Power sales price determination system, power sales price determination method, and program

Abstract

To provide a power sales price determination system which can relax concentration of demands.SOLUTION: A power sales price determination system 10 includes: an acquisition part 32a for acquiring information on a spot price which is a spot price of power in a power wholesale market and indicates fluctuation of the spot prices of power in one day by a time slot unit; a price determination part 32c for determining power sales prices in each of target time slots determined on the basis of the acquired spot price information, from a time slot in which the spot price in one day is less than a threshold first to a time slot in which the spot price in one day is less than the threshold last, to the same price; and a notification part 32d for notifying a consumer of the determined power sales price in the determined target time slot.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 1

Description

[Technical field]

[0001] The present invention relates to an electricity selling price determination system, an electricity selling price determination method, and a program. [Background technology]

[0002] Patent Document 1 discloses an imbalance price prediction device that predicts an imbalance price before the execution of a supply and demand plan. [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0003] [Patent Document 1] JP 2017-117356 A Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0004] The present invention provides an electricity sales price determination system and the like that can alleviate demand concentration. [Means for solving the problem]

[0005] An electricity sales price determination system according to one embodiment of the present invention includes an acquisition unit that acquires spot price information, which is the spot price of electricity in a wholesale electricity market and indicates fluctuations in the spot price of electricity in a day on a time slot basis, a price determination unit that determines the electricity sales price for each of target time slots determined based on the acquired spot price information, the target time slots being the same price, from the time slot in which the spot price first falls below a threshold in the day to the time slot in which the spot price last falls below the threshold in the day, and a notification unit that notifies consumers of the electricity sales price in the determined target time slots.

[0006] An electricity selling price determination method according to one embodiment of the present invention is an electricity selling price determination method executed by a computer, and includes an acquisition step of acquiring spot price information which is the spot price of electricity in the wholesale electricity market and indicates fluctuations in the spot price of electricity in one day on a time slot basis, a determination step of determining, as the same price, the electricity selling price for each of target time slots determined based on the acquired spot price information, from the time slot in which the spot price first falls below a threshold in the one day to the time slot in which the spot price last falls below the threshold in the one day, and a notification step of notifying consumers of the electricity selling price in the determined target time slots.

[0007] A program according to one aspect of the present invention is a program for causing the computer to execute the electricity selling price determination method. Effect of the Invention

[0008] The electricity sales price determination system and the like of the present invention can alleviate demand concentrations. [Brief description of the drawings]

[0009] [Figure 1] FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing a functional configuration of an electricity selling price determination system according to an embodiment. [Diagram 2] FIG. 2 is a graph showing an example of spot price information. [Diagram 3] FIG. 3 is a flowchart of a first operation example of the power selling price determination system according to the embodiment. [Figure 4] FIG. 4 is a graph showing another example of spot price information. [Diagram 5] FIG. 5 is a flowchart of a second operation example of the power selling price determination system according to the embodiment. [Figure 6] FIG. 6 is a flowchart of an operation example 3 of the power selling price determination system according to the embodiment. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

[0010] Hereinafter, the embodiments will be described with reference to the drawings. Note that the embodiments described below are all comprehensive or specific examples. The numerical values, shapes, materials, components, component arrangement and connection forms, steps, and order of steps shown in the following embodiments are merely examples and are not intended to limit the present invention. Furthermore, among the components in the following embodiments, components that are not described in the independent claims will be described as optional components.

[0011] In addition, each drawing is a schematic diagram and is not necessarily a precise illustration. In each drawing, the same reference numerals are used for substantially the same configurations, and duplicated explanations may be omitted or simplified.

[0012] (Embodiment) [composition] First, the configuration of an electricity selling price determination system according to an embodiment will be described below. Fig. 1 is a block diagram showing the functional configuration of an electricity selling price determination system according to an embodiment.

[0013] The electricity selling price determination system 10 is a system for an electricity retailer to determine an electricity selling price. As shown in Fig. 1, the electricity selling price determination system 10 includes an information providing server 20, an electricity selling price determination device 30, and a control device 40 and a group of devices 50 provided in each of a plurality of facilities 60. The facilities 60 are, for example, residential buildings, but may also be non-residential facilities.

