Demand Response System

Abstract

To use demand response to solve electricity supply and demand crises and balance electricity demand, since a conventional electricity retailer (supplier) cannot supply a recommended amount of electricity consumption to an electricity consumer (user) so that the user cannot refer to the recommended amount when setting a target amount.MEANS FOR SOLVING THE PROBLEM: A baseline for the target reduction amount of electricity consumption is presented to consumers, and at the same time, the predicted amount of electricity consumption for the consumers is also presented. Then a demand response system can be provided that allows consumers to input their own power consumption targets, i.e., scheduled power consumption information, and outputs power consumption propensities relative to the targets. By allowing consumers to input their own power consumption targets, it is possible to make them aware of the need to reduce their power consumption. By providing information on power consumption propensities, the system can motivate consumers to take action to achieve their goals.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 1

Description

[Technical field]

[0001] The present invention relates to a demand response system that supports demand response by allowing power retailers to adjust power rates per demand time period or provide incentives in order to ease the power supply and demand balance. In addition, the present invention also includes an invention related to a method for operating the system, which is a computer, and a program for causing the system, which is a computer, to execute the system. [Background technology]

[0002] A demand value is an average value of the amount of electricity consumed in a certain period. In Japan, the specified period is used in 30-minute units, such as 30 minutes from the top of the hour, or 30 minutes from 30 minutes to the top of the hour (e.g., 1:00 to 1:30, 1:30 to 2:00). When the supply and demand of electricity is tight, such as during the hottest hours of summer or the coldest hours of winter, demand response is used as a method to suppress the demand value on the demand side. Demand response is a method of adding a surcharge to the average power consumption (demand value) per 30 minutes of electricity consumers (hereinafter referred to as consumers) who purchase electricity, or giving incentives such as discounts on electricity bills to consumers who reduce their power consumption to a certain amount. Conversely, for times when demand is low within a certain period (e.g., one day) and it is desired to increase the power demand in order to level out the power demand within the certain period, discounts are set or incentives are given. Since the liberalization of the electricity retail market, it is the electricity retailers (hereafter referred to as suppliers) that sell electricity to consumers that provide demand response to consumers. Suppliers decide the content of the demand response as appropriate.

[0003] Patent Document 1 discloses a technology in which a supplier gives an incentive when performing demand response (hereinafter, DR). First, the supplier notifies consumers of DR. When DR is performed, the supplier's DR system calculates a baseline that predicts how much consumers who have expressed their intention to participate will reduce their demand. The actual amount of power consumption is acquired from the consumer's terminal and compared with the baseline. The invention discloses an invention that, when the amount of power consumption falls below the baseline during on-peak hours when demand is high and exceeds the baseline during off-peak hours when demand is low, gives an incentive that is applicable only to the increase in power consumption during the off-peak hours based on a calculation of the difference. [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0004] [Patent Document 1] Patent Publication No. 2015-186397 Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0005] In the DR system of Patent Document 1, the supplier calculates a baseline that predicts the power consumption of the consumer, but there is no description of whether the calculated baseline is disclosed to the consumer. Therefore, consumers who express their intention to participate reduce their power consumption during on-peak hours and increase their power consumption during off-peak hours (peak shifting) without knowing the target baseline. In addition, incentives are not given unless the consumer acts both on-peak and off-peak. Therefore, consumers do not know how much power consumption they need to reduce in order to receive an incentive, and there is a problem that they are not motivated to work hard to reduce power consumption.

[0006] Therefore, in the present invention, recommended power consumption information that is a target for reducing power consumption is presented to the consumer. A demand response system is provided that has the consumer input power consumption schedule information that is the power consumption target, and outputs power consumption propensity based on power comparison information that compares the power consumption schedule information with actual power consumption and power consumption propensity acquisition rules. By having the consumer input the power consumption target, it is possible to make the consumer conscious of reducing power consumption. In addition, by outputting the power consumption propensity information, it is possible to inform the consumer whether the target is likely to be achieved, and if it is unlikely to be achieved, it is possible to motivate the consumer to take measures to achieve the target. [Means for solving the problem]

[0007] In order to solve the above problems related to the demand response system, the present application provides, as a first invention, A recommended power consumption information acquisition unit (A) that acquires recommended power consumption information, which is information indicating the recommended power consumption amount within each demand time period, for each power consumer (hereinafter simply referred to as "consumer") based on a power supply and demand forecast, etc.; an actual power consumption information acquisition unit (B) for acquiring actual power consumption information which is information indicating actual power consumption of a consumer within each demand time period; a power consumption schedule information acquisition unit (C) that acquires power consumption schedule information that is information indicating a future power consumption schedule of a consumer based on the acquired recommended power consumption information and actual power consumption information; a power consumption comparison information acquisition unit (D) for acquiring power consumption comparison information, which is information obtained by comparing the acquired power consumption schedule information with actual power consumption in the future; a power consumption tendency information acquisition rule storage unit (E) for storing power consumption tendency information acquisition rules, which are rules for acquiring power consumption tendency information, which is information indicating a power consumption tendency (e.g., an alarm indicating that a power consumption upper limit is being approached) for a consumer based on the power consumption comparison information; a power consumption tendency information output unit (F) that outputs power consumption tendency information based on the acquired power consumption comparison information and the stored power consumption tendency acquisition rule; The present invention provides a demand response system having the above structure.

[0008] As the second invention, based on the first invention, A consumer information storage unit (G) that stores consumer attribute information in association with consumer identification information that is information for identifying a consumer; a registration unit (H) that registers attribute information of a consumer in association with consumer identification information that identifies the consumer in a consumer information storage unit (G); a registration incentive processing unit (J) for performing processing for granting an incentive to a consumer when the consumer is registered by the registration unit (H); The present invention provides a demand response system having the above structure.

[0009] As a third invention, based on either the first or second invention, a grant rule storage unit (K) that stores grant rules that are rules for determining whether to grant a running incentive, which is an incentive based on one or more of the output power consumption tendency information, the recommended power consumption information, and the power consumption record information; a running incentive processing unit (L) for performing processing for granting a running incentive based on one or more of the output power consumption tendency information, the recommended power consumption information, and the power consumption record information and the stored granting rule; The present invention provides a demand response system having the above structure.

[0010] As a fourth invention, based on any one of the first to third inventions, A current day power consumption schedule information storage unit (M) for storing current day power consumption schedule information, which is information on the consumer's current day power consumption schedule; a future power consumption schedule information storage unit (N) for storing the acquired power consumption schedule information as future power consumption schedule information which is power consumption schedule information for the next day and thereafter; a current day power consumption schedule information recording unit (O) for recording future power consumption schedule information as current day power consumption schedule information in a current day power consumption schedule information holding unit (M) at the timing when the date changes; The present invention provides a demand response system having the above structure.

