to the remaining capacity of the storage battery at the end of the previous time period.

[0090] The display processing unit 137 displays remaining amount images indicating the remaining amount identified by the remaining amount identifying unit 136 in chronological order on the display unit of the information terminal 2. The display processing unit 137 displays, for example, information indicating the type of energy trading market in each time slot and remaining amount images for each of a plurality of sub-time slots included in each time slot in chronological order. The display processing unit 137 may display the remaining amount images as a bar graph indicating the remaining amount images.

[0091] The display processing unit 137 displays on the display unit of the information terminal 2 the details of the purchase and sale transaction of the electricity to be stored in the storage battery and an operation image for accepting bidding operations to conduct the purchase and sale transaction with the details, in association with the remaining amount image for any time period.

[0092] 9 is a diagram showing an example of a screen on which a bid for electricity can be made on a graph showing the transition of the amount of stored electricity. The display processing unit 137 displays a bar graph showing the type of electricity trading market in each block and the remaining amount of storage battery power in each frame. The display processing unit 137 also displays, above the bar graph being selected by the person in charge of the electric power company E, the time period of the buying and selling transaction, the type of buying and selling transaction, the bid amount, and the bid price determined by the transaction content determination unit 135, and an operation image I for accepting bidding operations. The display processing unit 137 may also, for example, mark the bar graph corresponding to the current time (3:00 in FIG. 9) and display the bar graph up to the current time and the bar graph after the current time in different modes.

[0093] By selecting operation image I, the person in charge at power company E can place a bid for electricity using the displayed details of the buying and selling transaction. By allowing the person in charge to place a bid for electricity on a screen that displays a graph showing the electricity buying and selling transaction plan, the person in charge does not need to open a separate bidding screen dedicated to processing the bid. As a result, power company E can process the bid for electricity efficiently.

[0094] 1, the electric power supplier E can sell electric power in the balancing market, and can also buy or sell electric power in the wholesale electric power trading market. Therefore, the display processing unit 137 displays, for example, an operation image I for accepting a sell bid operation during a time period when trading is set in the balancing market, and an operation image I for accepting a sell bid operation or a buy bid operation during a time period when trading is set in the wholesale electric power trading market.

[0095] For example, the display processing unit 137 may display "sell" as the bid type when a bar graph showing the remaining amount of charge in the storage battery during a time period when a transaction in the balancing market is set is selected, and may display "sell" or "buy" as the bid type when a bar graph showing the remaining amount of charge in the storage battery during a time period when a transaction in the wholesale electricity trading market is set is selected. This makes it possible to prevent power company E from mistakenly making a buy bid during a time period when a transaction in the balancing market is set, when a sell bid should be made.

[0096] In the supply and demand balancing market, it is stipulated that transactions be conducted in units of time slots (blocks). Therefore, the display processing unit 137 displays, for example, an operation image I for bidding in units of time slots during a time slot in which transactions in the supply and demand balancing market are set. For example, when a bar graph indicating the remaining capacity of a storage battery in the supply and demand balancing market contract frame in which transactions in the supply and demand balancing market are conducted is selected, the display processing unit 137 displays the operation image I for bidding in units of time slots.

[0097] On the other hand, in the wholesale electricity trading market, trading may be conducted in units of sub-time slots (frames). For this reason, for example, in a time slot in which trading is set in the wholesale electricity trading market, the display processing unit 137 displays an operation image I for bidding in units of multiple sub-time slots included in the time slot. For example, when a bar graph showing the remaining amount of storage battery power in a procurement quota, additional procurement quota, or power selling quota in which trading is conducted in the wholesale electricity trading market is selected, the display processing unit 137 displays an operation image I for bidding in units of sub-time slots.

[0098] When bidding is performed on a sub-time slot basis, the person in charge at electric power company E may find it troublesome to submit bids for each of the multiple sub-time slots included in one time slot. For this reason, when a first position in a predetermined time slot is selected, for example, display processing unit 137 displays operation image I for submitting bids for the multiple sub-time slots included in the time slot corresponding to the selected first position.