[0014] The information providing server 20 is a server device (cloud computer) used by an operator or manager of the electricity wholesale market, and provides spot price information to the electricity selling price determination device 30. The spot price information is the spot price of electricity in the electricity wholesale market (unit: yen / kWh), and is information that indicates fluctuations in the spot price of electricity in one day on a time slot basis. In other words, the spot price is the wholesale price or purchase price of electricity, and is sometimes called the system price.

[0015] The electricity selling price determination device 30 is a server device (cloud computer) used by an electricity retailer, which acquires spot price information from the information providing server 20 and determines an electricity selling price for consumers based on the acquired spot price information. The electricity selling price determination device 30 includes a communication unit 31, an information processing unit 32, and a storage unit 33.

[0016] The communication unit 31 is a communication module (communication circuit) for the electricity selling price determination device 30 to communicate with the information providing server 20 and the control device 40 via a wide area communication network such as the Internet. The communication performed by the communication unit 31 may be wired communication or wireless communication. There is no particular limitation on the communication standard used for the communication.

[0017] The information processing unit 32 performs information processing for determining the electricity selling price. The information processing unit 32 is specifically realized by a processor or a microcomputer. The information processing unit 32 specifically includes an acquisition unit 32a, a threshold determination unit 32b, a price determination unit 32c, and a notification unit 32d. The functions of the acquisition unit 32a, the threshold determination unit 32b, the price determination unit 32c, and the notification unit 32d are realized by the processor or microcomputer constituting the information processing unit 32 executing a computer program stored in the storage unit 33. The functions of the acquisition unit 32a, the threshold determination unit 32b, the price determination unit 32c, and the notification unit 32d will be described in detail later.

[0018] The storage unit 33 is a storage device that stores various information for determining the electricity selling price, such as the computer program executed by the information processing unit 32. Specifically, the storage unit 33 is realized by a HDD, a semiconductor memory, or the like.

[0019] The control device 40 is installed in a facility 60 owned by a consumer, and controls the equipment group 50 installed in the facility 60 based on the electricity selling price notified by the electricity selling price determination device 30. The control device 40 is, for example, an EMS (Energy Management System) controller.

[0020] The device group 50 is a device to be controlled by the control device 40. The device group 50 includes at least one of a heat pump water heater, a battery storage system, and a charging device for an electric vehicle. The electric vehicle here is an EV (Electric Vehicle), a PHEV (Plug in Hybrid Electric Vehicle), or the like.

[0021] [Example 1] In recent years, the environment surrounding electricity supply and demand has been changing dramatically, resulting in phenomena such as an excess of electricity during the day due to an increase in electricity generated by solar power generation during the day, and a shortage of electricity in the evening. One example of a method for adjusting electricity supply and demand is real-time pricing.

[0022] In real-time pricing, electricity retailers procure (purchase) electricity at the spot price and sell it with a profit margin. The information providing server 20 provides one day's worth of spot price information to the electricity retailers at a specified time on the day before the electricity is sold.

[0023] The spot price information is, for example, information showing fluctuations in the spot price of electricity in one day on a time slot basis. Fig. 2 is a diagram for explaining the spot price information, and is a diagram showing the spot price information in a graph (visualization). In the example of Fig. 2, one day (0:00-24:00) is divided into 48 time slots of 30 minutes each, and a spot price is set for each time slot.

[0024] Here, if the electricity retailer sets the electricity selling price in each of the 48 time slots to the spot price of that time slot plus α yen (α≧0), demand may be concentrated in the time slot with the cheapest electricity selling price (time slots 28-29 in the example of FIG. 2). For example, if each of the multiple control devices 40 is implemented with an algorithm for controlling the group of devices 50 (charging electric vehicles, heating hot water with a water heater, charging a storage battery system using grid power, etc.) during the time when the electricity selling price is cheapest, demand will be concentrated in the time slot with the cheapest electricity selling price.

[0025] Therefore, the electricity selling price determination system 10 aims to alleviate the concentration of demand by lengthening the period during which the electricity selling price is the lowest price as long as possible. Hereinafter, a first operation example of such an electricity selling price determination system 10 will be described. Fig. 3 is a flowchart of the first operation example of the electricity selling price determination system 10.

