A minute-level data-based electricity charge settlement method

Abstract

A kind of based on minute-level data electricity settlement method, including a kind of based on minute-level data storage intelligent electric energy meter, the intelligent electric energy meter includes metering module, data processing module, storage module, communication module and control module, the control module does not perform billing logic, is only responsible for the acquisition, processing and storage of metering data, further include the following steps: (1) the main station system obtains the minute-level power data record in settlement period from intelligent electric energy meter, the minute-level power data record includes the electric energy increment value of each minute;(2) the main station system according to the preset time period division rule, the minute-level power data record is divided to corresponding time period;(3) the main station system carries out cumulative calculation to the minute-level power data record in each time period, obtains the total electric energy consumption of each time period;(4) the main station system according to the total electric energy consumption of each time period and corresponding price information, total electricity fee in settlement period is obtained by calculation.This application stores through minute-level data, removes the fixed time period concept of traditional electric meter, and the time period division and price calculation are separated from electric meter, and are transferred to main station system to carry out.This application makes electric meter can adapt to arbitrary time period division and dynamic change of price, meets the demand of real-time price or small time interval time-of-use price in electric power market-oriented reform.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] This invention belongs to the field of power metering technology, specifically relating to a method for electricity billing based on minute-level data, which is particularly suitable for precise metering and flexible settlement scenarios in a market-oriented power environment. Background Technology

[0002] With the deepening of China's power market reform, it has been clearly stated that efforts should be made to accelerate the construction of a unified national power market, enrich trading instruments, and optimize trading mechanisms. Against this backdrop, power trading is gradually shifting towards real-time pricing or time-of-use pricing models with shorter time intervals, in order to better reflect the power supply and demand relationship and market price signals.

[0003] Traditional electricity meters typically use a time-of-use (TOU) pricing model, dividing the day into fixed periods such as peak, off-peak, and valley (e.g., peak hours from 8:00 to 22:00, valley hours from 22:00 to 8:00 the next day). This time period information is pre-set in the meter, and electricity consumption is measured and stored separately for each period. This model has the following drawbacks: 1. Fixed time periods and poor flexibility: The time periods of traditional electricity meters are preset at the factory or can be adjusted through limited remote upgrades, making it difficult to respond quickly to dynamic changes in the electricity market. When the electricity market requires more refined time period divisions (such as further subdividing peak periods into peak and mid-peak periods) or adjustments to the start and end times of time periods, traditional electricity meters are difficult to adapt.

[0004] 2. Coarse data granularity and insufficient metering accuracy: Traditional electricity meters typically store electricity data by the hour or fixed time period, failing to provide finer-grained electricity consumption information. In real-time pricing or minute-based time-of-use pricing environments, this coarse-grained data cannot accurately reflect a user's electricity costs at different minutes, potentially leading to discrepancies in electricity billing.

[0005] 3. Functional coupling and high upgrade costs: Traditional electricity meters integrate metering, time period division and electricity bill calculation functions. When the time period or electricity price policy of the electricity market changes, the electricity meter needs to be upgraded in hardware or large-scale on-site debugging, resulting in high maintenance costs.

[0006] Therefore, in view of the shortcomings of existing technologies, there is an urgent need for a smart energy meter and corresponding electricity billing method that can adapt to the needs of power market reform, provide high-time-granularity power data, support flexible time period division and electricity price settlement, and have high data security. Summary of the Invention

[0007] The purpose of this invention is to overcome the shortcomings of the traditional electricity meter in the prior art, which adopts a fixed-time-of-use pricing metering mode and cannot adapt to the demand for real-time electricity pricing or short-time-of-use pricing in the reform of the electricity market. This invention aims to provide a method for electricity bill settlement based on minute-level data.

[0008] The technical solution of the present invention is as follows: A method for electricity billing based on minute-level data includes a smart meter for storing minute-level data. The smart meter includes a metering module, a data processing module, a storage module, a communication module, and a control module. The metering module collects the power parameters of the circuit in real time. The data processing module preprocesses the collected power parameters to calculate the incremental power value per minute. The storage module uses EEPROM as the storage medium to store daily data, which is divided into energy-related data and instantaneous data. The preprocessed incremental power value per minute is stored in the storage module as energy-related data in minutes. The communication module is used to interact with an external master station system. The control module is connected to the metering module, data processing module, storage module, and communication module to coordinate the work of each module. The control module does not execute billing logic; it is only responsible for the collection, processing, and storage of metering data. It also includes the following steps: (1) The main station system obtains minute-level power data records within the settlement period from the smart energy meter, wherein the minute-level power data records contain the power increment value per minute; (2) The main station system divides the minute-level power data records into corresponding time periods according to the preset time period division rules; (3) The main station system accumulates and calculates the minute-level power data records for each time period to obtain the total power consumption for each time period; (4) The main station system calculates the total electricity cost within the settlement period based on the total power consumption and corresponding electricity price information for each time period.

