Information estimation system and information estimation method

Abstract

To accurately estimate information related to sustainable finance based on information obtained by financial institutions.SOLUTION: An information estimation system 1 generates multiple pieces of virtual fee plan information each integrating fee plan calculation methods of respective energy providers, and associates a designated customer with each virtual fee plan information based on designated customer's transaction information. If it is determined that the virtual fee plan information associated with the designated customer is valid based on parameter values representing the validity of the virtual fee plan information associated with the designated customer, the information estimation system calculates designated customer's energy usage, and calculates parameter values representing the validity of the calculated energy usage. If each parameter value meets predetermined conditions, the information estimation system calculates parameter values representing the magnitude of environmental impact of designated customer's business operations using energy.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 2

Description

[Technical Field]

[0001] The present invention relates to an information estimation system and an information estimation method. [Background technology]

[0002] As business activities that take ESG (Environment, Social, and Governance) into consideration become more widespread, the importance of sustainable finance, which actively provides loans to such business activities, is increasing.

[0003] For financial institutions seeking to engage in sustainable finance, it is important to collect information on the ESG business activities of the companies to which they lend (clients). However, not all companies necessarily have access to such information, so collecting ESG information is not an easy burden for financial institutions. Therefore, it would be desirable for financial institutions to be able to obtain ESG-related information on their clients from the information they already hold.

[0004] As an example of a technology that can acquire ESG-related information from information available to financial institutions, Patent Document 1 describes a technology that calculates electricity charges from electricity usage and contract information with businesses, and ascertains energy-saving effects (CO2 reductions).

[0005] Furthermore, Patent Document 2 discloses converting the past amounts of electricity, gas, and kerosene used into CO2 emissions.

[0006] Patent Document 3 describes a method for calculating CO2 emissions per unit time from the integrated power consumption of an air conditioner. 2It is disclosed that emissions are calculated. [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0007] [Patent Document 1] Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2010-205255 [Patent Document 2] Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2003-344555 [Patent Document 3] Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2010-71505 Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0008] However, in Patent Document 1, electricity charges cannot be calculated without using specific contract information for the user's current situation. In Patent Document 2, unit charges for electricity, gas, and kerosene are simplified to a unit price per unit of usage. In addition, in Patent Document 3, CO2 emissions must be calculated using the results of monitoring the amount of electricity used by air conditioners.

[0009] As such, technology to obtain accurate data on sustainable finance using only information available from financial institutions has not been sufficiently developed.

[0010] The present invention has been made in consideration of these circumstances, and its purpose is to provide an information estimation system and an information estimation method that can accurately estimate information related to sustainable finance based on information obtained by financial institutions. [Means for solving the problem]

[0011] One aspect of the present invention for solving the above problem includes a storage device that stores rate plan information, which is information including a calculation method for a rate incurred by a customer's use of energy, for each business that provides energy to the customer; a virtual rate plan generation process that generates a plurality of virtual rate plan information, which is information that integrates the rate calculation methods for each business, based on each of the rate plan information; a virtual rate plan allocation process that acquires transaction information for a designated customer and associates the designated customer with at least one of the plurality of virtual rate plan information generated based on the acquired transaction information; and a process that calculates a parameter value that indicates the appropriateness of association of the designated customer with virtual rate plan information based on information of customers other than the designated customer or the business. an energy usage estimation process that calculates the amount of energy usage by the specified customer based on the virtual rate plan information associated with the specified customer if it is determined that the association of the specified customer with virtual rate plan information is valid based on the calculated parameter values; an estimated value accuracy calculation process that calculates a parameter value that indicates the degree of validity of the calculated energy usage; and an environmental load estimation process that calculates, if the calculated parameter value is equal to or greater than a predetermined value, a parameter value that indicates the magnitude of the impact on the environment of the work performed by the specified customer using the energy, based on the calculated energy usage. [Effects of the Invention]

[0012] According to the present invention, information relating to sustainable finance can be estimated with high accuracy based on information available to financial institutions. Configurations and effects other than those described above will become apparent from the following description of the embodiments. [Brief explanation of the drawings]

[0013] [Figure 1] 1 is a diagram illustrating an example of a configuration of an information estimation system according to an embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 2] FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating an example of functions provided in each information processing device. [Figure 3] FIG. 10 is a diagram illustrating an example of a company information DB. [Figure 4] FIG. 10 is a diagram illustrating an example of an account information DB. [Figure 5] FIG. 10 is a diagram illustrating an example of an environmental disclosure information DB. [Figure 6] FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating an example of a rate plan information DB. [Figure 7] FIG. 2 is a diagram showing an example of a GHG emission coefficient information DB. [Figure 8] FIG. 2 is a diagram showing an example of a regional economic information DB. [Figure 9] FIG. 2 is a flowchart illustrating an overview of information estimation processing performed in the information estimation system. [Figure 10] FIG. 10 is a flow diagram illustrating an example of a virtual rate plan creation process. [Figure 11] FIG. 10 is a diagram showing an example of a virtual rate plan generation DB that compiles data on rate plans that belong to the same virtual rate plan. [Figure 12] FIG. 10 is a diagram illustrating an example of a virtual rate plan constituent company DB. [Figure 13] FIG. 10 is a diagram showing an example of a virtual rate plan DB0. [Figure 14] FIG. 10 is a flowchart illustrating a virtual rate plan attribute addition process. [Figure 15] FIG. 10 is a flow diagram illustrating an example of a usage charge rate addition process. [Figure 16] FIG. 10 is a diagram illustrating an example of a usage charge rate addition process. [Figure 17] FIG. 10 is a flow diagram illustrating an example of a GHG emission coefficient registration process. [Figure 18] FIG. 10 is a flow diagram illustrating an example of a transaction information acquisition process. [Figure 19] FIG. 10 is a diagram illustrating an example of an energy usage amount calculation DB. [Figure 20] FIG. 10 is a flowchart illustrating details of a virtual rate plan allocation process. [Figure 21] FIG. 10 is a flowchart illustrating details of an allocation plan accuracy calculation process. [Figure 22]FIG. 10 is a diagram illustrating an example of a setting pattern of plan accuracy. [Figure 23] FIG. 10 is a flow diagram illustrating an example of a usage charge ratio calculation process. [Figure 24] FIG. 10 is a flow diagram illustrating an example of an energy usage amount estimation process. [Figure 25] FIG. 10 is a diagram illustrating an example of an energy usage amount calculation logic DB. [Figure 26] FIG. 10 is a flow diagram illustrating an example of an estimated value accuracy calculation process. [Figure 27] FIG. 10 is a diagram showing an example of a local energy usage calculation logic DB. [Figure 28] FIG. 10 is a flow chart illustrating an example of an abnormality determination process. [Figure 29] FIG. 10 is a diagram illustrating an example of a virtual rate plan registered company DB. [Figure 30] FIG. 10 is a flow diagram illustrating an example of an energy usage verification process. [Figure 31] FIG. 10 is a flow diagram illustrating an example of an energy usage amount range specification process. [Figure 32] FIG. 10 is a flow diagram illustrating an example of a GHG emission amount calculation process. [Figure 33] FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating an example of an energy usage status DB. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0014] DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS An embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 is a diagram showing an example of the configuration of an information estimation system 1 according to this embodiment.

[0015] The information estimation system 1 is configured to include an energy business operator device 10 managed by an energy business operator (such as an electric power company; hereinafter, sometimes simply referred to as a business operator) that provides energy such as electricity and gas to each customer (which in this embodiment is a business, but this is not intended to limit the customer) according to a predetermined rate plan, a business operator device 20 managed by a business that performs various operations using the energy provided by the energy business operator, a financial institution device 30 managed by a financial institution, a government agency device 40 managed by a predetermined institution (such as a government agency), an information estimation device 50, and a stakeholder device 60.