[0026] The communication unit 31 of the electricity selling price determination device 30 receives spot price information from the information providing server 20 (S11). The spot price information is, for example, information indicating fluctuations in the spot price of electricity in one day on a time slot basis, as shown in FIG.

[0027] The acquiring unit 32a acquires the spot price information received by the communication unit 31 (S12). The threshold determining unit 32b determines a threshold based on the acquired spot price information (S13). The threshold determining unit 32b determines, for example, a value obtained by adding or subtracting the standard deviation of the spot price in one day times n (n is a positive number) to or from the average spot price in the one day, as the threshold. n is, for example, a natural number such as 1.

[0028] Next, the price determination unit 32c determines, as the target timeslots, all of the 48 timeslots determined by the spot price information, from the timeslot in which the spot price first falls below the threshold to the timeslot in which the spot price last falls below the threshold (S14). In the example of Fig. 2, the timeslot in which the spot price first falls below the threshold is timeslot 22, and the timeslot in which the spot price last falls below the threshold is timeslot 31, so timeslots 22 to 31 are determined as the target timeslots.

[0029] Next, the price determination unit 32c judges whether the target timeslot includes a timeslot whose spot price is equal to or higher than the threshold (S15). In the example of FIG. 2, the target timeslots 22-31 do not include a timeslot whose spot price is equal to or higher than the threshold. In such a case, the price determination unit 32c judges that the target timeslots 22-31 do not include a timeslot whose spot price is equal to or higher than the threshold (No in S15), and determines the power selling price in each of the target timeslots 22-31 to be the same price (S16). In other words, the power selling price in the target timeslots 22-31 is determined to be a leveled price (a fixed price) that does not depend on the magnitude of the spot price in the target timeslots 22-31.

[0030] For example, the price determination unit 32c determines the electricity selling price in each of the target timeslots 22-31 to be the maximum of the spot prices in the target timeslots 22-31 (in the example of FIG. 2, the spot price of timeslot 22) +α yen (α≧0). α is an example of a first predetermined price. In other words, the lower limit of the electricity selling price in each of the target timeslots 22-31 is the maximum of the spot prices in the target timeslots 22-31. α is appropriately determined so that the electricity retailer can earn a profit. The electricity selling price in the target timeslots 22-31 is determined to be the lowest price among all the timeslots.

[0031] Furthermore, the price determination unit 32c determines the power selling price in each of the non-target time slots other than the target time slots 22 to 31 to a price according to the spot price in the non-target time slot (S17). For example, the price determination unit 32c determines the power selling price in each of the non-target time slots to be the spot price in the non-target time slot +α yen (α≧0).

[0032] Incidentally, Fig. 4 is a graph (visualization) of spot price information different from that in Fig. 2, and in the example of Fig. 4, target timeslots 22 to 31 include timeslot 24 where the spot price is equal to or higher than a threshold. When the spot price information acquired in step S12 indicates a spot price as shown in Fig. 4, price determination unit 32c determines in step S15 that target timeslots 22 to 31 include a timeslot where the spot price is equal to or higher than a threshold (Yes in S15).

[0033] In this case, the price determination unit 32c determines the power selling price for each of all time slots (target time slots and non-target time slots) to a price according to the spot price for that time slot (S18). For example, the price determination unit 32c determines the power selling price for each time slot to be the spot price for that time slot +α yen (α≧0).

[0034] After steps S17 and S18, the notification unit 32d generates power selling price information indicating the power selling price in each of all time slots (target time slots and non-target time slots) and transmits the information to each of the multiple control devices 40 using the communication unit 31 (S19). In other words, the notification unit 32d notifies the consumer of the determined power selling price.

[0035] As a result, each of the multiple control devices 40 can control the group of devices 50 based on the received power selling price information. Note that it is not essential that the power selling price information is used to control the group of devices 50, and the power price information may be displayed (visualized) on a display provided in the control device 40 so that a consumer (user) can check the power price.

[0036] In the above-described operational example 1, when the processing of step S16 (and step S17) is performed, the electricity selling price becomes the minimum price in the ten time slots of target time slots 22 to 31, but when the processing of step S18 is performed, the electricity selling price becomes the minimum price in the two time slots of time slots 28 to 29. In other words, by performing the processing of step S16, the electricity selling price determination system 10 extends the period during which the electricity selling price is the minimum price, thereby enabling the concentration of demand to be alleviated.