[0009] Preferably, the storage module is configured as follows: (1) The energy data includes the cumulative energy value at zero point and the energy increment value for each minute. The energy meter data items are selected according to different meter types, including the total active energy in the positive (reverse) direction, the total reactive energy in the first (II, III, IV) quadrant, the total apparent energy in the positive (reverse) direction, and the active energy in the positive (reverse) A (B, C) phase. The energy data is stored with multiple backups and has the functions of saving after power failure and restoring after power failure. (2) Instantaneous data includes electrical parameter data for each minute, without cumulative data. Select electrical parameter data items according to different phenotypes, including A (B, C, N) phase voltage, A (B, C, N) phase current, A (B, C, N) phase active (no) power, total active (no) power, and frequency. Instantaneous parameter data does not need to be backed up and is not saved when power is off or restored when power is on.

[0010] Preferably, the storage module also includes a power-loss backup mechanism, specifically including: (1) Power failure backup only backs up the current 1 minute of power data, and includes a timestamp; (2) Power-off backup data is stored in a separate area and is not mixed with normal power data storage areas.

[0011] Preferably, the storage module also includes a power-on recovery mechanism, specifically including: (1) After power-on, if the current time and the time saved after power failure are the same minute, then continue measuring; (2) If the current time and the time saved during power failure are not the same minute, the incremental power data saved during power failure will be written as the data of the corresponding minute into the power data storage area and backup area; (3) When power is restored, the energy data corresponding to the number of minutes that have passed during the power outage is set to 0 and written to the energy data storage area and backup area.

[0012] Preferably, when compatible with existing smart meter protocols, the following steps are included: (1) Create class functions that can perform real-time calculations of various data using daily recorded data, including summation, average, maximum and minimum values, according to the smart meter protocol that is compatible with the requirements; (2) The identifiers in the protocol to be compatible are preset with basic parameters for the class functions that need to be called, i.e., default values. If the function is called with parameters, the default values ​​are replaced for calculation; otherwise, the default values ​​are used. (3) When the display, communication, and event logging require protocol data, call the defined class function to obtain the required data.

[0013] The beneficial effects of this invention are as follows: (1) Adapting to the market-based electricity pricing mechanism: This invention eliminates the fixed time period concept of traditional electricity meters by storing data at the minute level, separating the time period division and electricity price calculation from the electricity meter and transferring them to the main station system. This enables the electricity meter to adapt to any time period division (such as 5 minutes, 15 minutes, 30 minutes or custom time periods) and dynamically changing electricity prices, meeting the needs of real-time electricity prices or time-of-use electricity prices with small time intervals in the reform of the electricity market.

[0014] (2) Improve metering accuracy and flexibility: Minute-level data storage provides electricity consumption data with higher time granularity, which can more accurately reflect the user's electricity consumption behavior. During billing, minute data can be flexibly segmented and accumulated according to the actual time period division, avoiding metering deviations caused by the electricity consumption attribution problem at the time period boundary in the traditional fixed time period mode.

[0015] (3) Functional decoupling reduces upgrade costs: The electricity meter is only responsible for metering and data storage and does not execute billing logic. When the electricity market time period or electricity price policy changes, there is no need to upgrade the meter hardware or conduct large-scale on-site debugging. It is only necessary to update the time period division rules and electricity price information through the main station system, which significantly reduces the system maintenance cost.

[0016] (4) High data security and reliability: EEPROM is used as the storage medium, and with multiple backup, power failure protection and power-on recovery mechanisms, the data is not lost and is accurate and effective under unstable conditions such as frequent power-on and power-off, providing a reliable basis for electricity bill settlement and dispute resolution.

[0017] (5) Optimize data storage and access efficiency: By distinguishing the importance of power data and instantaneous parameter data, multiple backups and power failure protection are adopted for critical power data, and the processing of non-critical instantaneous data is simplified, which not only ensures the security of critical data, but also improves the overall storage efficiency of the system.

[0018] (6) Compatible with existing smart meters, enabling a smooth transition of technology: By defining default calling parameters for class functions and data identifiers, protocol compatibility with existing smart meters can be achieved, thereby enabling a smooth transition of the technical solution. Detailed Implementation

[0019] The present invention will be further described in detail below with reference to specific embodiments. Example

[0020] A method for electricity billing based on minute-level data includes a smart meter with minute-level data storage. The hardware structure of the smart meter is as follows: The smart energy meter in this embodiment includes a metering module, a data processing module, a storage module, a communication module, and a control module.