[0011] Furthermore, there are also provided a method for operating the demand response system that is the computer of the first to fourth inventions, and a program for causing the demand response system that is the computer to execute the method. The program may be recorded on a recording medium. Effect of the Invention

[0012] The demand response system of the present invention having the above configuration presents the consumer with a baseline as a target for reducing power consumption, and also presents the consumer's predicted power consumption at the same time. It is then possible to provide a demand response system that has the consumer input power consumption schedule information, which is the power consumption target, and outputs the power consumption tendency for the target value. As a result, by having the consumer input the power consumption target, it is possible to make the consumer conscious of reducing power consumption. In addition, by outputting the power consumption tendency information, it is possible to inform the consumer whether the target is likely to be achieved, and if it is unlikely to be achieved, it is possible to motivate the consumer to take measures to achieve the target. [Brief description of the drawings]

[0013] [Figure 1] Functional block diagram of the invention according to embodiment 1 [Diagram 2] Operational flow chart of the invention according to the first embodiment [Diagram 3] Hardware diagram of the invention according to embodiment 1 [Figure 4] Functional block diagram of the invention according to embodiment 2 [Diagram 5] Operational flow chart of the invention according to the second embodiment [Figure 6] Hardware diagram of the invention according to the second embodiment [Figure 7] Functional block diagram of the invention according to embodiment 3 [Figure 8] Operational flow chart of the invention according to the third embodiment [Figure 9]Hardware diagram of the invention according to the third embodiment [Figure 10] Functional block diagram of the invention according to embodiment 4 [Figure 11] Operational flow chart of the invention according to the fourth embodiment [Figure 12] Hardware diagram of the invention according to the fourth embodiment [Figure 13] Schematic diagram of the overall configuration of the system of the present invention. [Figure 14] An explanation of the tense of each piece of information according to the present invention. [Figure 15] Example of the user's top screen of the system of the present invention [Figure 16] Example of a screen displaying recommended power consumption information for the system of the present invention [Figure 17] Example of a screen for inputting planned power consumption information in the system of the present invention [Figure 18] FIG. 2 is an explanatory diagram of incentive allocation in the system of the present invention. [Figure 19] FIG. 1 is an explanatory diagram of an example of the running incentive provision in the system of the present invention. [Figure 20] DR example for a customer using the system of this invention on January 16, 2022 [Figure 21] Example of an incentive point performance viewing screen of the system of the present invention DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

[0014] <Prerequisites for the explanation of all embodiments> <Hardware that can constitute the present invention> The present invention is, in principle, an invention that utilizes a computer, but it may also be realized at least in part by software, hardware, or a combination of software and hardware. In this case, the software uses hardware resources to perform various calculations and realize various functions through the required data and information. It can be said that information processing by software is specifically realized using hardware resources.

[0015] Hardware that realizes all or part of the components of the present invention is composed of the basic components of a computer, such as a CPU, a memory, a bus, an input / output device, various peripheral devices, a user interface, etc. The various peripheral devices may include a storage device, an Internet interface, an Internet device, a LAN device, a Wifi (registered trademark) device, a display, a display interface, a keyboard, a mouse, a speaker, a microphone, a camera, a video, a television, a CD device, a DVD device, a Blu-ray device, a USB memory, a USB memory interface, a removable hard disk, a general hard disk, a projector device, an SSD, a telephone, a fax, a copy machine, a printing device, a movie editing device, various sensor devices, etc.

[0016] Furthermore, the system of the present invention (hereinafter sometimes abbreviated as the present system) does not necessarily have to be composed of one housing, but may be composed of multiple housings connected by communication. Furthermore, communication may be LAN, WAN, Wifi (registered trademark), Bluetooth (registered trademark), infrared communication, ultrasonic communication, near field communication (NFC), or a mobile phone network, and further, some of the systems may be installed across national borders.

[0017] <Fulfillment of the Laws of Nature in All Embodiments of the Present Invention>

[0018] The present invention functions through the cooperation of a computer and software. In the present invention, information on the amount of power consumed by consumers is transmitted to the system management server from the high-voltage substation equipment or its monitoring device or smart meter via the Internet line or a dedicated line, and the consumer inputs information on the planned power consumption, etc., from an information device such as a PC or tablet to the system management server, and the system management server outputs power consumption tendency information to the information device of the consumer. Since it includes processing unique to ICT, such as exchanging the various information as data and searching on a computer, it is a so-called business model patent. From this perspective, if the present invention is judged based on the resources such as a computer in the claims and the specification and the technical common sense related to those matters, the present invention is one that utilizes a law of nature.

[0019] <Applicant's understanding of the significance of utilizing the laws of nature required by patent law>

[0020] The use of the law of nature required by the Patent Act is required to ensure that the invention can be used industrially from the viewpoint that the invention must have industrial applicability and contribute to the development of industry based on the purpose of the law. In other words, it is required that the invention be industrially useful, that is, the effect of the invention declared at the time of application can be reproduced with a certain degree of certainty by the implementation of the invention. From this perspective, the use of the law of nature is interpreted as the function of each of the invention-specific matters (invention constituent elements) that constitute the invention to achieve the effect of the invention being achieved by using the law of nature. Furthermore, the effect of the invention should be that it is possible to provide a certain usefulness to the user who uses the invention, and should not be viewed from the perspective of how the user feels or thinks about the usefulness. Therefore, even if the effect obtained by the demand response system of the present invention on the consumers who participate in the demand response, the demand response implementers who are the suppliers who supply electricity, and those involved in the operation and management of the system is a psychological effect (such as a sense of security), the effect itself is not a subject matter for determining whether or not the required use of the law of nature is available.

[0021] <Hardware configuration>

[0022] An outline of the overall configuration of this device is shown in Fig. 13. Through the Internet (1350) (or other commercial lines or dedicated lines), a server device (1351) on which the program of this system runs, an administrator PC (1352) connected to the server device (1351), a monitoring device A (1353A) for high-voltage substation equipment, high-voltage substation equipment A (1354A), consumer A receiving power from high-voltage substation equipment A (1354A), a PC (1355A) used by consumer A when using this system, and the high-voltage substation equipment monitoring device A (1354A) are connected to the server device (1351) via the Internet (1350) (or other commercial lines or dedicated lines). The system includes a high-voltage substation equipment B (1353B), a high-voltage substation equipment B (1354B), a consumer B that receives power from the high-voltage substation equipment B (1354B), a PC (1355B) used by consumer B when using the system, a smart meter (1353C) that measures the power purchased by consumer C (an ordinary household), and a smartphone (1355C) used by consumer C (an ordinary household) when using the system, which are connected by wire or wirelessly (such as Wifi (registered trademark) or a mobile phone network).