[0016] The information processing devices, namely, the energy business device 10, the enterprise device 20, the financial institution device 30, the government agency device 40, the information estimation device 50, and the stakeholder device 60, are communicatively connected to each other via a wired or wireless communication network 5 such as the Internet, a LAN (Local Area Network), a WAN (Wide Area Network), or a dedicated line.

[0017] Each information processing device includes an arithmetic unit such as a CPU (Central Processing Unit), a memory such as a RAM (Random Access Memory) or a ROM (Read Only Memory), a storage device such as an HDD (Hard Disk Drive) or an SSD (Solid State Drive), an input device such as a keyboard, a mouse, or a touch panel, an output device such as a display or a touch panel, and a communication device consisting of a NIC (Network Interface Card), a wireless communication module, a USB (Universal Serial Interface) module, a serial communication module, or the like.

[0018] FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating an example of functions provided in each information processing device.

[0019] The information estimation device 50 includes functional units, namely, a virtual rate plan management unit 51, a GHG emission management unit 52, and a GHG emission visualization unit 53.

[0020] The virtual rate plan management unit 51 includes a virtual rate plan generation unit 511 , a tag information assignment unit 512 , a pay-per-use rate ratio update unit 513 , a pay-per-use rate unit price update unit 514 , and a GHG emission coefficient update unit 515 .

[0021] The virtual rate plan generation unit 511 generates multiple pieces of virtual rate plan information, which is information including a calculation method for fees incurred by energy usage (hereinafter, a contract plan that specifies this calculation method is referred to as a virtual rate plan) that integrates the calculation methods for energy fees related to each energy provider, based on rate plan information of energy providers registered in a rate plan information DB 600 (described later). The virtual rate plan information is stored in a virtual rate plan DB 1300 (described later).

[0022] In this embodiment, the rate plan consists of a basic fee that is charged regardless of whether energy is used or not, a metered fee that is a fee portion corresponding to the amount of energy used, and a taxable fee that is a tax fee.Like the rate plan, the virtual rate plan also consists of a basic fee, a metered fee, and a taxable fee.

[0023] The tag information adding unit 512 adds various attribute information (company attributes, metered rate ratio, GHG emission coefficient, etc.) that constitutes the specific content of the virtual rate plan to the virtual rate plan information.

[0024] The pay-per-use rate ratio update unit 513 outputs information prompting an update of the pay-per-use rate ratio of a virtual rate plan when a predetermined number of virtual rate plans with low estimated value accuracy (described below) for calculated energy usage have been accumulated. The pay-per-use rate ratio update unit 513 also calculates a company's electricity usage based on the corresponding virtual rate plan, and adjusts the pay-per-use rate of the virtual rate plan so that the electricity usage falls within a predetermined reference value. Alternatively, the pay-per-use rate ratio update unit 513 may calculate the pay-per-use rate based on invoice information obtained from companies available for interview.

[0025] Each month, when each company receives its latest energy usage bill, the metered rate unit price update unit 514 calculates a forecast for the current month's energy usage fee based on the estimated power usage amount for the same period last year and the price information for the company's virtual rate plan, and compares this with the actual past energy usage fee. If there is a large discrepancy between the two, the metered rate unit price update unit 514 compares the data for all companies using the virtual rate plan, and if there is a discrepancy for a certain number of companies, outputs information prompting the user to update the metered rate. The metered rate unit price update unit 514 also acquires the energy providers and rate plans that make up the virtual rate plan, creates a new provisional virtual rate plan using only those energy providers and rate plans, and generates a representative rate unit price using only the rate plans that make up the virtual rate plan. Furthermore, the metered rate unit price update unit 514 continues to periodically check the virtual rate plan for which the provisional virtual rate plan was generated, and when prices are updated for other constituent energy businesses and rate plans, it re-registers the plan as either an existing plan (including other virtual rate plans) or a provisional virtual rate plan that is similar. When all energy businesses and rate plans that constitute the virtual rate plan transition to the provisional virtual rate plan, the metered rate unit price update unit 514 abolishes the corresponding existing virtual rate plan, and when they are separated, it carves out the provisional virtual rate plan as a new virtual rate plan.

[0026] The GHG emission coefficient update unit 515 updates the GHG emission coefficient, which will be described later, at the timing when it is updated by the Ministry of the Environment, for example, and recalculates the amount of GHG emissions.

[0027] The GHG emission management unit 52 has the functions of a fee record specification unit 521, a virtual fee plan allocation unit 522, an energy usage amount estimation unit 523, and a GHG emission amount estimation unit 524 (environmental load amount estimation unit).

[0028] The fee record identification unit 521 identifies transaction information (electricity fee payment history, etc.) of each company from the account information DB 400 described later.

[0029] The virtual price plan allocation unit 522 associates the specified company with at least one of the multiple pieces of virtual price plan information generated by the virtual price plan generation unit 511 based on the acquired transaction information (account information DB 400).

[0030] The energy usage estimation unit 523 calculates a parameter value (plan accuracy) that indicates the validity of the virtual rate plan information associated with the specified company based on information about companies or businesses other than the specified company (plan accuracy calculation process).

[0031] If the energy usage estimation unit 523 determines that the virtual pricing plan information associated with the specified company is valid, it calculates the energy usage by the specified company based on the virtual pricing plan information associated with the specified company.

[0032] The GHG emission amount estimation unit 524 calculates a parameter value (estimated value accuracy) that indicates the validity of the energy usage amount calculated by the energy usage amount estimation unit 523 (estimated value accuracy calculation process).

[0033] Then, if the calculated parameter values ​​(plan accuracy, estimated value accuracy) satisfy specified conditions, the GHG emission estimation unit 524 calculates a parameter value that represents the magnitude of the impact on the environment of the business operations carried out by the specified company using energy, based on the calculated energy usage amount.

[0034] In this embodiment, the parameter value is assumed to be greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, but this is not intended to be limited to this, and any parameter value that represents the impact of ESG-related environmental loads that affect lending in sustainable finance may be used.

[0035] The GHG emission visualization unit 53 has the following functional units: a GHG emission visualization unit 531 , a category 15 visualization unit 532 , and a hearing candidate extraction unit 533 .

[0036] The GHG emission visualization unit 531 displays information such as the value or range of GHG emissions calculated by the GHG emission estimation unit 524 on a screen. For example, the GHG emission visualization unit 531 displays a graph of the value or range of energy usage and the value or range of GHG emissions of a specified company. The GHG emission visualization unit 531 also displays a screen that further maps and compares the GHG emission values ​​of other companies in the same industry and scale as the specified company, which are associated with the same virtual rate plan as the virtual rate plan of the specified company. The GHG emission visualization unit 531 also displays information such as efforts to reduce environmental impact being undertaken by companies other than the specified company.

[0037] The category 15 visualization unit 532 displays information on the range of GHG emissions (GHG emissions in financial institution category 15) that integrates the GHG emissions of multiple companies that are eligible for loans from financial institutions on the screen of the stakeholder device 60.

[0038] The interview candidate extraction unit 533 compares GHG emissions by industry or size, identifies companies with a high room for improvement (for example, high GHG emissions) or excellent companies (for example, low GHG emissions), displays them on the screen (interview list), and encourages financial institutions to visit each company. In addition, the interview candidate extraction unit 533 identifies companies whose energy usage calculated based on the regional economic information DB 800 described below deviates from a predetermined standard value, thereby identifying companies whose rate plans (rate structures) should be understood.

[0039] Next, the information estimation device 50 stores the following databases: a virtual rate plan DB1300 in which a list of each generated virtual rate plan is registered; an energy usage status DB330 in which data on the energy usage status of each company is registered; a virtual rate plan configuration company DB1200 in which information on companies associated with each virtual rate plan is registered; a virtual rate plan generation DB1100 which is temporarily generated when a virtual rate plan is generated; a virtual rate plan registration company DB2900 in which various parameters (plan accuracy, etc.) indicating the appropriateness of allocation of virtual rate plans to companies to candidate virtual rate plans are registered; and an energy usage calculation DB1800 which is temporarily generated when calculating the energy usage of each company.