[0037] In the first operational example, from the viewpoint of ensuring the profits of the electricity retailer, if it is determined that the target timeslots 22-31 include a timeslot where the spot price is equal to or higher than the threshold (Yes in S15), the process of step S16 is not performed. However, with an emphasis on mitigating the concentration of demand, the process of step S16 may be performed regardless of whether the target timeslots 22-31 include a timeslot where the spot price is equal to or higher than the threshold. In other words, the process of step S15 may be omitted.

[0038] [Example 2] In operation example 1, even if the target time slots 22-31 include a time slot where the spot price is equal to or higher than the threshold (as in FIG. 4), if there is a prospect of securing profits, a process similar to step S16 may be performed. Hereinafter, such operation example 2 of the electricity selling price determination system 10 will be described. FIG. 5 is a flowchart of operation example 2 of the electricity selling price determination system 10.

[0039] The processing in steps S11 to S17 is the same as in operation example 1. When the price determination unit 32c determines in step S15 that the target timeslots 22 to 31 include a timeslot whose spot price is equal to or higher than the threshold (Yes in S15), the price determination unit 32c determines a provisional power selling price for each of the target timeslots 22 to 31 (S20). For example, the price determination unit 32c determines the provisional power selling price to be the maximum value among the spot prices in the target timeslot that are below the threshold (in the example of FIG. 4, the spot price of timeslot 22) + β yen (β≧0). β is an example of a second predetermined price, and β may be equal to α.

[0040] Next, the price determination unit 32c calculates the expected profit when it is assumed that the electricity is sold using the provisional electricity selling price, and judges whether the expected profit exceeds the estimated profit (S21). Most simply, the price determination unit 32c calculates the provisional electricity selling price minus the spot price in the target time slot for each target time slot, and regards the sum as the expected profit. The price determination unit 32c may further consider the electricity selling price in the non-target time slot and the past sales (power amount) in each of the time slots 1 to 48 to calculate the expected profit more accurately. In other words, the estimated profit is a predetermined profit, and is determined in advance by the electricity retailer as an amount that the electricity retailer wants to secure, for example.

[0041] When the price determination unit 32c determines that the expected profit exceeds the assumed profit (Yes in S21), it determines the power selling price in each of the target time slots 22 to 31 to be a provisional power selling price (S22). That is, the price determination unit 32c upgrades the provisional power selling price to the true power selling price, and determines the power selling price in each of the target time slots 22 to 31 to be the same price (provisional power selling price) as in step S16. Then, the processes of steps S17 and S19 are performed.

[0042] On the other hand, if the price determination unit 32c determines that the expected profit is equal to or less than the assumed profit (No in S21), it determines the electricity selling price in each of all time slots (target time slot and non-target time slot) to a price corresponding to the spot price in the time slot (S18), and then performs the process of step S19.

[0043] Thus, in the second operational example, even if the target timeslots 22-31 include a timeslot where the spot price is equal to or higher than the threshold, when there is a prospect of securing profits, the electricity selling price determination system 10 determines the same electricity selling price for each of the target timeslots 22-31. This makes it possible to alleviate demand concentration while securing profits for the electricity retailer.

[0044] In the second operation example, if the result of step S21 is No, the provisional power selling price may be increased by a predetermined price and the process of step S21 may be performed again. This process is repeated as long as the provisional power selling price does not exceed a predetermined upper limit price.

[0045] In other words, if the calculated expected profit does not exceed the assumed profit, the price determination unit 32c may recalculate the provisional power selling price by adding the second predetermined price, which is increased within a range not exceeding the predetermined upper limit price, to the maximum spot price below the threshold in the target time slot, and recalculate the expected profit using the recalculated provisional power selling price. If the recalculated expected profit exceeds the assumed profit, the power selling price in each of the target time slots 22 to 31 is determined to be the provisional power selling price.

[0046] [Example 3] In the operation example 1, when the number of target time slots 22-31 (total duration of the target time slots) is long, the target time slot in which the power selling price is the lowest may be changed for each consumer. For example, the power selling price is the lowest in target time slots 22-26 for the first consumer, but the lowest power selling price is the lowest in target time slots 27-31 for the second consumer. Hereinafter, such an operation example 3 of the power selling price determination system 10 will be described. FIG. 6 is a flowchart of the operation example 3 of the power selling price determination system 10. In the following description, it is assumed that consumers are divided into two groups, the first consumer and the second consumer.