[0023] The devices used by each consumer when using this system are not limited to the above examples. Any information device, such as a notebook PC, desktop PC, smartphone, tablet, etc., may be used as long as it has an Internet connection function and sufficient performance to use this system. Although only one server device (1351) is shown in FIG. 13, multiple servers may be used. The server device may be configured such that separate servers are installed for each region and are connected to each other via the Internet or the like. Although not shown, there may also be a person who manages and / or operates the server device of the system of the present invention (a user of the manager / operator PC (1352) in FIG. 13).

[0024] The server device can be accessed via an information terminal (such as a PC) that can connect to the Internet, or the server device can be managed and / or operated by an information terminal directly connected to the server device. The amount of power purchased, i.e. consumed, by each consumer is transmitted to the server device (1351) via the Internet by the smart meter (1353C) of consumer C (general household), but in the case of consumers A and B who purchase high-voltage power, the monitoring devices A and B of the high-voltage receiving and transforming equipment transmit the amount of power consumption to the server device (1351). The high-voltage receiving and transforming equipment itself may have a built-in power consumption transmission function. Also, for example, the server device (1351) may be operated only by the supplier as the administrator and operator of this system, or the server device (1351) operated by the supplier may be configured to acquire the amount of power consumption (power consumption record information) from the server device or PC managed and operated by the consumer, or the program of this system may be distributed and operated in the server device of the supplier and the server device or PC of the consumer.

[0025] Fig. 3 is a diagram showing an example of a hardware configuration of the demand response system in the present embodiment 1. Taking a configuration similar to that of a PC as an example, the hardware configuration of the demand response system in the present embodiment will be described with reference to Fig. 3. Note that the management server of this system may also have a configuration similar to that of a PC, and as the description of the hardware configuration is the same as that given below, the description will be omitted.

[0026] As shown in this figure, the computer is composed of a chipset, a CPU, a non-volatile memory, a main memory, various buses, a BIOS (or UEFI), various peripheral devices such as USB and LAN, interfaces for connecting to communication lines, a real-time clock, etc., which are configured on a motherboard, and an expansion board such as a graphic card. These operate in cooperation with an operating system, device drivers (for various interfaces such as USB, cameras, microphones, speakers or headphones, displays, etc. for incorporating various devices), various programs, etc. The various programs and various data constituting the present invention are configured to efficiently utilize these hardware resources to execute various processes using input signals such as a keyboard and mouse connected via a USB terminal (or PS / 2 port). The computer is connected to an Internet line through a LAN terminal or the like. The computer may be connected to the Internet line using WiFi (registered trademark) or via a mobile phone line network.

[0027] The following describes examples of main components constituting a computer as hardware, although the present invention is not limited to these examples. Chipset

[0028] A "chipset" is a set of large-scale integrated circuits (LSIs) that are mounted on the motherboard of a computer and integrate a communication function between the external bus of the CPU and a standard bus that connects non-volatile memory and peripheral devices mounted on the motherboard, that is, a bridge function. In the past, it was a two-chip configuration consisting of a north bridge that was connected to the CPU and performed processing that required high speed, such as between the main memory and a graphics card equipped with a chip (GPU) for graphics processing, and a south bridge that was connected to the north bridge and performed processing between a relatively slow interface. In recent years, the north bridge function has been integrated into the CPU, and only the previous south bridge remains, but it is still called a chipset. In this specification, we will explain the single-chip configuration of only the south bridge with the north bridge function built into the CPU. The effects of the present invention will not change whether it is a two-chip configuration of a north bridge and a south bridge as described above, or if there is no chipset with the south bridge function integrated into the CPU.

[0029] (South Bridge) When the chipset is a single chip configuration, the south bridge is responsible for I / O functions such as PCI Express interface (slot), SATA (Serial ATA) or eSATA interface, USB interface, LAN (Ethernet) interface, real-time clock, and sound functions. When the chipset is a single chip configuration, it is the chip that controls interfaces such as displays, external connections such as USB / LAN terminals, SATA for connecting to HDDs and SSDs, and PCI Express, and is connected to the CPU via a point-to-point hardware interface (for example, DMI: Direct Media Interface). Some chips support RAID (Redundant Arrays of Inexpensive Disks: a technology that recognizes and displays multiple HDDs as a single drive) for non-volatile memory (such as HDDs).

[0030] In addition, to support devices that are rarely used in recent years and where high-speed operation is not required or possible, such as PS / 2 ports, floppy disk drives, serial ports such as RS-232C, parallel ports such as IEEE1284 for printers, and ISA buses, a separate LSI called a super I / O chip is used, which connects to the south bridge via a low pin count bus.

[0031] <Bus> There are parallel buses and serial buses. A parallel bus prepares signal lines for the number of bits and transmits data in synchronization with a clock. A dedicated line for the clock signal is set up in parallel with the data line, and synchronizes data demodulation on the receiving side. A serial bus transfers data one bit at a time. A bus is used to connect peripheral devices and various control units on the motherboard to the CPU (MPU). The internal bus connects the CPU core to cache memory and other internal memory, while the external bus connects the CPU to memory outside the CPU. The external bus that connects the memory controller built into the CPU to the main memory is a 64-bit parallel bus in the case of a DDR4 standard that uses DDR4-SDRAM (Double-Data-Rate4 Synchronous Dynamic Random Access Memory). For example, if the DDR4-3200 memory standard is supported, the bandwidth is 3200MHz maximum memory operating frequency x 64 (bit) bus width ÷ 8 (bit → byte conversion) = 25.6 (GB / s). The connection between the CPU and the south bridge is a point-to-point connection such as DMI (Direct Media Interface) as mentioned above.

[0032] External expansion buses such as PCI Express and SATA are connected by chipsets. Parallel buses include GPIB, IDE / (parallel)ATA, SCSI, PCI, etc. A serial bus transfers data one bit at a time. Because there is a limit to how fast it can be, the improved version of PCI, PCI Express, uses point-to-point wiring and a serial transfer method. USB and SATA also transfer data serially.

[0033] CPU

[0034] The CPU reads a sequence of instructions called a program in main memory in order, interprets and executes them, and outputs information consisting of signals to the main memory. The CPU functions as the center of calculations within a computer. The CPU is composed of the CPU core, which is the center of calculations, and its peripheral parts, and includes registers, cache memory (primary, secondary, tertiary), an internal bus that connects the cache memory to the CPU core, a memory controller, a timer, and an interface with the connection bus to the south bridge. If the CPU has an integrated graphics function (GPU), it also includes a graphics interface and an internal bus that connects to the CPU core. If an external graphics board is used with a CPU with a built-in GPU, it is connected to the graphics interface (PCI Express, etc.) built into the CPU. Note that a single CPU (chip) may have multiple CPU cores. The embodiment is described as a two-core type, but is not limited to this. Also, a configuration may be provided with multiple CPU chips. A program may also be built into the CPU.