[0040] The financial institution device 30 stores a company information DB300 in which data on the attributes of each company is registered, and an account information DB400 in which data on transactions (transaction information) conducted by each company that are registered in the financial institution's database is registered.

[0041] The corporate device 20 stores an environmental disclosure information DB 500 in which environmental disclosure information, which is data on ESG (Environment, Social, Governance) related to the business and which is voluntarily disclosed by each company, is registered.

[0042] The energy business operator device 10 stores a rate plan information DB 600 in which information on each rate plan is registered. A rate plan is a contract pattern that specifies the method of calculating the fees incurred for a company's energy usage. In this embodiment, the fees in each rate plan consist of a basic fee, a metered fee, and a taxable fee, as described above.

[0043] The government agency device 40 stores a GHG emission coefficient information DB700 in which information on GHG emission coefficients, which are parameters for calculating GHG emissions and are associated with a company's rate plan, is registered, and a regional economic information DB800 in which regional economic information, which is data on economic activities in each region in which each company is located, is registered.

[0044] (Corporate information DB) 3 is a diagram showing an example of the company information DB 300. The company information DB 300 stores data for each company, such as the company name, company location, company industry, company size, company sales (economic profits obtained from business operations using energy), and rate plans, which are contract plans provided by each business operator that stipulate a method for calculating fees incurred from the company's use of each energy (electricity, gas, etc.).

[0045] (Account information DB) 4 is a diagram showing an example of the account information DB 400. The account information DB 400 stores, for each company, data such as the company name, the type of transaction the company conducted with a financial institution, the date of the transaction, a summary of the transaction, a summary comment regarding the transaction (for example, information on a business partner such as an energy supplier), and the transaction amount (for example, an electricity bill).

[0046] (Environmental Disclosure Information DB) 5 is a diagram showing an example of the environmental disclosure information DB 500. The environmental disclosure information DB 500 stores, for each company, data on the company's name, the scope (Scope 1, 2, etc.) which is type information indicating whether or not the company has other companies that can be considered to have emitted GHGs, the type of energy used by the company (electricity, gas, etc.), the amount of energy used by the company specified by the scope, the type of GHG emitted by the company specified by the scope, and the amount of GHG emissions emitted by the company specified by the scope. The environmental disclosure information DB 500 is based on the contents of, for example, securities reports, integrated reports, etc.

[0047] (Price plan information DB) 6 is a diagram showing an example of the rate plan information DB 600. The rate plan information DB 600 stores, for each energy business operator, data such as the name of the energy business operator, the type of energy provided by the energy business operator, the name of the rate plan provided by the energy business operator, the purpose of energy use covered by the rate plan (for example, the type of building to which it can be applied), the type of calculation method (calculation model) for the energy usage fee of the rate plan (seasonal model, etc.), and parameters required for calculating the energy usage fee (basic rate unit price, metered rate unit price, taxable rate unit price).

[0048] The price plan information DB 600 may be updated at various times, such as daily, weekly, monthly, quarterly, or annually.

[0049] (GHG emission coefficient information DB) 7 is a diagram showing an example of the GHG emission coefficient information DB 700. The GHG emission coefficient information DB 700 has, for each energy, data on the type of energy, the name of the energy provider providing the energy, the rate plan provided by the energy provider, the type of GHG associated with the rate plan, and the GHG emission coefficient associated with the rate plan.

[0050] (Regional Economic Information DB) 8 is a diagram showing an example of the regional economic information DB 800. The regional economic information DB 800 stores data for each region, such as the name of the region, the name of the industry that exists in the region, the total shipping value of that industry, and the amount of energy (electricity, gas, gasoline, etc.) used in that industry in that region.

[0051] The functions of the functional units of each information processing device in the information estimation system 1 described above are realized by the arithmetic unit of each information processing device reading a program from a memory or a storage device. Each program can be recorded on, for example, a portable or fixed recording medium and distributed. All or part of each program in each information processing device may be realized using virtual information processing resources provided using virtualization technology, process space separation technology, or the like, such as a virtual server provided by a cloud system. All or part of these programs may be realized by a service provided by a cloud system via an API (Application Programming Interface), for example. Next, the processing performed by the information estimation system 1 will be described.

[0052] FIG. 9 is a flowchart illustrating an outline of the information estimation process performed by the information estimation system 1. As shown in FIG.

[0053] The information estimation device 50 executes a virtual price plan generation process s10 for generating a virtual price plan based on the price plan information DB 600 and the like.

[0054] The information estimation device 50 executes a virtual price plan attribute addition process s20 for adding (associating) company attribute information to each generated virtual price plan.

[0055] In addition, the information estimation device 50 executes a pay-as-you-go rate ratio addition process s30 to add (associate) a parameter for calculating the rate in each virtual rate plan (here, the ratio of the pay-as-you-go rate to the total rate, i.e., the ratio of the portion of the rate corresponding to the amount of energy used) to each virtual rate plan that has been generated.

[0056] The information estimation device 50 executes a GHG emission coefficient addition process s40 for adding (associating) information on a GHG emission coefficient to each virtual rate plan that has been generated.

[0057] Next, the information estimation device 50 executes a transaction information acquisition process s50 for acquiring transaction information of each company from the financial institution device 30.

[0058] The information estimation device 50 executes a virtual price plan allocation process s60 in which it allocates one or more virtual price plans to each company by comparing the transaction information of each company with each virtual price plan. Hereinafter, each virtual price plan allocated to a company is referred to as a virtual price plan candidate.

[0059] The information estimation device 50 executes an allocation plan accuracy calculation process s70 for calculating, for each virtual price plan candidate, a plan accuracy that indicates the appropriateness of the allocation of the company to the virtual price plan candidate in the virtual price plan allocation process s60.

[0060] The information estimation device 50 also executes a pay-per-use rate ratio calculation process s80 for calculating the pay-per-use rate ratio for each of the virtual rate plan candidates allocated to each company.

[0061] The information estimation device 50 executes an energy usage estimation process s90 for each virtual pricing plan candidate assigned to each company, which calculates the energy usage of each company based on the usage rate ratio calculated in the usage rate ratio calculation process s80 for the virtual pricing plan candidate.

[0062] The information estimation device 50 executes an estimated value accuracy calculation process s100 for calculating, for each virtual rate plan candidate, an estimated value accuracy that indicates the validity of the energy usage amount estimated in the energy usage amount estimation process s90.

[0063] The information estimation device 50 executes an abnormality determination process s110 to determine whether the energy usage estimated in the energy usage estimation process s90 is valid and whether it should be corrected, based on the plan accuracy and estimated value accuracy of each virtual rate plan candidate.

[0064] The information estimation device 50 executes an energy usage amount range specification process s120 for calculating an estimated range of the energy usage amount based on the energy usage amount determined to be valid in the abnormality determination process s110.

[0065] Then, the information estimation device 50 executes a GHG emission calculation process 130 that calculates the GHG emission amount of each company based on the calculated or corrected energy usage amount.

[0066] Thereafter, the information estimation device 50 causes the GHG emission visualization unit 53 to display various pieces of information relating to the GHG emission amount on the screen of each information processing device (s140).

[0067] Each process will be described in detail below.

[0068] <Virtual rate plan creation process> 10 is a flow diagram illustrating an example of the virtual rate plan creation process s10. The information estimation device 50 acquires the rate plan information DB 600 from the energy company device 10 to acquire the content of the rate plans offered by each energy company (s11).

[0069] The information estimation device 50 compares the content of the rate plans offered by each energy provider acquired in s11 and classifies the rate plans into multiple groups by assigning rate plans with the same or similar values ​​for predetermined items to the same group (s12). For example, the information estimation device 50 classifies rate plans with the same or similar energy type, usage, and rate calculation method into the same group. Then, for each group, the information estimation device 50 compares the unit prices (basic unit price, metered unit price, taxable unit price) of each rate plan in the group and further classifies rate plans with similar unit prices (for example, unit prices within a predetermined range) into the same group. Note that the data items described here that are used to determine whether plans belong to the same group are just an example.