[0099] 10A is a diagram showing an example of a screen on which bids for power can be made in block units on a graph showing the transition of the amount of stored power. As shown in FIG. 10A, for example, when a first position, which is an area other than the area of ​​the bar graphs for the first frame through the sixth frame in the area of ​​the first block, is selected with the cursor, the display processing unit 137 displays the content of the buying and selling transaction and an operation image I including the character string "Bid all at once." By selecting the operation image I, a person in charge of the power company E can bid all at once for the first frame through the sixth frame in the first block.

[0100] On the other hand, there may be cases where the person in charge of electric power company E wants to make a bid while checking the details of the buying and selling transactions for each sub-time period one by one. For this reason, when a second position closer to the remaining amount image than the first position is selected, for example, the display processing unit 137 displays an operation image I for making a bid in the sub-time period corresponding to the remaining amount image corresponding to the selected second position.

[0101] 10B is a diagram showing an example of a screen on which bidding for electricity can be carried out on a frame-by-frame basis on a graph showing the transition of the amount of stored electricity. As shown in FIG. 10B, for example, when a second position, which is the area of ​​the bar graph from frame 1 to frame 6 in the area of ​​block 1, is selected with the cursor, display processing unit 137 displays the content of the buying and selling transaction and operation image I including the character string "bid." By selecting operation image I, a person in charge of power company E can place a bid for the selected frame in block 1.

[0102] The timing at which power company E submits a bid for electricity varies depending on the type of quota. Procurement quotas and balancing market quotas are quotas that require bidding the day before the electricity purchase and sale transaction. For this reason, for example, on the day before the electricity purchase and sale transaction, the person in charge checks the type of electricity trading market for each block of the next day, and then selects a specific block in the case of a balancing market quota, or a specific frame in the case of a procurement quota. Then, the details of the purchase and sale transaction and operation image I are displayed immediately above the block or frame selected by the person in charge, so the person in charge can confirm the displayed details of the purchase and sale transaction and then select operation image I to submit a bid.

[0103] The additional procurement quota is a quota that requires bidding during the time period corresponding to the supply and demand adjustment market agreement quota on the day of the electricity purchase and sale transaction. For example, in the example of Figure 9, on the day of the electricity purchase and sale transaction, at 3:00 in the supply and demand adjustment market agreement quota of the second block, the person in charge of power company E can check the details of the purchase and sale transaction for the 15th slot in the additional procurement quota of the next third block, and then select operation image I to place a bid for the 15th slot.

[0104] In this way, on the day before an electricity purchase and sale transaction, bids can be made in both the wholesale electricity trading market and the balancing market, whereas on the day of the electricity purchase and sale transaction, bids can be made only in the wholesale electricity trading market. Therefore, when bidding is made on the day of the electricity purchase and sale transaction, the display processing unit 137 may, for example, display the operation image I during the time slot set for a transaction in the wholesale electricity trading market, but not during the time slot set for a transaction in the balancing market. As a result, in the case of same-day trading, the operation image I does not need to be displayed during the time slot set for a transaction in the balancing market where bidding has already been completed, eliminating unnecessary displays on the screen showing the electricity purchase and sale transaction plan, making the screen easier to operate.

[0105] The operation reception unit 138 receives various operations by the electric power company E. For example, the operation reception unit 138 receives operations by a person in charge of the electric power company E from the operation unit of the information terminal 2. These operations include, for example, an operation to input a company ID, an operation to input the details of the electricity buying and selling transaction, and an operation to make a bid by selecting an operation image I on a graph showing the transition of the amount of stored energy.

[0106] However, the actual amount of power purchased and sold may differ from the planned amount of power purchased and sold. In this case, it is necessary to recreate the graph showing the trend of the amount of stored power. Two examples of recreating the graph are explained below.