[0035] <Non-volatile memory>

[0036] (HDD)

[0037] The basic structure of a hard disk drive consists of a magnetic disk, a magnetic head, and an arm on which the magnetic head is mounted. External interfaces include SATA (previously ATA) and SAS (Serial Attached SCSI, previously SCSI). HDD interfaces are broadly divided into the ATA and SCSI types mentioned above. The ATA type is a method of sending data unilaterally to the physically connected device, and since it relies on the BIOS (or UEFI) on the motherboard, it constantly requires CPU processing time. The SCSI type is a method of sending data accurately while checking the status of the connected device, and since the HDD has a control system inside, the load on the CPU can be reduced. The ATA type is inexpensive and has a large capacity, but the SCSI type evolved from a system for servers, and is excellent in terms of speed and expandability, and since it can process SCSI commands in multithreading, it is highly reliable even under high-load environments.

[0038] HDDs have an excellent cost per unit of capacity, but as mentioned above, they contain moving parts which take time to access and there is the risk of mechanical failure. Therefore, for server equipment that requires high reliability, RAID can be used to distribute reading and writing to multiple HDDs simultaneously, or the same file can be written to multiple HDDs.

[0039] (Flash memory) Currently, two types of flash memory are commonly used: NAND flash memory and NOR flash memory. Although there are pros and cons regarding read / write speed, NAND flash memory is more advantageous for high integration and is used for data storage. Compared to hard disk drives, it is small because it has no moving parts and does not generate vibration or noise during operation. However, the cost per capacity has not yet fallen to the point where it can replace hard disk drives. Although it is more expensive than hard disk drives, it has the advantage of being compact and resistant to shocks. Smartphones and mobile information terminals usually have a memory capacity of around 64GB to 256GB for data storage purposes, so flash memory is used to make them smaller and lighter. In PCs and other devices, solid-state drives (SSDs) made of flash memory are beginning to be used for frequently accessed drives that store the OS and application software.

[0040] <Main memory>

[0041] The CPU directly accesses and executes various programs in main memory. Main memory is a volatile memory that uses DRAM. Programs in main memory are expanded from non-volatile memory to main memory upon receiving a program start command. The CPU then executes the program according to various execution commands and execution procedures within the program.

[0042] Operating System (OS)

[0043] An operating system is used to manage the resources available to applications on a computer, to manage various device drivers, and to manage the computer itself (the hardware). In small computers, firmware may be used as the operating system.

[0044] ≪UEFI≫

[0045] In recent years, UEFI (Unified Extensible Firmware Interface), which plays a similar role as an evolved successor to the previously used BIOS, has been used. UEFI is also stored in a flash ROM and installed on the motherboard, just like BIOS. The flash ROM chip containing UEFI causes the CPU to execute procedures to start up the computer hardware and run the operating system, and is most typically the hardware that the CPU reads first when it receives a computer startup command. The address of the operating system stored on the disk (non-volatile memory) is written here, and the operating system is sequentially loaded into main memory by the UEFI loaded into the CPU and becomes operational. UEFI also has a check function that checks the presence or absence of various devices connected to the bus. The check results are stored in main memory and are made available to the operating system as appropriate. UEFI may be configured to check external devices, etc.

[0046] As shown in the figure, the present invention can basically be configured with a general-purpose computer program and various devices. The computer basically operates in a form in which a program recorded in a non-volatile memory is loaded into the main memory, and processing is executed by the main memory, the CPU, and various devices. Communication with the devices is performed via an interface connected to a bus line. Possible interfaces include a display interface, USB, a LAN terminal, a PCI Express interface, and a communication buffer.

[0047] Each of the functional blocks constituting the demand response system described below can be realized by hardware, software, or both. Specifically, in the case of a system using a computer, the hardware components include a CPU, a main memory, a GPU, an image memory, a graphic board, a bus, or a secondary storage device (non-volatile memory such as a hard disk or a flash memory, a storage medium such as a CD or a DVD, and a drive for reading the medium, etc.), an input device such as an operation button used for inputting information, a mouse, a touch panel, an electronic pen used solely for touching a touch panel, a joystick or a joystick-like pointer position input device, and other external peripheral devices, as well as interfaces for the external peripheral devices, communication interfaces such as a LAN terminal, a GPS receiving interface, a GPS arithmetic unit, a gyro sensor, an acceleration sensor, a rotation detection sensor, a processing unit for the signals of these sensors, a camera, an image file processing circuit, a speaker, a microphone, an audio file processing circuit, a communication interface, a barcode reader, an electronic card reader, a POS terminal, a face authentication device, an encryption device, a biometric authentication device such as a fingerprint authentication device, a palm print authentication device, and a retina authentication device, and driver programs and other application programs for controlling the hardware. In particular, it utilizes smartphones, tablet devices, mobile phones, smart watches, personal computers, data center server equipment, wired and wireless networks and interfaces.

[0048] The CPU performs arithmetic processing according to the program deployed on the main memory, and processes and stores data input from input devices and other interfaces and held in the memory or hardware, and generates commands for controlling the hardware and software. The above programs may be realized as multiple modularized programs, or may be realized as a single program by combining two or more programs.

[0049] The present invention can also be partially configured as software. Furthermore, storage media on which such software is recorded are naturally included within the technical scope of the present invention (this is not limited to this embodiment, but is the same throughout this specification).

[0050] <Terminology used in this specification>

[0051] "Identification information" refers to symbols, letters, codes, etc. that are used to identify something. However, there may be cases where the identification information itself is the information that is being identified. For example, the identification information that identifies character string record A may be character string record A itself. Therefore, customer identification information may be a mere symbol, letter, code, or the like, and may simultaneously be the name, business name, address, or contact information of a customer that is identified by that symbol, letter, code, etc.

[0052] The term "association" is used in this specification to mean not only a case where two or more pieces of information are directly associated with each other, but also a case where two or more pieces of information are indirectly associated with each other via one or more other pieces of information. An indirect association is not necessarily limited to an association within one device (a device having a single housing), but also includes a case where the association is made across multiple devices.

[0053] "Based on" includes both cases where it is based on the target itself and cases where it is based on the target after some processing has been performed. For example, "based on actual power consumption information" includes cases where it is based on "actual power consumption information" itself, and cases where it is based on "actual power consumption information after processing," such as obtaining "actual power consumption information" for the same period in the past, performing statistical processing, and then multiplying the information by a predetermined factor while taking into account the most recent consumption trends of consumers.

[0054] "Demand response" is a mechanism for controlling the demand of consumers who purchase and use electricity from electricity retailers. If the amount of electricity generated and consumed is not the same at the same time, the quality (frequency) of the electricity will be disturbed and the supply will not be normal. Since power companies generate electricity according to a pre-established plan and cannot store it, it is necessary for the energy demand side to intelligently change the consumption pattern according to the supply situation. As a means of changing the consumption pattern, there is demand response (hereinafter referred to as DR), which controls demand by methods such as providing incentives. Depending on the pattern of demand control, DR is classified into two types: "down DR", which reduces (suppresses) demand during times of excessive demand, and "up DR", which increases (creates) demand during times of low demand in order to level out supply and demand.