[0070] The information estimation device 50 sets each of the groups classified in s12 as a virtual rate plan, and for each virtual rate plan, sets data of a list of rate plans belonging to that virtual rate in the virtual rate plan participating company DB 1200 (s13).

[0071] Furthermore, the information estimation device 50 sets values ​​(representative values) for the items of each virtual rate plan, and sets the set representative values ​​in the virtual rate plan DB 1300 (s13). For example, the information estimation device 50 sets the average value of the values ​​of each item (e.g., each unit price) of each rate plan classified into the same virtual rate plan as the value of each item of the virtual rate plan. Note that the method of setting values ​​described here is just one example.

[0072] 11 is a diagram showing an example of a virtual rate plan generation DB 1100 that compiles data on rate plans belonging to the same virtual rate plan in the processing of s12. As shown in the figure, this virtual rate plan generation DB 1100 compiles three rate plans that share the same energy type, use, and rate calculation method, and have similar unit prices.

[0073] (Virtual pricing plan company database) 12 is a diagram showing an example of the virtual rate plan constituent company DB 1200. The virtual rate plan constituent company DB 1200 has data on the name of each virtual rate plan, the type of each virtual rate plan (energy type such as electricity, gas, etc.), the name of the energy company offering the rate plan associated with (classified into) each virtual rate plan, and the name of the rate plan.

[0074] (Virtual pricing plan DB) 13 is a diagram showing an example of a virtual rate plan DB 1300. The virtual rate plan DB 1300 stores the following data: the name of each virtual rate plan, the energy type (electricity, gas, etc.) of each virtual rate plan, the industry of the company associated with each virtual rate plan, the size of the company associated with each virtual rate plan, parameters (slope and intercept, described below) of the rate calculation model of each virtual rate plan (a model that estimates the rate for a company's energy use from the company's financial information (sales, etc.)), the type of rate calculation model of the rate plan associated with each virtual rate plan, the basic unit price of the rate plan, the metered unit price of the rate plan, the taxable unit price of the rate plan, the type of greenhouse gas (GHG) associated with each virtual rate plan, and the GHG emission coefficient associated with each virtual rate plan. The processing up to s13 sets the name 1301 of the virtual rate plan, the type 1302 of the rate calculation model (seasonal, etc.), and each unit price 1303.

[0075] <Adding virtual rate plan attributes> FIG. 14 is a flow diagram illustrating the virtual rate plan attribute addition process s20.

[0076] The information estimation device 50 acquires information on companies that use the rate plan associated with the virtual rate plan (s21).

[0077] Specifically, for each virtual rate plan, the information estimation device 50 refers to the virtual rate plan constituent company DB1200 generated in the virtual rate plan creation process s10 to identify each rate plan associated with the virtual rate plan and the energy business operator that provides each rate plan.The information estimation device 50 then refers to the company information DB300 to acquire information on each item of company information, such as location, industry, and size, from the record in which information on the identified energy business operator is set in the rate plan.

[0078] In addition, when company information is registered in the company information DB300, it means, for example, that a financial institution interviews each company to obtain information about the energy provider and its rate plan (such as invoice information) that each company uses, and registers this information in the company information DB300.

[0079] Then, the information estimation device 50 sets, from the company information acquired in s21, information on items that have common values ​​for the same virtual price plan in the virtual price plan DB 1300. Specifically, for each virtual price plan, the information estimation device 50 sets, from the information on each item of the company acquired in s21 (location, industry, and size), information on items that all have the same value in the corresponding record in the virtual price plan DB 1300.

[0080] For example, in the example of virtual pricing plan DB1300 shown in Figure 13, the region, industry, and size are common to each company, namely "Ibaraki Prefecture," "manufacturing," and "small and medium-sized enterprises," and these values ​​are set as 1304 ("Ibaraki Prefecture," "manufacturing," and "small and medium-sized enterprises").

[0081] <Additional processing of pay-per-use rate> FIG. 15 is a flow diagram illustrating an example of the usage charge rate addition process s30.

[0082] The information estimation device 50 identifies companies that provide environmental disclosure information, and acquires information on electricity rates and rate plans of each of the identified companies (s31).

[0083] Specifically, the information estimation device 50 refers to the virtual rate plan DB 1300, the company information DB 300, and the environmental disclosure information DB 500 to identify all companies that use the rate plan associated with the virtual rate plan and for which information on annual CO2 emissions or electricity usage is set in the environmental disclosure information DB 500. Then, for each identified company, the information estimation device 50 obtains the company's monthly electricity bill from the account information DB 400.

[0084] The information estimation device 50 executes the processes of s32 to s34 for each company identified in s31. First, the information estimation device 50 calculates the monthly power consumption of each company (s32). For example, the information estimation device 50 calculates the monthly average power consumption by proportionally allocating the annual power consumption based on the monthly electricity rate.

[0085] The information estimation device 50 estimates the pay-per-use fee in the rate plan used by the company (s33).

[0086] Specifically, the information estimation device 50 acquires each unit price (basic unit price and metered unit price) of the company's rate plan from the rate plan information DB 600. Then, the information estimation device 50 calculates the monthly metered charge amount based on the monthly power usage calculated in s32 and the basic unit price and metered unit price in the rate plan.

[0087] The information estimation device 50 calculates the ratio of the metered charge to the electricity charge (metered charge ratio) for each month based on the metered charge amount estimated in s33 (s34).

[0088] Based on the value of the monthly usage charge ratio calculated as described above and the monthly sales obtained from the company information DB 300, the information estimation device 50 estimates the slope and intercept, which are parameters in the fee calculation model, for example, using the following relational expression (1) (s35).

[0089] Pay-per-use rate ratio = slope × sales + intercept (1)

[0090] Then, the information estimation device 50 registers the parameters (slope and intercept) of the fee calculation model in the virtual fee plan DB 1300 (s36).

[0091] In the example of FIG. 13, the slope and intercept 1305 of the virtual rate plan DB 1300 are set.

[0092] Here, FIG. 16 is a diagram for explaining an example of the variable charge ratio addition process S30. The electricity consumption for each month 1501 is calculated from the electricity consumption obtained from the environmental disclosure information DB500 and the actual electricity bill value obtained from the account information DB400. Then, the variable charge 1503 for each month is calculated from the electricity consumption 1501 for each month and the unit price information 1502 obtained from the tariff plan information DB600. And the variable charge ratio 1505 for each month is calculated by dividing the variable charge 1503 for each month by the electricity bill 1504 for each month. Then, the slope and intercept are calculated by approximating the relationship between the sales value for each month obtained from the corporate information DB300 and the variable charge ratio 1505 for each month to a linear equation 1506.

[0093] Note that the formula (1) for calculating the above variable charge ratio is an example. A formula for calculating the variable charge ratio based on any parameter value representing the business activities of a company other than sales may also be used.

[0094] <GHG Emission Factor Registration Process> FIG. 17 is a flowchart for explaining an example of the GHG emission factor registration process S40.

[0095] The information estimation device 50 acquires, for each virtual tariff plan, the type of GHG and the value of the emission factor in each tariff plan associated with that virtual tariff plan (S41).

[0096] Specifically, for each record in the virtual tariff plan constituent company DB1200, the information estimation device 50 acquires the type, energy provider, and the name of the tariff plan, identifies the record in the GHG emission factor information DB700 where the acquired information is set, and acquires the type of GHG and the value of the GHG emission factor of the identified record, respectively.

[0097] The information estimation device 50 calculates the GHG emission factor of each virtual tariff plan based on the value of the GHG emission factor of each tariff plan acquired in S41 (S42). For example, the information estimation device 50 calculates the average value of the value of the GHG emission factor acquired in S41 for each virtual tariff plan.

[0098] <Transaction information acquisition process> FIG. 18 is a flow diagram illustrating an example of the transaction information acquisition process s50.