[0107] The first case is when the electric power company E receives an activation command for an activation command response amount in the supply and demand adjustment market agreement frame that differs from the activation command response amount displayed by the display processing unit 137. In this case, the operation receiving unit 138 receives an operation to input the actual activation command response amount from a person in charge of the electric power company E. The remaining amount specifying unit 136 specifies the remaining amount of the storage battery based on the input actual activation command response amount. The display processing unit 137 displays remaining amount images indicating the new remaining amount specified by the remaining amount specifying unit 136 in chronological order.

[0108] The second case is when the bid amount displayed by the display processing unit 137 is changed by a person in charge at the electric power company E. In this case, the operation accepting unit 138 accepts a bidding operation for the changed bid amount. When the operation accepting unit 138 accepts a bidding operation in which the content of the buying and selling transaction displayed by the display processing unit 137 has been changed, the remaining amount identifying unit 136 identifies the remaining amount of the storage battery based on the content of the buying and selling transaction after the change. The display processing unit 137 displays remaining amount images indicating the new remaining amount identified by the remaining amount identifying unit 136 in chronological order.

[0109] In this way, when the planned activation command response amount or bid amount is changed, the remaining amount specifying unit 136 specifies the remaining amount of the storage battery based on the changed activation command response amount or bid amount, and the display processing unit 137 displays a remaining amount image showing the specified new remaining amount, allowing the person in charge of power company E to see a graph showing the transition of the stored power amount that reflects the amount of power actually bought and sold in real time. As a result, the person in charge of power company E can always grasp the correct amount of stored power, improving the accuracy of power buying and selling.

[0110] The profit calculation unit 139 calculates the daily profit generated from the buying and selling transaction by subtracting the purchase costs required for the buying bids from the profit generated from the selling bids. For example, the profit calculation unit 139 calculates the daily profit generated from the buying and selling transaction by subtracting the purchase costs calculated by multiplying the bid volume of the buying bids by the bid unit price from the profit calculated by multiplying the bid volume of the selling bids by the bid unit price.

[0111] The display processing unit 137 displays the calculated daily profit amount. For example, the display processing unit 137 displays the calculated daily profit amount in the upper area of ​​a graph showing the transition of the amount of stored power. This allows the person in charge at power company E to understand the daily profit amount and use it to decide the content of the power buying and selling transaction for the next day.

[0112] [Processing flow in information processing device 1] The following describes the flow of the bidding operation support process executed by the information processing device 1. Fig. 11 is a flowchart showing the flow of the bidding operation support process. However, this flowchart shows the display process performed by the display processing unit 137 in the bidding operation support process.

[0113] The display processing unit 137 determines whether the bidding timing is the day of the electricity buying and selling transaction (S21). If the bidding timing is the day of the electricity buying and selling transaction (S21: YES), the display processing unit 137 determines that the bidding will be held in the wholesale electricity trading market (S22). After step S22, the process proceeds to step S27.

[0114] On the other hand, if the bidding timing is not the day of the electricity buying and selling transaction (S21: NO), i.e., if it is the day before, the display processing unit 137 determines whether or not a time slot corresponding to the wholesale electricity trading market is selected on the graph showing the trend in the amount of stored electricity (S23). If a time slot corresponding to the wholesale electricity trading market is selected (S23: YES), the display processing unit 137 determines that the bidding will be held in the wholesale electricity trading market (S24). After step S24, the process proceeds to step S27.

[0115] On the other hand, if a time slot corresponding to the wholesale electricity trading market has not been selected (S23: NO), that is, if a time slot corresponding to the balancing market has been selected, the display processing unit 137 determines that the bidding will be held in the balancing market (S25). If the bidding will be held in the balancing market, the display processing unit 137 displays "selling bid" as the bid type for each block (S26).