[0055] Hereinafter, an embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.

[0056] <Overview of embodiment 1> Mainly claims 1, 5, and 9 The demand response system of the first embodiment is configured to acquire power consumption plan information indicating a power consumption plan of a consumer based on the recommended power consumption amount within each demand time period acquired for each consumer and the power consumption record information within each demand time period acquired for each consumer, and further configured to output power consumption tendency information indicating a power consumption tendency based on power consumption comparison information which is information obtained by comparing the acquired power consumption plan information with actual power consumption in the future.

[0057] <Functional configuration of embodiment 1> Fig. 1 shows a functional block diagram of the demand response system of embodiment 1. The demand response system (0100) of embodiment 1 has a recommended power consumption information acquisition unit (A) (0101), a power consumption record information acquisition unit (B) (0102), a power consumption schedule information acquisition unit (C) (0103), a power consumption comparison information acquisition unit (D) (0104), a power consumption tendency information acquisition rule storage unit (E) (0105), and a power consumption tendency information output unit (F) (0106).

[0058] The above functional blocks are merely an example for implementing the present invention, and functions may be omitted or new functions may be added as appropriate within the scope that does not contradict the problems to be overcome by the present invention and its effects. The same applies to the following description of the first embodiment and subsequent embodiments.

[0059] <Description of the configuration of embodiment 1> <First embodiment: Recommended power consumption information acquisition unit (A) (0101)> The "recommended power consumption information acquisition unit (A)" (0101) is configured to acquire recommended power consumption information, which is information indicating the recommended amount of power consumption within each demand time period, for each power consumer (hereinafter simply referred to as "consumer") based on power supply and demand forecasts, etc.

[0060] A "consumer" is someone who purchases and consumes electricity. Specifically, this includes general companies, stores, and general households. In Japan, the liberalization of the retail electricity market in 2016 led to the liberalization of three sectors: power generation, transmission, and retail. A consumer is someone who purchases electricity from an electricity retailer (hereafter referred to as a supplier) and consumes it.

[0061] A "demand time slot" is a predetermined unit time that is used to calculate the basic electricity charge for consumers who purchase electricity, and the maximum value of the average power usage (demand value) in a predetermined unit time is used. The demand time slot is also used as a unit of electricity trading (time to determine the amount of electricity) in the wholesale electricity market where the power generation sector and the retail sector trade electricity, and fluctuations in electricity usage are also grasped using the demand value, which is the average amount of electricity usage per predetermined time. In the electricity sector in Japan, a demand time slot is 30 minutes, and specifically refers to the 30 minutes from 0 minutes to 30 minutes or 30 minutes to 60 minutes of every hour. Since there are 24 hours in a day, there are 48 demand time slots of 30 minutes each. Note that the demand time slot may differ depending on the country or region. The average amount of electricity consumed by a consumer during one demand time slot is the demand value mentioned above.

[0062] The "recommended power consumption information" is information indicating the recommended power consumption amount for each power consumer (hereinafter simply referred to as "consumer") within each demand time period based on the power supply and demand forecast, etc. The recommended power consumption information is preferably configured to include demand time period identification information, which is information for identifying the demand time period, or time information (such as date and time) for identifying the demand time period, and the recommended power consumption amount corresponding to the demand time period. In this specification, a case is described in which a supplier who supplies power to a consumer provides the recommended power consumption information to the consumer, but a third party (for example, a public institution such as a national government) may provide the information. An example of the recommended power consumption information is a case in which, for a demand time period in which the relationship between the predicted values ​​of the total supply power and the total power consumption is not equal in an area where the supplier supplies power, when the predicted value of the total supply power is less than the predicted value of the total power consumption, the supplier issues recommended power consumption information to each consumer that is less than the power consumption predicted to be consumed by the consumer. If the total predicted power supply value>the total predicted power consumption value, the system may be configured to issue to each consumer recommended power consumption information that is greater than the amount of power consumption predicted to be consumed by that consumer.

[0063] Other examples include a case where a supplier, which is an electricity retailer, sets recommended power consumption information to be within the procurement amount when the total value of the predicted power consumption of each consumer for each demand time slot exceeds the amount of power procured by the supplier for each demand time slot, and sets recommended power consumption information to be within but close to the procurement amount when the total value falls short. Alternatively, a market transaction price acquisition means for acquiring the market transaction price trend for each demand time slot in the electricity wholesale market is provided in the recommended power consumption information acquisition unit (A), and for a demand time slot in which the acquired market transaction price is higher than a predetermined threshold, the recommended power consumption information for the consumer is lowered below the predicted power consumption. In this case, for a time slot in which the market transaction price is lower than the predetermined threshold, the recommended power consumption information for the consumer may be increased above the predicted power consumption.

[0064] Alternatively, a weather information acquisition means for acquiring weather information, which is information showing weather conditions such as the amount of sunlight, the hours of sunlight, the temperature, the wind speed, and the weather, may be provided in the recommended power consumption information acquisition unit (A), and the recommended power consumption information to be purchased by the consumer from the supplier may be obtained by taking into consideration spot increases and decreases in power consumption related to air conditioning, hot water supply, refrigeration, and freezing due to temperature fluctuations, and increases and decreases in the amount of power generated by solar power generation or wind power generation equipment if the consumer has such equipment. The recommended power consumption information is obtained by predicting the amount of power consumption of the consumer in the past in the same period (e.g., the same season, the same quarter, etc.) of the target consumer and the recent power consumption tendency of the consumer, and then calculating and acquiring the time period to be reduced from the predicted amount of power consumption based on the supply and demand forecast for each demand time period. During the calculation, the recommended power consumption information may be acquired by referring to the weather forecast expected for the target period.

[0065] After the bidding for the next day in the day-ahead market (spot market) of the wholesale electricity market is closed, the supplier extracts demand time periods during which the predicted power consumption is considered to be insufficient or excessive compared to the procured power, based on the procured power, which is the power procured for the next day, and the predicted power consumption, which is the predicted power consumption of the consumers to whom the supplier supplies the power. The recommended power consumption information indicates the requested power that the supplier wants each consumer to increase or decrease the power consumption for each extracted demand time period. The recommended power consumption information can be sent to the consumer as recommended power consumption information that reflects the supply and demand forecast of power by the supplier based on the consumer's past power consumption record and the weather forecast for the next day, if there is a time period during which it is better to increase or decrease the power consumption compared to the procured power based on the supply and demand forecast. It can also be configured to lower or increase the recommended power consumption for time periods during which the market price of power is high or low, respectively.