[0099] The information estimation device 50 designates one of the companies (this may be selected automatically or may receive a selection input from the user) and acquires transaction information of the designated company (s51). For example, the information estimation device 50 acquires all records related to the designated company from the account information DB 400. Note that the information estimation device 50 may acquire transaction information from an information processing system linked to the corporate device 20 (e.g., an accounting management system, a credit card management system, or an invoice management system) in addition to the account information DB 400.

[0100] The information estimation device 50 extracts all transaction information of expenditures from the transaction information acquired in s51 (s52). For example, the information estimation device 50 extracts records whose type is withdrawal from the records acquired in s51.

[0101] The information estimation device 50 extracts all transaction information related to energy expenditures from the transaction information extracted in s52 (s53). For example, the information estimation device 50 extracts records with summaries of "Electricity Fund," "XX Energy," and "Energy XX Outlet" from the records extracted in s52.

[0102] The information estimation device 50 determines whether or not transaction information of the designated company related to energy expenditures has been extracted by the processing of s53 (s54). If transaction information of the designated company related to energy expenditures has been extracted (s54: YES), the information estimation device 50 executes the processing of s55. If transaction information related to energy expenditures has not been extracted (s54: NO), the transaction information acquisition processing s50 ends.

[0103] In s55, the information estimation device 50 identifies transaction information related to payment of energy usage fees from the transaction information related to expenses for each energy extracted in s53. For example, the information estimation device 50 references the date of each record extracted in s53 and identifies a group of records whose dates are close to the withdrawal date set by the energy supplier and whose intervals between dates are the same or similar (there is periodicity) (s55).

[0104] Then, the information estimation device 50 creates an energy usage amount calculation DB 1800 having the transaction information identified in s55 as record information (s56).

[0105] (Energy usage calculation DB) 19 is a diagram illustrating an example of an energy usage calculation DB 1800. For each virtual rate plan associated with a designated company, the energy usage calculation DB 1800 includes the following data: the name of the designated company, the type of energy used by the designated company, the payment date of the energy fee based on the rate plan associated with the designated company, a summary comment that is a comment on the company's transactions with financial institutions, the name of the virtual rate plan associated with the designated company, the plan accuracy that is an evaluation value indicating the accuracy of the virtual rate plan associated with the designated company, the pay-as-you-go rate ratio of the virtual rate plan associated with the designated company, the energy usage calculated based on the virtual rate plan associated with the designated company, the reference energy usage calculated based on economic information related to the designated company or other companies, the evaluation target accuracy that is an evaluation value indicating the validity of the calculated energy usage, and the GHG emission amount corresponding to the energy usage. Note that the fee information acquisition process s50 sets only the name of the designated company, the type of energy used, the payment date of the energy fee, the summary comment, and the payment date and payment amount of the energy fee (reference numeral 1801).

[0106] <Virtual rate plan allocation process> 20 is a flow diagram illustrating the details of the virtual rate plan allocation process s60. First, the information estimation device 50 acquires company information of the designated company by acquiring the record of the designated company in the company information DB 300 (s61). Then, the information estimation device 50 acquires attribute information of the designated company by acquiring attribute information (e.g., location, industry, size) of the acquired record (s62).

[0107] The information estimation device 50 identifies all virtual price plans (hereinafter referred to as virtual price plan candidates) that have content similar to the attribute information acquired in s62 (s63). For example, the information estimation device 50 compares the attribute information (region, industry, size) of each record in the virtual price plan DB 1300 with the attribute information of the record acquired in s62, and identifies all records in the virtual price plan DB 1300 that have the most similar attribute information content (for example, the same content for a predetermined number of items or more).

[0108] The information estimation device 50 registers information on each virtual rate plan candidate identified in s63 in the energy usage amount calculation DB 1800 (s64).

[0109] In the example of FIG. 19, four virtual rate plan candidate names 1802 have been added to the specified company ("Factory A") in the energy usage calculation DB 1800.

[0110] <Allocation plan accuracy calculation process> 21 is a flow diagram illustrating details of the allocation plan accuracy calculation process s70. The information estimation device 50 selects a virtual rate plan candidate associated with the designated company and acquires each record of the energy usage calculation DB 1800 related to the selected virtual rate plan candidate, thereby extracting information on the virtual rate plan candidate associated with the designated company (s71).

[0111] The information estimation device 50 calculates a parameter value (hereinafter referred to as provider suitability) representing the validity of the energy provider associated with each virtual rate plan candidate of the designated company by checking the degree of similarity or commonality between the energy provider associated with the virtual rate plan candidate and the energy provider actually used by the designated company (s72).

[0112] For example, the information estimation device 50 obtains the summary comment (name of energy provider) of each record in the energy usage calculation DB1800 extracted in s71, and calculates the percentage of those energy providers that are included in the virtual rate plan constituent company DB1200.

[0113] Furthermore, the information estimation device 50 calculates a parameter value (hereinafter referred to as payment date similarity) that indicates the validity of the payment date associated with each virtual rate plan candidate of the specified company by checking the similarity or commonality between the energy charge payment date associated with the virtual rate plan candidate and the energy charge payment date of other companies that are associated with the same virtual rate plan candidate (s73).

[0114] For example, the information estimation device 50 obtains the payment date of each record in the energy usage calculation DB 1800 of the designated company extracted in s71, and also obtains the registration month of the records of other companies in the virtual rate plan registered company DB 2900. The information estimation device 50 calculates the proximity of both dates using a predetermined calculation formula. This calculation formula is, for example, a function or ranking whose value increases according to the magnitude of the difference between the dates. The calculation formula may also further assign a weighting coefficient based on the proximity of the designated company's region to the other companies' regions.

[0115] The information estimation device 50 calculates plan accuracy based on the provider suitability calculated in s73 and the payment date similarity calculated in s74, and sets the calculated plan accuracy in the energy usage calculation DB 1800. For example, the information estimation device 50 sets a category identified by a combination of a value range to which the provider suitability belongs and a value range to which the payment date similarity belongs.

[0116] 22 is a diagram showing an example of a setting pattern for plan accuracy. The plan accuracy is determined as either "high," "medium," or "low" depending on the combination of the value range to which the business suitability (%) belongs and the value range to which the payment date similarity (%) belongs.

[0117] In the example of FIG. 19, the plan accuracy 1803 of the record of each virtual rate plan candidate company in the energy usage calculation DB 1800 is set to "high," "medium," or "low."

[0118] The parameter values ​​(payment date similarity, provider suitability) described in this embodiment are merely examples. Parameter values ​​that represent similarity or commonality regarding other attribute information related to the rate plan or information about the energy provider offering the rate plan may also be used.

[0119] <Payment rate ratio calculation process> 23 is a flow diagram illustrating an example of the usage rate ratio calculation process s80. The information estimation device 50 acquires parameter information of the rate calculation model for each virtual rate plan candidate of the designated company (s81). Specifically, the information estimation device 50 acquires the slope and intercept of the virtual rate plan DB 1300, in which the plan names of the records related to the designated company and virtual rate plan candidates in the energy usage calculation DB 1800 are set.

[0120] Meanwhile, the information estimation device 50 acquires the financial information of the designated company by acquiring the sales of the record related to the designated company in the company information DB 300 (s82).

[0121] The information estimation device 50 calculates a rate that reflects the energy usage of the designated company for each virtual rate plan candidate by applying the financial information acquired in s82 to the parameters of the rate calculation model acquired in s81 (s83). For example, the information estimation device 50 calculates the pay-as-you-go rate ratio by substituting the slope and intercept acquired in s81 for the slope and intercept of equation (1) and substituting the sales acquired in s82 for the sales in equation (1).

[0122] The information estimation device 50 registers the fee calculated in s83, for example, information on the rate of the metered charge, in the energy usage amount calculation DB 1800 (s84).