[0047] The processing of steps S11 to S15 is the same as that of operation example 1. When the price determination unit 32c determines in step S15 that the target timeslots 22 to 31 do not include a timeslot whose spot price is equal to or higher than the threshold (No in S15), the price determination unit 32c determines whether the number of the target timeslots 22 to 31 exceeds a predetermined number (S23). The predetermined number is appropriately determined empirically or experimentally.

[0048] When the price determination unit 32c determines that the number of target time slots is equal to or less than a predetermined number (No in S23), it performs the processes of steps S16 to S17. On the other hand, when the price determination unit 32c determines that the number of target time slots 22 to 31 exceeds a predetermined number (Yes in S23), it divides the target time slots 22 to 31 into a plurality of parts (S24). For example, the price determination unit 32c sets the target time slots 22 to 26 in the first half of the target time slots 22 to 31 as first time slots, and the target time slots 27 to 31 in the latter half as second time slots. Note that the price determination unit 32c may divide the target time slots 22 to 31 into three or more parts in step S24.

[0049] Next, the price determination unit 32c determines the power selling price in the target time slots 22 to 31 for each consumer (S25).

[0050] The price determination unit 32c determines the power selling price for the first consumer as follows. For example, the price determination unit 32c determines the power selling price (also referred to as the first price) for each of the first time slots 22-26 to be the maximum of the spot prices for the target time slots 22-31+α-γ yen (α≧0, γ>0). The price determination unit 32c also determines the power selling price (also referred to as the second price) for each of the second time slots 27-31 to be the maximum of the spot prices for the target time slots 22-31+α+γ yen (α≧0, γ>0). In other words, the price determination unit 32c determines the first price for the first consumer to be lower than the second price.

[0051] On the other hand, the price determination unit 32c determines the power selling price for the second consumer as follows. For example, the price determination unit 32c determines the power selling price (also referred to as the first price) for each of the first time slots 22-26 to be the maximum of the spot prices in the target time slots 22-31+α+γ yen (α≧0, γ>0). Moreover, the price determination unit 32c determines the power selling price (also referred to as the second price) for each of the second time slots 27-31 to be the maximum of the spot prices in the target time slots 22-31+α-γ yen (α≧0, γ>0). In other words, the price determination unit 32c determines the second price for the second consumer to be lower than the first price.

[0052] After the process of step S25, the price determination unit 32c performs the process of step S17, and the notification unit 32d performs the process of step S19. In the operation example 3, in step S19, the power selling price notified to the first consumer and the power selling price notified to the second consumer are different.

[0053] In this way, in the operation example 3, the electricity selling price determination system 10 can alleviate the concentration of demand by varying the target time slot to which the minimum price is assigned for each consumer. Note that, in the operation example 3, the process of step S15 may be omitted.

[0054] [Variations of the method for determining the threshold value] In the above embodiment, the threshold value determining unit 32b determines the threshold value by adding or subtracting the standard deviation of the spot price in one day×n (n is a positive number) to or from the average spot price in one day. In other words, the threshold value is determined based on the spot price information on the day when the electricity is sold, which is acquired by the acquiring unit 32a. However, such a determination method is only an example.

[0055] For example, the threshold value determining unit 32b may determine the threshold value based on past data of spot prices in units of time slots in a predetermined time period. In other words, the threshold value may be determined based on past spot price information acquired by the acquiring unit 32a.

[0056] The predetermined time period here is, for example, a daytime time period (e.g., 8:00-16:00) that may be selected as a target time slot. The threshold value determination unit 32b can determine a threshold value for determining 80% of the daytime time periods as target time slots by, for example, calculating the distribution of spot prices in units of time slots for the past m days (m≧1) and obtaining an 80% confidence interval.

[0057] As described above, it is not essential that the threshold value determining unit 32b determines the threshold value based on the spot price information. The threshold value may be a fixed value determined in advance, or may be a value that can be freely specified by the electricity retailer.

[0058] [Effects, etc.] Inventions derived from the disclosure of this specification are, for example, the following inventions. Hereinafter, the inventions derived from the disclosure of this specification will be described together with the effects and the like obtained by the inventions.