[0021] (1) Metering module A high-precision metering chip (such as Raytron Technology's RN8302B) is used to sample and calculate the voltage and current of each phase to obtain real-time electrical parameter data, as shown in Table 1:

[0022] Table 1 Electrical Parameter Data Items Different energy meters use different metering chips or have different required functions. For example, single-phase smart energy meters do not have A / B / C phase data, but only one phase data, which is equivalent to combined phase data. Some energy meters do not have neutral current, some three-phase meters only need active power, and some three-phase meters ignore energy, etc.

[0023] (2) Data processing module Employs a high-performance microprocessor MCU (such as the ARM Cortex-M series), via SPI or I 2 The C-bus communicates with the metering module in real time and at high speed, reading the metering module registers to obtain electrical parameter data. Then, it calculates the incremental value of electrical energy data and the average value of instantaneous electrical parameters every minute. Electrical energy data can also be accumulated using the pulse ports CF1~CF4 output by the metering module. Every minute, the data processing module writes the electrical energy data and instantaneous data to the storage module, with multiple backups for electrical energy data and no backup for instantaneous data. At midnight each day, the data processing module accumulates all electrical energy data from the previous day to obtain the electrical energy value at midnight and creates a new record for the new day.

[0024] (3) Storage module EEPROM is used as the primary storage medium for storing minute-level power data. The storage module divides daily data into two categories: energy data and instantaneous parameter data. Energy data includes the cumulative energy value at midnight and the energy increment value for each minute. Depending on the meter type, different meter-related data items are selected, including total active energy in both positive and negative directions, total reactive energy in quadrants I (II, III, IV), total apparent energy in both positive and negative directions, and active energy in phases A (B, C) in both positive and negative directions. Energy data is stored with multiple backups and features power-off retention and power-on recovery capabilities. Instantaneous data includes electrical parameter data for each minute, but no cumulative data. Depending on the type of meter, select the electrical parameter data items, including phase A (B, C, N) voltage, phase A (B, C, N) current, phase A (B, C, N) active (no) power, total active (no) power, frequency, etc. Instantaneous parameter data does not require backup and is not saved after power failure or restored after power failure.

[0025] The storage module constructs daily energy consumption records (as shown in Table 2) and daily instantaneous electrical parameter records (as shown in Table 3) on a daily basis. Each daily energy consumption record and daily instantaneous electrical parameter record contains a fixed-length data record location for 1440 minutes of the day and one CRC checksum. Each daily energy consumption record also contains the cumulative energy consumption data at midnight of the day, so that there is no need to backtrack to previous data when performing real-time calculations. For locations where no data has been generated, preset special values ​​(such as 0xFF) are used to fill in the data, ensuring that the daily record length is fixed.

[0026]

[0027] Table 2 Electricity Records

[0028] Table 3 Instantaneous Electrical Parameter Records Multiple Backup Mechanism for Electrical Energy Data: Electrical energy data is metering data and is extremely critical, therefore it is essential to ensure its integrity and prevent data errors due to any issues. For security, a multiple backup mechanism is employed for electrical energy data, typically three backups. This means that multiple daily electrical energy recording backup areas are divided in the EEPROM. Every minute of electricity generated, data is written to each of these backup areas. When the device restarts, the MCU reads the daily electrical energy records from each backup area and performs a CRC check to verify the data's integrity. Abnormal data is then corrected.

[0029] Power loss backup mechanism for power data: When a power loss is detected, only the current minute's power data is backed up, with a timestamp. The backup data is stored in a separate area and is not mixed with the normal power data storage area to prevent accidental deletion of original records during power loss.

[0030] Power-on recovery mechanism for energy data: After power-on, the system first checks for backup data from the power outage. If the current time and the time saved during the power outage are the same minute, metering continues; if the current time and the time saved during the power outage are not the same minute, the incremental data saved during the power outage is written as the data for the corresponding minute to the energy data storage area and backup area. Furthermore, during power-on recovery, the energy data corresponding to the minutes that have elapsed during the power outage is set to 0 and written to the energy data storage area and backup area to ensure data integrity.

[0031] (4) Communication module It supports multiple communication methods (such as RS485, Ethernet, wireless communication, etc.) for data interaction with external master station systems and uploads minute-level power data records for the master station system to perform electricity bill settlement.

[0032] (5) Control module A microcontroller unit (MCU) is used, which is connected to the metering module, data processing module, storage module, and communication module to coordinate the operation of each module. The control module does not execute billing logic; it is only responsible for the acquisition, processing, and storage of metering data.