[0123] In the example of FIG. 19, the value of each metered rate rate calculated in s83 is set in the metered rate rate 1804 of each virtual rate plan candidate of the designated company in the energy usage calculation DB 1800.

[0124] <Energy usage estimation processing> FIG. 24 is a flow diagram illustrating an example of the energy usage amount estimation process s90.

[0125] The information estimation device 50 identifies the calculation method of the energy usage amount based on each virtual rate plan candidate of the designated company (s91). Specifically, the information estimation device 50 acquires the model type 1302 of the record related to each virtual rate plan candidate of the designated company in the virtual rate plan DB 1300, and acquires the content of the energy calculation model (a model that calculates the energy usage from the energy usage fee information) corresponding to the acquired type from the energy usage amount calculation logic DB 2500 described later.

[0126] The information estimation device 50 calculates the energy usage of the designated company by applying each piece of information about the virtual rate plan candidate to the calculation method identified in s92 for each virtual rate plan candidate (s92). For example, the information estimation device 50 obtains the unit price 1303 (metered unit price, taxable unit price, etc.) of the record related to the virtual rate plan candidate of the designated company in the virtual rate plan DB 1300, and calculates the energy usage of the designated company by substituting the obtained unit price 1303 into the energy calculation model obtained in s91.

[0127] The information estimation device 50 sets each energy usage amount calculated in s92 in the energy usage amount calculation DB 1800 (s93).

[0128] In the example of FIG. 19, the calculated energy usage values ​​are set in the energy usage 1805 field of the energy usage calculation DB 1800 for each virtual rate plan candidate of the designated company.

[0129] (Energy usage calculation logic DB) 25 is a diagram showing an example of the energy usage calculation logic DB 2500. The energy usage calculation logic DB 2500 has data on the type of each energy calculation model, the type of energy related to each energy calculation model, and the contents of each energy calculation model. Note that this calculation formula may be a formula for each type of energy, or may be a formula based on parameters for multiple types of energy.

[0130] The energy calculation model is, for example, a formula for calculating the amount of energy usage based on parameters related to the price of the virtual rate plan (metered rate rate, total rate, metered unit price, taxable unit price, etc.).

[0131] <Estimated value accuracy calculation process> FIG. 26 is a flow diagram illustrating an example of the estimated value accuracy calculation process s100.

[0132] The information estimation device 50 acquires information on economic activities in the region where the designated company is located (s101). Specifically, the information estimation device 50 acquires the shipment amount and electricity usage amount of the record in the regional economic information DB 800 in which the location and industry information of the record related to the designated company in the company information DB 300 is set.

[0133] The information estimation device 50 estimates the energy usage (reference energy usage) in the area by substituting the economic activity information acquired in s101 into the local energy usage calculation model registered in the local energy usage calculation logic DB2700 described below (s102).

[0134] Then, the information estimation device 50 calculates the difference (deviation) between the energy usage calculated in the energy usage estimation process s90 and each of the energy usage amounts estimated in s102, and calculates the accuracy of the estimated value based on each calculated difference (s103). For example, the information estimation device 50 may use a parameter value indicating the smallness of the difference (whether it is equal to or smaller than a predetermined deviation, etc.) as the energy usage accuracy, or may use a rank ("low", "medium", or "high") corresponding to the smallness of the energy usage accuracy as the energy usage accuracy.

[0135] In the example of Figure 19, the calculated reference energy usage is set in common in the reference energy usage 1806 of the records relating to each virtual rate plan candidate of the designated company in the energy usage calculation DB 1800, and the estimated value accuracy 1807 is set to each calculated estimated value accuracy.

[0136] (Regional energy consumption calculation logic DB) 27 is a diagram showing an example of a regional energy usage calculation logic DB 2700. The regional energy usage calculation logic DB 2700 stores the contents of regional energy usage calculation models of various types (by region, by energy type, by industry type, etc.) (for example, a formula for calculating energy usage from economic information such as electricity usage and company shipment values). The regional energy usage calculation model is a model that can calculate electricity usage based on information made public by, for example, the Regional Economy Society Analyzing System (RESAS).

[0137] The economic activity information shown here for calculating the accuracy of the estimated value is an example. For example, categories other than region or industry may be used, and economic activity indicators other than sales may be used.

[0138] <Abnormality detection process> FIG. 28 is a flow diagram illustrating an example of the abnormality determination process s110.

[0139] The information estimation device 50 acquires the plan accuracy of the designated company acquired in the allocation plan accuracy calculation process s70 and the estimated value accuracy of the designated company calculated in the estimated value accuracy calculation process s100 for each virtual price plan candidate (s111).

[0140] The information estimation device 50 calculates the evaluation target accuracy for each virtual rate plan candidate based on the combination of the parameter values ​​acquired in s111, and sets the accuracy in the energy usage amount calculation DB 1800 (s112).

[0141] In this embodiment, the accuracy of the evaluation target is one of "normal" (high validity of energy usage) indicating that the energy usage is appropriate, "needs confirmation" (medium validity of energy usage) indicating that the user needs to confirm or correct the validity of the energy usage, "invalid" (low validity of energy usage) indicating that the energy usage is not appropriate, and "needs confirmation / invalid" (validity of energy usage not determined) indicating that it is not possible to determine whether "needs confirmation" or "invalid" is appropriate.

[0142] In the example of FIG. 19, the evaluation target accuracy 1808 of the record of the virtual rate plan candidate for each designated company in the energy usage calculation DB 1800 is set to "normal" or "confirmation required / invalid."

[0143] The information estimation device 50 checks whether the evaluation target accuracy calculated in s112 is "needs confirmation / invalid" for each virtual price plan candidate (s113). If the evaluation target accuracy is "needs confirmation / invalid" (s113: YES), the information estimation device 50 executes the energy usage verification process s114, which will be described later, for that virtual price plan candidate. If the evaluation target accuracy is not "needs confirmation / invalid" (s113: NO), the information estimation device 50 executes the process of s115 for that virtual price plan candidate.

[0144] In s115, if the evaluation target accuracy 1808 in the energy usage amount calculation DB 1800 is "normal" or "confirmation required", the information estimation device 50 determines that the energy usage amount is valid and registers it in the virtual rate registration company DB 2900.

[0145] (DB of companies registered with virtual pricing plans) 29 is a diagram showing an example of a virtual rate plan registered company DB 2900. The virtual rate plan registered company DB 2900 has, for each company, the following data: company name, region to which the company belongs, company industry, company size, energy type (electricity, gas, etc.) in the virtual rate plan associated with the company, name of the virtual rate plan associated with the company, plan accuracy for the virtual rate plan associated with the company, accuracy of the estimated value of the company's energy usage calculated based on the virtual rate plan associated with the company, evaluation target accuracy of the virtual rate plan associated with the company, and the registration month when the company was associated with the virtual rate plan.

[0146] <Energy usage verification process> FIG. 30 is a flow diagram illustrating an example of the energy usage amount verification process s114.

[0147] The information estimation device 50 verifies the energy usage by recalculating the accuracy of the evaluation target whose energy usage value is undetermined (not "normal"; "needs confirmation / invalid") using a different algorithm from the energy usage estimation process s90, using time-series information on the energy usage and finances of the specified company (s1141).

[0148] In this embodiment, the information estimation device 50 recalculates the accuracy of the evaluation target based on whether fluctuations in power consumption and sales are correlated with each other with a predetermined time lag. Specifically, the information estimation device 50 acquires the sales and power consumption of the designated company for each past timing (e.g., each month). The information estimation device 50 calculates the power consumption per unit of sales for each timing by dividing the sales at each timing by the power consumption for a predetermined period prior to the timing (e.g., the average period from the manufacture of a product to the recording of sales of that product). Then, if the power consumption per unit of sales at the predetermined time (e.g., the current time) is at the same level as the power consumption per unit of sales in the past (e.g., within a predetermined error), the information estimation device 50 determines the accuracy of the evaluation target to be "confirmation required." Note that if corresponding sales data is not available, the accuracy is calculated based on past sales data, for example, by using a weighted average of past sales for the same month. Note that the method of recalculating the evaluation target accuracy described here is merely an example. For example, other types of financial time series information may be used to calculate power usage in different ways.