[0059] Invention 1 is an electricity selling price determination system 10 comprising an acquisition unit 32a that acquires spot price information that is the spot price of electricity in the wholesale electricity market and indicates fluctuations in the spot price of electricity in a day on a time slot basis, a price determination unit 32c that determines the same electricity selling price for each of target time slots that are determined based on the acquired spot price information, the target time slots being the time slot in which the spot price first falls below a threshold in the day to the time slot in which the spot price last falls below the threshold in the day, and a notification unit 32d that notifies consumers of the electricity selling price in the determined target time slots.

[0060] Such an electricity selling price determination system 10 can alleviate concentration of demand by determining the electricity selling price in each target time slot to be the same price (minimum price).

[0061] Invention 2 is the electricity selling price determination system 10 of Invention 1, in which the price determination unit 32c determines the electricity selling price for each of the target timeslots to be the same price when the target timeslots do not include a timeslot at which the spot price is above a threshold, and determines the electricity selling price for each of the target timeslots to be a price according to the spot price for the target timeslot when the target timeslots include a timeslot at which the spot price is above a threshold.

[0062] Such an electricity selling price determination system 10 can alleviate the concentration of demand when it is expected that the profits of the electricity retailer can be secured.

[0063] Invention 3 is the electricity selling price determination system 10 of Invention 1 or 2, in which the price determination unit 32c sets the lower limit of the same price as the maximum spot price in the target time slot.

[0064] Such an electricity selling price determination system 10 can alleviate demand concentration while ensuring the profits of electricity retailers.

[0065] Invention 4 is an electricity selling price determination system 10 of any of Inventions 1 to 3, in which the price determination unit 32c determines the electricity selling price for each of the non-target time slots other than the target time slot to a price corresponding to the spot price for the non-target time slot, and the notification unit 32d notifies consumers of the electricity selling price for each of the determined target time slots and the electricity selling price for each of the determined non-target time slots.

[0066] Such an electricity selling price determination system 10 can notify the electricity selling price for one day to the consumer.

[0067] Invention 5 is the electricity selling price determination system 10 according to any one of Inventions 1 to 4, further comprising a threshold value determination unit 32b that determines a threshold value based on the acquired spot price information.

[0068] Such an electricity sales price determination system 10 can determine the threshold value based on spot price information.

[0069] Invention 6 is the electricity selling price determination system 10 of Invention 5, in which the threshold determination unit 32b determines the threshold value to be the average spot price in one day plus or minus the standard deviation of the spot price in one day x n (n is a positive number).

[0070] Such an electricity sales price determination system 10 can determine the threshold value based on the spot price information of the day.

[0071] Invention 7 is the electricity selling price determination system 10 of Invention 5, in which the threshold determination unit 32b determines the threshold based on the distribution of spot prices per time slot, which is determined based on past data of spot prices per time slot in a specified time period.

[0072] Such an electricity sales price determination system 10 can determine the threshold value based on past spot price information.

[0073] Invention 8 is the electricity selling price determination system 10 of Invention 1, in which the price determination unit 32c, when the target timeslots do not include a timeslot where the spot price is equal to or higher than a threshold, determines the electricity selling price for each of the target timeslots to be a price obtained by adding a first predetermined price to the maximum spot price for the target timeslots, and when the target timeslots include a timeslot where the spot price is equal to or higher than the threshold, calculates the expected profit using a provisional electricity selling price obtained by adding a second predetermined price to the maximum spot price for the target timeslot that is below the threshold, and when the calculated expected profit exceeds the estimated profit, determines the electricity selling price for each of the target timeslots to be the provisional electricity selling price.

[0074] Such an electricity selling price determination system 10 can alleviate the concentration of demand when it is expected that the profits of the electricity retailer can be secured.

[0075] Invention 9 is the electricity selling price determination system 10 of Invention 8, in which the price determination unit 32c, if the calculated expected profit does not exceed the assumed profit, recalculates a provisional electricity selling price by adding a second specified price, which has been increased to a level not exceeding a specified upper limit price, to the maximum spot price below the threshold in the target time slot, recalculates the expected profit using the recalculated provisional electricity selling price, and if the recalculated expected profit exceeds the assumed profit, determines the electricity selling price in each of the target time slots to be the provisional electricity selling price.