[0033] Specific steps for electricity bill settlement: S1: The master station system obtains minute-level power data records within the settlement period from the smart energy meter, and the minute-level power data records contain the incremental power consumption per minute.

[0034] S2: The main station system divides the minute-level power data records into corresponding time periods according to the preset time period division rules and the electricity price information of each time period.

[0035] S3: The main station system accumulates and calculates the minute-level power data records for each time period to obtain the total power consumption for each time period.

[0036] S4: The main station system calculates the total electricity cost within the settlement period based on the total power consumption and corresponding electricity price information for each time period.

[0037] Smart meters do not participate in the execution of billing logic; they only provide raw metering data.

[0038] The time-slot division rules include at least one time slot, each with a start and end time accurate to the minute. The time-slot division rules and electricity price information can be adjusted daily, weekly, monthly, or quarterly, and are dynamically updated by the main station system based on electricity market demand.

[0039] As can be seen from the above embodiments, this invention decouples metering and billing functions, stores data in minutes, and allows the main station system to handle flexible time-segmentation and electricity cost calculation, thereby adapting to the dynamic needs of the electricity market. Furthermore, by differentiating the importance of energy-related data from instantaneous parameter data, it employs multiple backups and power-loss protection for critical energy data, while simplifying the processing of non-critical instantaneous data. This ensures the security of critical data while improving the overall storage efficiency of the system. Example

[0040] The smart energy meter based on minute-level data storage described in this embodiment is compatible with existing smart meter protocols. The specific steps are as follows: S1: Based on the required compatible smart meter protocol, create class functions in the aforementioned smart meter that can perform real-time calculations of various data using daily recorded data. These generally include summation, averaging, finding the maximum value, and finding the minimum value. Real-time calculations can be performed using the daily recorded data from Tables 2 and 3. For example, a summation class function f(x1,x2,x3,x4,x5) can be defined, where: x1 indicates the selected daily record type, 0 represents daily energy record, and 1 represents daily instantaneous electrical parameter record; x2 indicates the nth data item in the record (equivalent to the column number of the field), starting from 0; x3 represents the starting row of the record, starting from 0, where 0 represents the first data record; x4 represents the end of the record. Starting from 0, it represents the (x4+1)th record. x5 represents the selected date. If it is 0, it represents the current day. Other dates are represented by the BCD code "YYYYMMDD".

[0041] S2: Preset the basic parameters of the identifiers in the protocol to be compatible with the class functions that need to be called, i.e., default values. If the function is called with parameters, the default values ​​are replaced in the calculation; otherwise, the default values ​​are used.

[0042] S3: When protocol data is needed for display, communication, event logging, etc., the defined class function can be called to obtain the required data.

[0043] For example: If the electricity meter contains all the data items in Table 1, and the current time is 10:00 AM, to obtain the total positive active energy according to the DL / T645-2007 protocol (currently), you can call f(0,7,0,600,0). The function call description is as follows: x1=0 indicates that the record is selected as a solar energy record. x2=7 indicates that the 8th field is selected. For daily energy records containing all data items, the 8th field is "PosEPT Phase Positive Active Energy". x3=0 indicates that the data starts from the first record, which includes the zero-point cumulative energy reading. x4=600 indicates that the countdown ends at the 601st data entry, with one data entry per minute, corresponding to 10:00 AM. x5=0 indicates that the default current date is selected. Tables 2 and 3 contain all the basic data for the corresponding table type. All the data required by the protocol can be obtained through methods such as summation, averaging, finding the maximum and minimum values. These calculations do not involve complex nesting or loops, and at most use only one type of record data from one day, with a maximum of 1441 data points. The computational load is small, and the time consumption is very short, which can meet the real-time response requirements of the protocol. The time-of-use energy calculation is slightly more complex, but it only involves a few more time period interval judgments. The logic is slightly more complex, but the total calculation still does not exceed 1441 data points, and the increased time consumption is minimal, also meeting the real-time response requirements. Using the above methods, compatibility with existing protocols can be achieved with only a small computational cost, and from the outside, it appears no different from the functions of existing smart meters.

[0044] Compatibility with existing smart meter protocols can solve the transition problem. Compared to existing smart meters, it only requires a little more calculation each time display, communication and event recording are needed. With the current computing speed of MCUs, the calculation of each identification code data takes only a few milliseconds or even less, which does not affect normal operation at all.