[0149] Then, the information estimation device 50 checks whether the evaluation target accuracy is still "needs confirmation / invalid" even after recalculation (s1142). If the evaluation target accuracy is still "needs confirmation / invalid" (s1142: YES), the information estimation device 50 executes the process of s1143, and if the evaluation target accuracy is not "needs confirmation / invalid" (s1142: NO), the information estimation device 50 sets the evaluation target accuracy ("needs confirmation" or "invalid") to the evaluation target accuracy of the virtual fee registration company DB2900, and the evaluation target accuracy recalculation process s114 ends.

[0150] In s1143, the information estimation device 50 verifies the energy usage by recalculating the evaluation target accuracy based on whether the evaluation target accuracy of a predetermined percentage or more of the other companies associated with the same virtual rate plan as the specified company is “normal.”

[0151] For example, the information estimation device 50 first identifies all other companies associated with the same virtual rate plan as the designated company, and acquires the evaluation target accuracy of each of the identified companies. If the evaluation target accuracy of more than half of the companies is "normal," the information estimation device 50 sets the evaluation target accuracy (evaluation target accuracy in the virtual rate registration company DB 2900) of the designated company's virtual rate plan candidate to "confirmation required," and otherwise sets it to "invalid."

[0152] Note that even if the information estimation device 50 can only obtain the evaluation target accuracy for some of all the above-mentioned companies, it may set the evaluation target accuracy, for example, as follows. For example, if the evaluation target accuracy for more than half of all the above-mentioned companies is "normal" at that time, the information estimation device 50 sets the evaluation target accuracy at that time to "confirmation required," and if the evaluation target accuracy for more than half of all the above-mentioned companies is not "normal" at that time, it sets the evaluation target accuracy at that time to "invalid." Also, for example, the information estimation device 50 may set the evaluation target accuracy at that time to "confirmation required" if the evaluation target accuracy for more than half of the companies for which it can obtain the evaluation target accuracy at that time is "normal."

[0153] <Energy usage range identification process> FIG. 31 is a flow diagram illustrating an example of the energy usage amount range specification process s120.

[0154] The information estimation device 50 sets data other than energy usage (e.g., company name, type, payment date, summary comment, payment amount, reference energy usage) from the data of each virtual rate plan candidate of the designated company in the energy usage calculation DB1800 generated so far into the energy usage status DB3300 described below (s121).

[0155] The information estimation device 50 specifies all the energy consumption amounts associated with the virtual tariff plan candidates of the specified company by obtaining all the energy consumption amounts of the records in the energy consumption amount calculation DB 1800 for each virtual tariff plan candidate of the specified company where the evaluation target accuracy is "normal" or "required confirmation". Then, based on each specified energy consumption amount, the information estimation device 50 specifies the maximum value and the minimum value of the energy consumption amounts of each virtual tariff plan candidate of the specified company, thereby specifying the range of energy consumption amounts covered by all the virtual tariff plan candidates of the specified company (s122).

[0156] Then, the information estimation device 50 registers the range of energy consumption amounts specified in s122 in the energy consumption status DB 3300 (s123).

[0157] <GHG Emission Amount Calculation Process> FIG. 32 is a flowchart for explaining an example of the GHG emission amount calculation process s130.

[0158] The information estimation device 50 obtains the GHG emission coefficients of the virtual tariff plan candidates of the specified company where the evaluation target accuracy is "normal" or "required confirmation" among the virtual tariff plan candidates of the specified company (s131). Specifically, for each plan name of the records in the energy consumption amount calculation DB 1800 where the evaluation target accuracy is "normal" or "required confirmation", the information estimation device 50 obtains all the GHG emission coefficients of the records in the virtual tariff plan DB 1300 where that plan name is set.

[0159] Based on the GHG emission coefficients of each virtual tariff plan candidate obtained in s131, the information estimation device 50 calculates the GHG emission amounts corresponding to each virtual tariff plan candidate respectively (s132). Specifically, the information estimation device 50 calculates the GHG emission amount by multiplying the GHG emission coefficient of the virtual tariff plan candidate obtained in s131 by the energy consumption amount of the corresponding virtual tariff plan candidate in the energy consumption amount calculation DB 1800, and registers it in the energy consumption amount calculation DB 1800.

[0160] In the example of FIG. 19, GHG emissions are set in the GHS emissions 1809 of each virtual rate plan candidate of the designated company in the energy usage calculation DB 1800.

[0161] The information estimation device 50 calculates the range of GHG emissions covered by all of the hypothetical rate plan candidates for the designated company (i.e., according to the range of energy usage) based on the GHG emissions calculated in s132 (s133). For example, the information estimation device 50 identifies the range of GHG emissions by identifying the maximum and minimum values ​​of GHG emissions. Then, the information estimation device 50 registers the identified range of GHG emissions in the energy usage status DB 3300 (s134).

[0162] (Energy usage status DB) 33 is a diagram showing an example of an energy usage status DB 3300. The energy usage status DB 3300 stores data such as the name of the designated company, the type of energy used by the designated company, the payment date when the designated company paid the fee to the energy company for that energy usage based on the virtual rate plan, a summary comment of the rate plan associated with the virtual rate plan, the payment amount of that fee, the amount of energy usage corresponding to the virtual rate plan, the reference energy usage amount of that energy, and the amount of GHG emissions corresponding to the virtual rate plan.

[0163] As described above, the information estimation system 1 of this embodiment generates multiple pieces of virtual pricing plan information that integrate the pricing plans of each energy business operator, and associates the designated company with at least one of the above virtual pricing plan information based on the transaction information (account information) of the designated company.If the virtual pricing plan information associated with the designated company is determined to be valid based on the plan accuracy, the system calculates the energy usage amount of the designated company, and if the calculated plan accuracy and estimated value accuracy (evaluation target accuracy) are greater than or equal to a predetermined value, the system calculates the GHG emissions of the designated company.

[0164] That is, the information estimation system 1 of this embodiment associates the account information of a company available from a financial institution with a separately created virtual rate plan, and calculates energy consumption and GHG emissions if the association is appropriate.

[0165] In this way, the information estimation system 1 of this embodiment can accurately estimate information related to sustainable finance based on information available from financial institutions.

[0166] In addition, the information estimation system 1 of this embodiment estimates the pay-as-you-go rate ratio of a company based on the sales of the company associated with the virtual rate plan, adds the estimated pay-as-you-go rate ratio to the virtual rate plan information, and calculates the energy usage by the designated company based on the pay-as-you-go rate ratio in the virtual rate plan information associated with the designated company.

[0167] This allows the fee (metered rate) corresponding to the amount of energy used to be accurately estimated, and the amount of energy used to be calculated with high precision.

[0168] In addition, the information estimation system 1 of this embodiment adds to the virtual rate plan information the payment dates of rate plans of companies other than the designated company that correspond to the virtual rate plan and information on the energy company that provides the rate plan, and calculates a plan accuracy that represents the similarity or commonality between the payment dates of the designated company's rate plans and the information on the energy company that provides the rate plan, which are obtained from the designated company's transaction information (account information), and the rate plan attribute information and energy company information in the above virtual rate plan information.

[0169] In this way, by calculating the accuracy of the designated company's plan based on similarities or commonalities with other companies' pricing plans and energy providers, it is possible to accurately determine whether the virtual pricing plan associated with the designated company is appropriate.

[0170] In addition, the information estimation system 1 of this embodiment estimates the designated company's energy usage (reference energy usage) based on information on economic activity (sales, etc.) in the area where the designated company is located, calculates the estimated value accuracy, which represents the deviation between the reference energy usage and the energy usage that has already been calculated, and if the deviation is small, calculates the designated company's GHG emissions based on that energy usage.