[0076] Such an electricity selling price determination system 10 can alleviate the concentration of demand when it is expected that the profits of the electricity retailer can be secured.

[0077] Invention 10 is the electricity selling price determination system 10 of Invention 1, in which the price determination unit 32c determines the electricity selling price in each of the target timeslots to be the same price when the number of target timeslots is less than or equal to a predetermined number, and determines the electricity selling price in each of the first timeslots included in the target timeslots to be the same first price when the number of target timeslots exceeds the predetermined number, and determines the electricity selling price in each of the second timeslots included in the target timeslots to be the same second price, and determines the first price to be lower than the second price for a first consumer included in the consumers, and determines the second price to be lower than the first price for a second consumer included in the consumers.

[0078] Such an electricity selling price determination system 10 can alleviate concentration of demand by varying the target time slots to which the minimum price is assigned for each consumer.

[0079] Invention 11 is an electricity selling price determination method executed by a computer such as the electricity selling price determination system 10, comprising an acquisition step of acquiring spot price information which is the spot price of electricity in the wholesale electricity market and indicates fluctuations in the spot price of electricity in one day on a time slot basis, a determination step of determining the electricity selling price in each of the target time slots, which are determined based on the acquired spot price information, to be the same price, from the time slot in which the spot price first falls below a threshold in the day to the time slot in which the spot price last falls below the threshold in the day, and a notification step of notifying consumers of the electricity selling price in the determined target time slots.

[0080] Such an electricity selling price determination method can alleviate demand concentration by determining the electricity selling price in each target time slot to be the same price (minimum price).

[0081] Invention 12 is a program for causing a computer to execute the electricity sales price determination method of Invention 11.

[0082] According to such a program, the computer can alleviate demand concentration by determining the same electricity selling price (minimum price) in each target time slot.

[0083] (Other embodiments) Although the electricity selling price determination system and the determination method according to the embodiment have been described above, the present invention is not limited to the above embodiment.

[0084] Furthermore, in the above embodiment, the electricity selling price determination system is realized by a plurality of devices, but it may be realized as a single device. For example, the electricity selling price determination system may be realized as a single device equivalent to the electricity selling price determination device. When the electricity selling price determination system is realized by a plurality of devices, each component of the electricity selling price determination system may be allocated in any manner to the plurality of devices. For example, some of the functional components of the electricity selling price determination device may be provided by other devices. In other words, some of the processing described as being executed by the electricity selling price determination device may be executed by other devices.

[0085] In the above embodiment, the process executed by a specific processing unit may be executed by another processing unit. The order of multiple processes may be changed, or multiple processes may be executed in parallel.

[0086] In the above embodiment, each component may be realized by executing a software program suitable for each component. Each component may be realized by a program execution unit such as a CPU or a processor reading and executing a software program recorded on a recording medium such as a hard disk or a semiconductor memory.

[0087] Furthermore, each component may be realized by hardware. For example, each component may be a circuit (or an integrated circuit). These circuits may form a single circuit as a whole, or each may be a separate circuit. Furthermore, each of these circuits may be a general-purpose circuit, or a dedicated circuit.

[0088] Furthermore, the general or specific aspects of the present invention may be realized as a system, an apparatus, a method, an integrated circuit, a computer program, or a computer-readable recording medium such as a CD-ROM. Also, the present invention may be realized as any combination of a system, an apparatus, a method, an integrated circuit, a computer program, and a recording medium. For example, the present invention may be realized as an electricity selling price determination method executed by a computer such as an electricity selling price determination system. Also, the present invention may be realized as a program for causing a computer to execute the electricity selling price determination method, or as a computer-readable non-transitory recording medium having such a program stored therein.