[0116] If the display processing unit 137 determines in step S22 or step S24 that the bidding will be held in the wholesale electricity trading market, the display processing unit 137 determines whether or not to sell electricity in the time period selected on the graph showing the transition of the amount of stored electricity (S27). If electricity will be sold (S27: YES), the display processing unit 137 displays "selling bid" as the bidding type for each frame (S28). If electricity will not be sold (S27: NO), that is, if electricity will be purchased, the display processing unit 137 displays "buying bid" as the bidding type for each frame (S29).

[0117] [Effects of information processing device 1] As described above, the information processing device 1 displays remaining capacity images indicating the remaining capacity of the storage battery in chronological order on the display unit of the information terminal 2, and also displays, in association with the remaining capacity images for any time period, the details of the buying and selling transaction (bid type, bid amount, and bid unit price) and an operation image for accepting bidding operations to conduct the buying and selling transaction with those details on the display unit of the information terminal 2. As a result, the power company E can appropriately bid for electricity, taking into account the remaining capacity of the storage battery, which changes over time.

[0118] [Configuration of Information Terminal 2] Next, a description will be given of the configuration of the information terminal 2. Fig. 12 is a diagram showing an example of the configuration of the information terminal 2. The information terminal 2 includes a terminal communication unit 21, a display unit 22, an operation unit 23, a storage unit 24, and a control unit 25.

[0119] The terminal communication unit 21 is a communication interface for communicating with the information processing device 1 via a communication network such as the Internet. The terminal communication unit 21 transmits a business operator ID input by operation from the operation unit 23 to the information processing device 1. The terminal communication unit 21 also inputs data indicating a trading plan for electricity buying and selling received from the information processing device 1 to the display unit 22. The terminal communication unit 21 also transmits information indicating a bidding instruction input by operation from the operation unit 23 to the information processing device 1.

[0120] The display unit 22 is configured by, for example, a liquid crystal display or an organic EL (Electro-Luminescence) display, etc. The display unit 22 displays various information under the control of the display processing unit 137 in the information processing device 1. The display unit 22 displays, for example, a trading plan for buying and selling electricity.

[0121] The operation unit 23 is an operation device for receiving an operation to input a business ID and an operation to issue a bid instruction from the user of the information terminal 2, and is, for example, a keyboard, a touch panel, a mouse, or a microphone.

[0122] The storage unit 24 is a storage medium including a ROM, a RAM, etc. The storage unit 24 stores a program that the control unit 25 executes.

[0123] The control unit 25 is, for example, a CPU. The control unit 25 executes the programs stored in the storage unit 24.

[0124] The present invention has been described above using embodiments, but the technical scope of the present invention is not limited to the scope described in the above embodiments, and various modifications and changes are possible within the scope of the gist of the present invention. For example, all or part of the device can be configured by functionally or physically distributing or integrating any unit. Furthermore, new embodiments resulting from any combination of multiple embodiments are also included in the embodiments of the present invention. The effects of the new embodiments resulting from the combination also have the effects of the original embodiments. [Explanation of symbols]

[0125] 1. Information processing equipment 11 Device communication unit 12 Storage section 13 Control Unit 131 First Decision Section 132 Second Decision Section 133 Third Decision Section 134 Fourth Decision Section 135 Transaction Content Determination Department 136 Remaining amount identification unit 137 Display processing section 138 Operation reception section 139 Profit Calculation Department 2. Information terminal 21 Terminal communication unit 22 Display section 23 Control section 24 Memory section 25 Control Unit E. Electric power company I Operation image S Information Processing System

Claims

1. An information processing device for supporting trading of electricity to be stored in a storage battery in an electricity trading market including a supply and demand adjustment market where electricity is bought and sold to adjust electricity supply and demand, and a wholesale electricity trading market where wholesale electricity is bought and sold, a transaction content determination unit that determines the content of the buying and selling transaction in association with each of a plurality of time periods; a remaining capacity specifying unit that specifies a remaining capacity of the storage battery by time period, the remaining capacity changing as a result of the determined buying and selling transaction being performed; a display processing unit that displays, on a display unit in chronological order, remaining amount images indicating the remaining amounts identified by the remaining amount identifying unit, and that displays, on the display unit, the content of the buying and selling transaction and an operation image that accepts a bidding operation for conducting the buying and selling transaction with the content, in association with the remaining amount image for any time period; An information processing device having the above.