[0171] In this way, a value that takes into account the economic situation in the area where the designated company is located is calculated as a reference value, and the validity of the calculated energy consumption amount is judged using the estimated value. If it is valid, the energy consumption amount is used to calculate the designated company's GHG emissions. This allows for an appropriate estimation of GHG emissions.

[0172] On the other hand, if the discrepancy is large ("Verification Required / Invalid"), the information estimation system 1 of this embodiment verifies the validity of the calculated energy usage, and if it is determined to be valid, calculates the GHG emissions of the designated company based on that energy usage.

[0173] In this way, if there is a large discrepancy between the calculated and estimated energy usage amounts, the validity of the calculated energy usage amount is verified separately, and if it is valid, the calculated energy usage amount is treated as a significant outlier and included within the margin of error, thereby calculating the GHG emissions of the designated company. This allows for an appropriate estimation of GHG emissions.

[0174] Specifically, for example, the information estimation system 1 of this embodiment verifies the validity of the calculated energy usage based on the designated company's time-series financial information (sales for each month), and if it is determined to be valid, calculates the designated company's GHG emissions based on that energy usage.

[0175] This allows for an appropriate estimation of GHG emissions by considering the difference (for example, time lag) between fluctuations in a company's financial situation and fluctuations in energy usage, and treating the calculated value of energy usage as a meaningful outlier within the margin of error.

[0176] Furthermore, for example, the information estimation system 1 of this embodiment verifies the validity of the calculated energy usage amount based on the plan accuracy and estimated value accuracy (evaluation target accuracy) calculated for companies other than the designated company, and if it is determined to be valid, calculates the GHG emissions of the designated company based on that energy usage amount.

[0177] This allows for an appropriate estimation of GHG emissions by considering the circumstances of companies other than the designated companies and treating the calculated values ​​of energy usage as meaningful outliers within the margin of error.

[0178] The present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiments, and can be implemented using any components within the scope of the present invention. The above-described embodiments and modifications are merely examples, and the present invention is not limited to these contents as long as the features of the invention are not impaired. Furthermore, although various embodiments and modifications have been described above, the present invention is not limited to these contents. Other aspects conceivable within the scope of the technical idea of ​​the present invention are also included within the scope of the present invention.

[0179] For example, part of the hardware provided in each device of this embodiment may be provided in another device.

[0180] Furthermore, each program of each device may be provided in another device, a program may consist of multiple programs, or multiple programs may be integrated into one program.

[0181] Furthermore, in this embodiment, the energy to be treated is electrical energy, but the present invention is also applicable to other types of energy (gas, water). [Explanation of symbols]

[0182] 1 Information estimation system, 50 Information estimation device, 511 Virtual rate plan generation unit, 522 Virtual rate plan allocation unit, 523 Energy usage estimation unit, 524 GHG emission estimation unit

Claims

1. a storage device that stores rate plan information for each business that provides energy to a customer, the rate plan information including a calculation method for a fee incurred by the customer's use of the energy; and a virtual rate plan generation process for generating a plurality of virtual rate plan information pieces that are information that integrates the rate calculation methods for the respective businesses based on the rate plan information pieces; a virtual rate plan allocation process for acquiring transaction information of a designated customer and associating the designated customer with at least one of the generated virtual rate plan information based on the acquired transaction information; a plan accuracy calculation process for calculating a parameter value representing the appropriateness of association of the specified customer with virtual rate plan information based on information on customers other than the specified customer or the business; an energy usage amount estimation process for calculating the energy usage amount of the specified customer based on the virtual rate plan information associated with the specified customer when it is determined that the association of the specified customer with virtual rate plan information is appropriate based on the calculated parameter values; an estimation value accuracy calculation process for calculating a parameter value representing the degree of validity of the calculated amount of energy usage; and an arithmetic unit that executes an environmental load estimation process for calculating, when the calculated parameter value is equal to or greater than a predetermined value, a parameter value that represents the magnitude of the impact on the environment of the business performed by the specified customer using the energy, based on the calculated amount of energy usage. Information estimation system.

2. The computing device estimating a fee for the customer's energy use based on parameter values ​​representing the customer's business activities associated with the generated virtual rate plan information, and executing a pay-per-use rate rate addition process that adds the estimated fee information to the generated virtual rate plan information; In the energy usage amount estimation process, the energy usage amount of the specified customer is calculated based on the price information in virtual price plan information associated with the specified customer. The information estimation system according to claim 1 .

3. The computing device execute a virtual rate plan attribute addition process for adding attribute information of rate plans of customers other than the specified customer corresponding to the virtual rate plan information and information of a business operator providing the rate plan to the generated virtual rate plan information; In the plan accuracy calculation process, a parameter value is calculated that represents the similarity or commonality between the attribute information of the specified customer's rate plan and the information of the business that provides the rate plan, which are obtained from the transaction information of the specified customer, and the attribute information of the rate plan and the information of the business in the virtual rate plan information to which the information has been added, which is associated with the specified customer. The information estimation system according to claim 1 .

4. the storage device stores information on economic activities in the location area of ​​the specified customer; The computing device In the estimation accuracy calculation process, an amount of energy usage of the specified customer is estimated based on the information on the economic activity, and a parameter value representing a discrepancy between the estimated amount of energy usage and the calculated amount of energy usage is calculated as a parameter value representing the degree of validity; In the environmental load estimation process, if the calculated parameter value representing the deviation is equal to or smaller than a predetermined deviation, a parameter value representing the magnitude of the influence is calculated based on the calculated amount of energy usage. The information estimation system according to claim 1 .

5. The computing device In the environmental load estimation process, if the parameter value representing the calculated deviation exceeds a predetermined deviation, the validity of the calculated energy usage amount is verified using a predetermined algorithm, and if it is determined that the calculated energy usage amount is valid, a parameter value representing the magnitude of the influence is calculated based on the calculated energy usage amount. The information estimation system according to claim 4 .

6. the storage device stores time-series financial information of the specified customer; The computing device In the environmental load estimation process, if the calculated parameter value representing the deviation exceeds a predetermined deviation, it is determined whether the calculated energy usage amount is appropriate based on the time-series information, and if it is determined that the calculated energy usage amount is appropriate, a parameter value representing the magnitude of the impact is calculated based on the calculated energy usage amount. The information estimation system according to claim 5 .

7. The computing device In the environmental load estimation process, if the calculated parameter value representing the deviation exceeds a predetermined deviation, it is determined whether the calculated energy usage amount is appropriate based on parameter values ​​representing the deviation calculated for customers other than the specified customer who are associated with the virtual rate plan of the specified customer, and if it is determined that the calculated energy usage amount is appropriate, a parameter value representing the magnitude of the impact is calculated based on the calculated energy usage amount. The information estimation system according to claim 5 .

8. An information estimation method using an information processing device including a storage device that stores rate plan information, which is information including a calculation method for a fee incurred by a customer's use of energy, for each business that provides energy to the customer, and a calculation device, a virtual rate plan generation process for generating a plurality of virtual rate plan information pieces that are information that integrates the rate calculation methods for the respective businesses based on the rate plan information pieces; a virtual rate plan allocation process for acquiring transaction information of a designated customer and associating the designated customer with at least one of the generated virtual rate plan information based on the acquired transaction information; a plan accuracy calculation process for calculating a parameter value representing the appropriateness of association of the specified customer with virtual rate plan information based on information on customers other than the specified customer or the business; an energy usage amount estimation process for calculating the energy usage amount of the specified customer based on the virtual rate plan information associated with the specified customer when it is determined that the association of the specified customer with virtual rate plan information is appropriate based on the calculated parameter values; an estimation value accuracy calculation process for calculating a parameter value representing the degree of validity of the calculated amount of energy usage; and if the calculated parameter value is equal to or greater than a predetermined value, an environmental load estimation process is executed to calculate a parameter value representing the magnitude of the impact on the environment of the business performed by the specified customer using the energy, based on the calculated amount of energy usage. Information estimation method.

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