[0089] In addition, the present invention also includes forms obtained by applying various modifications to each embodiment that a person skilled in the art may think of, or forms realized by arbitrarily combining the components and functions of each embodiment within the scope that does not deviate from the spirit of the present invention. [Explanation of symbols]

[0090] 10. Electricity Sales Price Determination System 20 Information Server 30 Electricity sales price determination device 31 Communications Department 32 Information Processing Section 32a Acquisition part 32b Threshold determination unit 32c Pricing Department 32d Notification Department 33 Storage section 40 Control device 50 equipment groups 60 Facilities

Claims

1. an acquisition unit that acquires spot price information, which is the spot price of electricity in the wholesale electricity market and indicates fluctuations in the spot price of electricity in one day on a time slot basis; a price determination unit that determines, based on the acquired spot price information, the same electricity selling price for each of the target time slots from the time slot in which the spot price first falls below a threshold in the day to the time slot in which the spot price last falls below the threshold in the day; and a notification unit that notifies a consumer of the power selling price in the determined target time slot. Electricity sales price determination system.

2. The price determination unit: When the target timeslots do not include a timeslot in which the spot price is equal to or higher than the threshold, the power selling price in each of the target timeslots is determined to be the same price; When the target timeslots include a timeslot in which the spot price is equal to or higher than the threshold, the power selling price in each of the target timeslots is determined to be a price corresponding to the spot price in the target timeslot. The electricity sales price determination system according to claim 1 .

3. The price determination unit sets the lower limit of the same price as the maximum value of the spot price in the target time slot.

3. An electricity sales price determination system according to claim 1 or 2.

4. the price determination unit determines the power selling price in each of the non-target time slots other than the target time slot to a price corresponding to the spot price in the non-target time slot; The notification unit notifies the consumer of the power selling price in each of the determined target time slots and the power selling price in each of the determined non-target time slots.

3. An electricity sales price determination system according to claim 1 or 2.

5. The method further includes a threshold determination unit that determines the threshold based on the acquired spot price information.

3. An electricity sales price determination system according to claim 1 or 2.

6. The threshold determination unit determines, as the threshold, a value obtained by adding or subtracting the standard deviation of the spot price in the one day times n (n is a positive number) to or from the average value of the spot price in the one day. The electricity sales price determination system according to claim 5.

7. The threshold determination unit determines the threshold based on a distribution of the spot price in units of time slots, the distribution being determined based on past data of the spot price in units of time slots in a predetermined time period. The electricity sales price determination system according to claim 5.

8. The price determination unit: When the target timeslots do not include a timeslot in which the spot price is equal to or higher than the threshold, the power selling price in each of the target timeslots is determined to be a price obtained by adding a first predetermined price to the maximum spot price in the target timeslot; When the target timeslot includes a timeslot in which the spot price is equal to or higher than the threshold, calculating an expected profit using a provisional electricity selling price obtained by adding a second predetermined price to the maximum spot price in the target timeslot that is lower than the threshold; If the calculated expected profit exceeds the assumed profit, the power selling price in each of the target time slots is determined to be the provisional power selling price. The electricity sales price determination system according to claim 1 .

9. The price determination unit: If the calculated expected profit does not exceed the assumed profit, recalculate the provisional power selling price by adding the second predetermined price, which is increased within a range not exceeding a predetermined upper limit price, to the maximum spot price below the threshold in the target time slot, and recalculate the expected profit using the recalculated provisional power selling price; If the recalculated expected profit exceeds the assumed profit, the power selling price in each of the target time slots is determined to be the provisional power selling price. The electricity sales price determination system according to claim 8.

10. The price determination unit: When the number of the target time slots is equal to or less than a predetermined number, the power selling price in each of the target time slots is determined to be the same price; If the number of target time slots exceeds the predetermined number, determining the power selling price in each of the first time slots included in the target time slot to be the same first price, and determining the power selling price in each of the second time slots included in the target time slot to be the same second price; For a first consumer included in the consumers, the first price is determined to be lower than the second price; For a second consumer included in the consumers, the second price is determined to be lower than the first price. The electricity sales price determination system according to claim 1 .

11. A computer-implemented method for determining an electricity sales price, comprising: An acquisition step of acquiring spot price information which is a spot price of electricity in a wholesale electricity market and indicates fluctuations in the spot price of electricity in one day on a time slot basis; a determining step of determining, based on the acquired spot price information, a same electricity selling price for each of target time slots from the time slot in which the spot price first falls below a threshold in the day to the time slot in which the spot price last falls below the threshold in the day; and notifying a consumer of the determined power selling price in the target time slot. Method for determining electricity sales price.

12. A program for causing a computer to execute the electricity sales price determination method according to claim 11.

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