2. the display processing unit displays, in chronological order, information indicating the type of the energy trading market in each time slot and the remaining energy image in each of a plurality of sub-time slots included in each time slot. The information processing device according to claim 1 .

3. the display processing unit displays the operation image for accepting a sell bid operation during a time period in which transactions in the supply and demand balancing market are set, and displays the operation image for accepting a sell bid operation or a buy bid operation during a time period in which transactions in the wholesale electricity trading market are set. The information processing device according to claim 1 .

4. the display processing unit displays the operation image for bidding on a time slot basis during a time slot for which trading in the supply and demand balancing market is set, and displays the operation image for bidding on a sub-time slot basis during a time slot for which trading in the wholesale electricity trading market is set. The information processing device according to claim 1 .

5. the display processing unit displays the operation image during a time period in which a transaction in the wholesale electricity trading market is set, and does not display the operation image during a time period in which a transaction in the supply and demand balancing market is set. The information processing device according to claim 1 .

6. the display processing unit, when a first location in a predetermined time period is selected, displays the operation image for bidding in a plurality of sub-time periods included in the time period corresponding to the selected first location, and, when a second location closer to the remaining amount image than the first location is selected, displays the operation image for bidding in the sub-time period corresponding to the remaining amount image corresponding to the selected second location; The information processing device according to claim 1 .

7. further comprising an operation receiving unit that receives bidding operations, When the operation receiving unit receives a bidding operation in which the content of the buying and selling transaction displayed by the display processing unit is changed, the remaining amount specifying unit specifies the remaining amount of the storage battery based on the content of the buying and selling transaction after the change, and the display processing unit displays a remaining amount image indicating the new remaining amount specified by the remaining amount specifying unit in chronological order. The information processing device according to claim 1 .

8. The system further comprises a profit calculation unit that calculates the amount of profit per day generated by the selling transaction by subtracting the purchase cost required for the buying bid from the amount of profit generated by the selling bid, The display processing unit displays the calculated daily profit amount. The information processing device according to claim 1 .

9. An information processing method executed by a computer for supporting trading of electricity to be stored in a storage battery in an electricity trading market including a supply and demand adjustment market where electricity is bought and sold to adjust electricity supply and demand, and a wholesale electricity trading market where wholesale electricity is bought and sold, comprising: a transaction content determination step of determining the content of the buying and selling transaction in association with each of a plurality of time periods; a remaining capacity specifying step of specifying a remaining capacity of the storage battery by time period, which changes when the determined content of the purchase and sale transaction is performed; a display processing step of displaying, on a display unit, a remaining amount image indicating the remaining amount identified in the remaining amount identifying step in chronological order, and associating the remaining amount image for any time period with the content of the buying and selling transaction and an operation image for accepting a bidding operation for conducting the buying and selling transaction with the content; An information processing method comprising:

10. a processor included in an information processing device for supporting trading of electricity to be stored in a storage battery in an electricity trading market including a supply and demand adjustment market where electricity is bought and sold to adjust the supply and demand of electricity, and a wholesale electricity trading market where wholesale electricity is bought and sold; a transaction content determination unit that determines the content of the buying and selling transaction in association with each of a plurality of time periods; a remaining capacity specifying unit that specifies a remaining capacity of the storage battery by time period, the remaining capacity changing as a result of the determined buying and selling transaction being performed; a display processing unit that displays, on a display unit, a remaining amount image indicating the remaining amount identified by the remaining amount identifying unit in chronological order, and associates the remaining amount image for any time period with the content of the buying and selling transaction and an operation image for accepting a bidding operation for conducting the buying and selling transaction with the content; A program to function as a

Images