[0066] A demand time period in which the consumer's predicted power consumption is high relative to the procured power may be a target time period for "downward DR". Conversely, a demand time period in which the consumer's predicted power consumption is low relative to the procured power may be a target time period for "upward DR". When the supplier makes a decision on DR, it is preferable to configure the supplier to make the decision based on a DR decision rule that determines to implement a corresponding DR if the predicted power consumption deviates from the procured power by a predetermined percentage or a predetermined amount. This can be achieved by configuring the system to further include a supplier procured power information acquisition unit that acquires supplier procured power information, which is information indicating the power procured by the supplier on the next day; a predicted consumer power consumption information acquisition unit that acquires predicted consumer power consumption information, which is information indicating the consumer's power consumption on the next day; a DR decision rule storage unit that stores a DR decision rule that determines to implement a corresponding DR if the predicted power consumption deviates from the procured power by a predetermined percentage or a predetermined amount; and a DR implementation determination unit that determines to implement a corresponding DR (downward DR and / or upward DR) on the next day so as to reduce the deviation between the supplier procured power information and the predicted consumer power consumption information based on the supplier procured power information and the predicted consumer power consumption information.

[0067] The recommended power consumption information is configured to include, for example, information indicating the amount of power consumption recommended for each consumer within each demand time period based on the power supply and demand forecast for the next day, as described above. Furthermore, it is preferable to configure the information to include the target date and time period, and information specifying the target consumer (or consumer identification information, which is information that identifies the consumer). Furthermore, if the information is configured to include the market price for each demand time period for power on the target date, the consumer can use this as a reference when inputting the power consumption plan information described below.

[0068] As described in the explanation of "recommended power consumption information" above, "power supply and demand forecasts, etc." can be based on power supply and demand forecasts, as well as the amount of power procured by suppliers, the market trading price of power, and meteorological information (sunshine amount, sunshine hours, temperature, wind speed, weather, typhoons, etc.). Other conditions include the operating hours of consumers (working days or working days excluding general calendar holidays, regular holidays depending on consumers, and uncommon holidays such as anniversary of foundation, and night shifts including shift work), private power generation facilities owned by consumers, events (events where many people are likely to consume electricity to watch, such as the Olympics and the World Cup), and predicted power consumption values ​​based on the actual power consumption of each consumer.

[0069] <Embodiment 1: Power consumption record information acquisition unit (B) (0102)> The 'electricity consumption record information acquisition unit (B)' (0102) is configured to acquire electric power consumption record information, which is information indicating the electric power consumption record of a consumer within each demand time period.

[0070] The "electricity consumption record information" is the actual value of the consumption of electricity purchased from the supplier by the consumer, and is information showing the average power consumption value within each demand time slot. It is preferable to configure the power consumption record information acquisition unit (B) to have a power consumption information history storage means for chronologically storing the power consumption information acquired within each demand time slot. It is also possible to store information showing the power consumption amount at a predetermined time interval (e.g., 15 minutes, 10 minutes, etc., preferably a time interval shorter than the length of the demand time slot) instead of the average within each demand time slot, separately from the power consumption record information within each demand time slot. It is possible to record and store the so-called instantaneous maximum power consumption in a time unit shorter than the length of the demand time slot. It is also possible to provide and store the power consumption amount per maximum demand time slot storage unit, which stores the maximum power consumption amount per demand time slot for the current month among the power consumption information within each demand time slot. The basic charge of the power charge of a consumer receiving high voltage power is determined based on the maximum demand value for the month and the past 11 months. This is because if a large demand value occurs even once, the basic fee for the next contract period (one year) will be determined based on that demand value.

[0071] It is preferable that the actual power consumption information be configured to include demand time zone identification information, which is information that identifies the demand time zone, or time information (such as date and time) for identifying the demand time zone, and actual power consumption (demand value) corresponding to the demand time zone.

[0072] <Embodiment 1: Power Consumption Schedule Information Acquisition Unit (C) (0103)> The 'power consumption schedule information acquisition unit (C)' (0103) is configured to acquire power consumption schedule information, which is information indicating the consumer's future power consumption schedule, based on the acquired recommended power consumption information and actual power consumption information.

[0073] "Power consumption plan" refers to the electricity that a consumer plans to purchase from a supplier in the future. (Since electricity cannot be stored, the amount purchased is essentially the same as the amount consumed.) It is preferable that the consumption be planned for each demand time period. "Future" could be, for example, the next day, a week from now, or immediately after the present. In addition, if a consumer owns and operates a private power generation facility (such as a solar or wind power generation facility), the system may be configured to separately acquire and hold a private power generation plan and a private power consumption plan.

[0074] "Based on the power consumption record information" may refer to the past power consumption record information of the relevant consumer itself, or information obtained after some processing has been performed on the past power consumption record information. Some processing refers to a process of taking an average of the past power consumption records of the relevant consumer in the same season as the period for which the consumption schedule is to be obtained, a process of taking the maximum value of the past power consumption records for the same period, a process of averaging the past power consumption records as described above and then adjusting it in consideration of the recent power consumption trends of the consumer, and a process of increasing the power consumption of air conditioning-related equipment on extremely hot days and midwinter days because there is a high possibility that the power consumption will increase in these days in consideration of the weather forecast for the period.

[0075] The "electricity consumption history information" based on this can be configured to use not only the electricity consumption history information of the consumer in question, but also the electricity consumption history information of other consumers with similar facility configurations (electricity usage equipment configurations), other consumers in similar locations (climate: temperature, humidity, sunlight, etc., latitude and longitude, distance from rivers or the sea), and other consumers with similar electricity consumption trends, either alone or in combination with the electricity usage history information of the consumer in question itself.

[0076] Planned power consumption information is information entered into this system by each consumer regarding their planned future power consumption based on recommended power consumption information and actual power consumption information. Planned power consumption information is information entered by consumers that takes into consideration (or does not take into consideration) the recommended power consumption (recommended power consumption information) for demand time periods during which the consumer is asked to reduce or increase power consumption, which is provided to the consumer. "Future" refers to the period covered by the "recommended power consumption information."

[0077] As described above, the power consumption schedule information is information input by the consumer to this system regarding the future power consumption schedule, but the input power consumption schedule information acquired by this system will be switched to information indicating the "current" power consumption schedule when the time period covered by the "recommended power consumption information" arrives. The timing of this switch can be set appropriately, but it is preferably at midnight when the day changes (i.e., midnight the following day). The time format of each piece of information will be explained later.

[0078] <Embodiment 1: Power consumption comparison information acquisition unit (D) (0104)> The 'power consumption comparison information acquisition unit (D)' (0104) is configured to acquire power consumption comparison information, which is information obtained by comparing the acquired power consumption schedule information with actual power consumption in the future.

[0079] "Power consumption comparison information" is, for example, when a consumer inputs planned power consumption information for the next day into this system today and this system acquires said information, information that compares the actual power consumed the next day with the planned power consumption information. One example is the difference in power consumption for each demand time period. For example, if the actual power consumption is lower than the planned power consumption information, it is expressed as "+", and if it is higher, it is expressed as "-", and the amount of power consumption with a sign (kW) is expressed.