[0045] This invention can also solve the metering error problem caused by the failure to update the time period table of traditional time-of-use meters in a timely manner. For example, if the time period table needs to be adjusted and is originally scheduled to be adjusted uniformly on June 1, but some electricity meters are updated on June 2 due to communication failure, the old time period table is still used to calculate the time-of-use electricity during the interim period, and it cannot be restored. However, after using this invention, the time-of-use electricity can be accompanied by a date parameter, and the returned data is calculated in real time, so the time-of-use electricity on abnormal days can be recalculated.

[0046] This invention eliminates the fixed time period concept of traditional electricity meters by storing data at the minute level, separating time period division and electricity price calculation from the meter and transferring them to the master station system. This allows the meter to adapt to arbitrary time period divisions (such as 5 minutes, 15 minutes, 30 minutes, or custom time periods) and dynamically changing electricity prices, meeting the needs of real-time electricity prices or time-of-use pricing with small time intervals in the electricity market reform, and providing electricity consumption data with higher time granularity.

[0047] This invention achieves protocol compatibility with existing smart meters by defining default calling parameters for class functions and data identifiers, thereby enabling a smooth transition of technical solutions.

Claims

1. A method for electricity bill settlement based on minute-level data, characterized in that: The invention includes a smart energy meter based on minute-level data storage. The smart energy meter comprises a metering module, a data processing module, a storage module, a communication module, and a control module. The metering module collects the power parameters of the circuit in real time. The data processing module preprocesses the collected power parameters to calculate the energy increment value per minute. The storage module uses EEPROM as the storage medium to store daily data, which is divided into energy-related data and instantaneous data. The preprocessed energy increment value per minute is stored in the storage module as energy-related data in minutes. The communication module is used to interact with an external master station system. The control module is connected to the metering module, data processing module, storage module, and communication module to coordinate the work of each module. The control module does not execute billing logic; it is only responsible for the collection, processing, and storage of metering data. It also includes the following steps: (1) The main station system obtains minute-level power data records within the settlement period from the smart energy meter, wherein the minute-level power data records contain the power increment value per minute; (2) The main station system divides the minute-level power data records into corresponding time periods according to the preset time period division rules; (3) The main station system accumulates and calculates the minute-level power data records for each time period to obtain the total power consumption for each time period; (4) The main station system calculates the total electricity cost within the settlement period based on the total power consumption and corresponding electricity price information for each time period.

2. The method for electricity bill settlement based on minute-level data according to claim 1, characterized in that: The storage module is configured as follows: (1) The energy data includes the cumulative energy value at zero point and the energy increment value for each minute. The energy meter data items are selected according to different meter types, including the total active energy in the positive (reverse) direction, the total reactive energy in the first (II, III, IV) quadrant, the total apparent energy in the positive (reverse) direction, and the active energy in the positive (reverse) A (B, C) phase. The energy data is stored with multiple backups and has the functions of saving after power failure and restoring after power failure. (2) Instantaneous data includes electrical parameter data for each minute, without cumulative data. Select electrical parameter data items according to different metric types, including A (B, C, N) phase voltage, A (B, C, N) phase current, A (B, C, N) phase active (no) power, total active (no) power, and frequency. Instantaneous parameter data does not require multiple backups and is not saved after power failure or restored after power failure.

3. The method for electricity bill settlement based on minute-level data according to claim 2, characterized in that: The storage module also includes a power-loss backup mechanism, specifically including: (1) Power failure backup only backs up the current 1 minute of power data, and includes a timestamp; (2) Power-off backup data is stored in a separate area and is not mixed with normal power data storage areas.

4. The method for electricity bill settlement based on minute-level data according to claim 3, characterized in that: The storage module also includes a power-on recovery mechanism, specifically including: (1) After power-on, if the current time and the time saved after power failure are the same minute, then continue measuring; (2) If the current time and the time saved during power failure are not the same minute, the incremental power data saved during power failure will be written as the data of the corresponding minute into the power data storage area and backup area; (3) When power is restored, the energy data corresponding to the number of minutes that have passed during the power outage is set to 0 and written to the energy data storage area and backup area.

5. The method for electricity bill settlement based on minute-level data according to claim 1, characterized in that: When ensuring compatibility with existing smart meter protocols, the following steps are included: (1) Based on the required compatible smart meter protocol, create class functions in the smart meter that can use daily recorded data to perform real-time calculations of various data, including summation, average, maximum and minimum values; (2) The identifiers in the protocol to be compatible are preset with basic parameters for the class functions that need to be called, i.e., default values. If the function is called with parameters, the default values ​​are replaced for calculation; otherwise, the default values ​​are used. (3) When the display, communication, and event logging require protocol data, call the defined class function to obtain the required data.

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