[0080] Another example of the power consumption comparison information is the ratio between the planned power consumption information and the planned power consumption information for the relevant day to be compared. When calculating the ratio, for example, it is possible to configure the power consumption comparison information to obtain a value obtained by dividing the actual power consumption information for the relevant day to be compared by the planned power consumption information, which is information showing the planned power consumption for the relevant day to be compared. In the above-mentioned example of division, if the actual power consumption is below the plan, the value of the power consumption comparison information will be less than 1 (or less than 100%), and conversely, if it exceeds the plan, the value will be greater than 1 (or greater than 100%).

[0081] <Embodiment 1: Power Consumption Tendency Information Acquisition Rule Storage Unit (E) (0105)> The "power consumption tendency information acquisition rule storage unit (E)" (0105) is configured to store power consumption tendency information acquisition rules, which are rules for acquiring power consumption tendency information, which is information indicating power consumption tendencies (e.g., an alarm indicating approaching the planned power consumption upper limit) for consumers based on power consumption comparison information.

[0082] "Power consumption tendency" refers to, for example, the power consumption comparison information itself, or a prediction that the sign of the power consumption comparison information (for example, + if the power consumption amount is lower than the planned power consumption information, - if it is higher, 0 if they are equal, or vice versa) will change. Power consumption tendency information is information that indicates the power consumption tendency of the power consumption comparison information, such as approaching 0 from +, going from + to -, or going from - to + in the above sign example. In other words, power consumption tendency information is information that indicates the rate of change (differential or acceleration) of the power consumption comparison information. Note that the power consumption tendency information can also be configured to be output after predicting future actual power consumption information within the demand time period, without necessarily waiting until the demand time period (30 minutes) has passed and it becomes possible to compare the actual power consumption information with the planned power consumption information.

[0083] As described above, when the power consumption comparison information is obtained as a ratio between actual power consumption information and planned power consumption information, a threshold value of 1, where the two are equal, is used, and a prediction of a change from below 1 to above 1, or conversely, a prediction of a change from above 1 to below 1, is another example of a power consumption tendency.

[0084] Alternatively, the power consumption tendency information may be a rate of change (differential or acceleration) of the actual power consumption information with respect to time (or demand time period). If the sign of the rate of change is +, it indicates that the actual power consumption information is on an increasing trend, if it is -, it indicates that the actual power consumption information is on a decreasing trend, and if it is 0, it indicates a turning point of the increasing / decreasing trend of the actual power consumption information.

[0085] An example of a "power consumption tendency information acquisition rule" is a rule for acquiring power consumption tendency information which is information indicating that a predetermined percentage or amount of planned power consumption has been reached or exceeded relative to the upper limit of planned power consumption previously set by the consumer, or indicating that the upper limit of planned power consumption has been reached or exceeded. The predetermined percentage relative to the upper limit can be, for example, 90% or 95%. The amount is an amount equivalent to 90% or 95% of the upper limit. When the power consumption comparison information is defined as power consumption comparison information = planned power consumption information - actual power consumption information, the power consumption comparison information approaches 0 from the positive side, so it can also be said to be information indicating that 10% or an amount equivalent to the initial power comparison information has been reached or fallen below.

[0086] For example, possible rules include a rule for obtaining a function indicating a change in the power consumption comparison information for each demand time slot from the value of the power consumption comparison information for each demand time slot, a rule for obtaining the positive / negative sign of the value of the function indicating the change in the power consumption comparison information for each demand time slot, a rule for obtaining the differential of the function indicating the change in the power consumption comparison information, etc. In addition, a rule for obtaining power consumption tendency information that predicts that the sign of the power consumption comparison information will change within the current demand time slot from the transition of the power consumption amount for each time period shorter than the demand time slot (for example, for each time period equal to or less than 1% of the length of the demand time slot) or the transition of the power consumption actual information for the most recent past demand time slot, based on the power consumption comparison information at approximately the start of each demand time slot (for example, within 10% of the length of the demand time slot from the start of the demand time slot).

[0087] In addition, for example, when the power consumption comparison information is defined as a difference value obtained by subtracting the actual power consumption information from the planned power consumption information, the power consumption tendency information based on the power consumption comparison information in which the actual power consumption information remains below the planned power consumption information within the current demand time period (the sign of the power consumption comparison information remains positive), conversely, the sign of the power consumption comparison information remains negative within the current demand time period, the power consumption tendency information based on the power consumption comparison information in which the actual power consumption information that exceeded the planned power consumption information is predicted to fall below the planned power consumption information within the current demand time period, and conversely, the sign changes from positive to negative within the current demand time period. Possible rules include power consumption tendency information based on power consumption comparison information where the actual power consumption exceeds the planned power consumption information partway through the demand time period (i.e., the actual power consumption information exceeds the planned power consumption information partway through the demand time period), power consumption tendency information based on power consumption comparison information where the actual power consumption information does not exceed the planned power consumption information during the current demand time period but is predicted to exceed the planned power consumption information during the next demand time period, and power consumption tendency information based on power consumption comparison information where the sign is negative during the current demand time period (actual power consumption information > planned power consumption information) but is predicted to be positive during the next demand time period (actual power consumption information < planned power consumption information).

[0088] Alternatively, when the power consumption comparison information is defined as power consumption comparison information=power consumption actual information / planned power consumption information, the power consumption tendency information is based on power consumption comparison information in which the power consumption actual information remains below the planned power consumption information within the current demand time period (power consumption comparison information is less than 1), or conversely, the power consumption tendency information in which the value of the power consumption comparison information remains above 1 within the current demand time period, or the power consumption tendency information based on power consumption comparison information in which the power consumption actual information that exceeded the planned power consumption information is predicted to fall below the planned power consumption information within the current demand time period, or conversely, the value within the current demand time period changes from 1 or more to 1 or less. Possible rules include power consumption tendency information based on power consumption comparison information (i.e., actual power consumption information exceeds planned power consumption information partway through a demand time period), power consumption tendency information based on power consumption comparison information that does not exceed planned power consumption information during the current demand time period but is predicted to exceed planned power consumption information during the next demand time period, and power consumption tendency information based on power consumption comparison information that exceeds 1 during the current demand time period (actual power consumption information > planned power consumption information) but is predicted to be less than 1 during the next demand time period (actual power consumption information < planned power consumption information).

[0089] <Embodiment 1: Explanation of tenses of various information> The tense of each piece of information will be explained below. <Embodiment 1: Explanation of the tense of various information: Explanation of how to read FIG. 14> The tense of each piece of information will be explained using Figure 14. The table in Figure 14 lists the date each piece of information was obtained, and depending on the type of information, the planned implementation date, the date of actual power consumption, and the date of actual power consumption are added. In the information column of each table, various pieces of information for each demand time period are indicated by symbols. Although each symbol representing a piece of information is intended to indicate a piece of information for one demand time period, due to space constraints on the figure, it is indicated by 6 pieces / day instead of the original 48 frames / day.

[0090] The recommended power consumption information is shown in the top table of Fig. 14. The recommended power consumption information is shown as numbers in circles, and the numbers inside indicate the recommended power consumption for which day.

[0091] The second table from the top shows the actual power consumption information. The actual power consumption information is shown in a black square, and the number inside indicates the amount of power actually consumed on which day, and the two digits above the black square indicate the last two digits of the year. For example, if there is "22" above the black square, it indicates the actual power consumption on the corresponding date in 2022.

[0092] The third table from the top shows the power consumption forecast information and the power consumption comparison information. The power consumption forecast information is shown in a white square, and the number inside indicates the day on which the power is expected to be consumed.

[0093] The power consumption comparison information is information obtained by comparing actual power consumption information with planned power consumption information, and is therefore expressed as a combination of actual power consumption information and planned power consumption information. In Fig. 14, the power consumption comparison information is displayed as a ratio between the two, as an example in the form of a fraction with planned power consumption information for the day as the denominator and actual power consumption information for the day as the numerator.

[0094] The bottom table shows the power consumption tendency information. The power consumption tendency information is indicated by a star, and the number inside indicates the date that the power consumption tendency information covers.

[0095] <Embodiment 1: Explanation of the tense of various information: Recommended power consumption information> The recommended power consumption information is shown in the top table of Fig. 14. In the example shown in Fig. 14, the recommended power consumption information for the next day, February 2, 2023, is sent from the supplier to the consumer on the previous day, February 1, 2023, and so on. The recommended power consumption information is information about future (future) power consumption.

[0096] As explained above, on February 1, 2023, the supplier sends to the consumer the recommended power consumption information for the entire next day, February 2, 2023. On the next day, February 2, 2023, the supplier sends the recommended power consumption information for the entire next day, February 3, 2023, just as it did on February 1, 2023.

[0097] <Embodiment 1: Explanation of the tense of various information: Power consumption record information> In Fig. 14, the actual power consumption information is shown in the second table from the top. The actual power consumption information is basically information that indicates the actual average power consumption (demand value) of a consumer for each demand time period at the present and from the present to the past. When a consumer inputs (acquires by this system) the planned power consumption information described below, the basis is the actual power consumption information that indicates the actual power consumption for a number of demand time periods in the past from the time when the planned power consumption information is to be input.

[0098] In the example of Figure 14, when trying to input power consumption plan information (information showing future power consumption plan) for the next day, February 2, 2023, on February 1, 2023, Recommended power consumption information This is based on the actual power consumption information indicating the actual power consumption on February 2, 2022, one year before the next day, February 2, 2023. It may be based on the actual demand value for one day one year ago, or it may be based on the average power consumption on February 2 for the past several years (for example, 5 years or 10 years) (for example, the average demand value for 10 years in the demand time period of 10:00-10:30) or the maximum demand value for each demand time period. It can also be configured to be based on the actual power consumption for the 24 hours from January 31 to February 1, 2023, which is the previous date, or based on the average or maximum power consumption for each demand time period for the 7 days from January 26 to February 1, 2023.

[0099] The actual power consumption information shown in Fig. 14 is divided into two sections, and the lower section shows the actual power consumption information that is the actual power consumed on the information acquisition date. The actual power consumption information shown in the lower section is used when acquiring the power consumption comparison information described later.

[0100] <Embodiment 1: Explanation of the tense of various information: Power consumption schedule information> In FIG. 14, the power consumption plan information is shown in the third table from the top. The power consumption plan information is information showing the consumer's future power consumption plan based on the recommended power consumption information and the actual power consumption information acquired as described above. In FIG. 14, on February 1, 2023, the consumer receives the recommended power consumption information for the next day, February 2, 2023, and decides to participate in DR on the next day, February 2. Then, the consumer inputs the power consumption plan information for one day on February 2, 2023 (white square with 2 written inside) into the system on February 1, 2023 (acquired by the system) based on the recommended power consumption information for February 2, 2023 (number in a circle 2) in the top table of FIG. 14 and the actual power consumption information (number in a black square with "22" indicating 2022) which is the actual power consumption on February 2, 2022, which is the actual power consumption date one year before February 2, 2023, listed in the top row of the second table from the top of FIG. 14.

[0101] In FIG. 14, the power consumption schedule information is shown in two stages. The upper stage shows the power consumption schedule information for the "today", and the lower stage shows the power consumption schedule information acquired on the information acquisition date, which is for the future (the next day in FIG. 14) from the information acquisition date. The power consumption schedule information showing the planned power consumption for the day column, for which the acquisition date is February 1, 2023, is shown in a white square with a 1 in the "today" column of the February 1, 2023 column (the power consumption schedule information for February 1, 2023 was actually acquired on the previous day, January 31, 2023). Similarly, the power consumption schedule information showing the planned power consumption for February 2, 2023, which is a "future" schedule as of February 1, 2023, is shown in a white square with a 2 in the "future (next day)" column of the acquired February 1, 2023 column.

[0102] The power consumption plan information for February 2, 2023 that is input and acquired by the system is "future" power consumption plan information during the previous day, February 1, 2023, and will not be used on February 1, 2023. At midnight on February 1, 2023 (or midnight on February 2 of the same year) when the date changes to February 2, 2023, the system will switch to using the acquired power consumption plan information for February 2, 2023 instead of the power consumption plan information for February 1, 2023 (the white arrow in the power consumption plan information column in Figure 14).

[0103] When the power consumption schedule information is acquired, it is future information about the power that is scheduled to be consumed in the future from the next day onwards, but when acquiring the power consumption comparison information described later, the power consumption schedule information for the power consumption schedule target day is used. In order to clearly distinguish between these two, as described in the fourth embodiment described later, it is preferable to configure the power consumption schedule information for the day as the current day power consumption schedule information and the future power consumption schedule information as the future power consumption schedule information, and to replace the future power consumption schedule information with the current day power consumption schedule information for the corresponding date, for example, when the date changes.

[0104] <Embodiment 1: Explanation of the tense of various information: Power consumption comparison information> In Fig. 14, the power consumption comparison information is compared by dividing the actual power consumption information on the information acquisition date (e.g., February 2, 2023) by the planned power consumption information on the planned implementation date (e.g., February 2, 2023). In addition to dividing as described above to obtain a ratio, a comparison method such as a method of obtaining the difference between the planned power consumption information and the actual power consumption information can be appropriately selected.

[0105] The power consumption comparison information will be described using February 2, 2023 in FIG. 14 as an example. The power consumption schedule information for February 2, 2023 acquired on February 1, 2023 is information indicating the schedule of "future" power consumption at the time of acquisition. In the example of FIG. 14, when the date changes to February 2, 2023, at 0:00 on February 2, 2023, the power consumption schedule information for February 2, 2023 switches from "future" information to "today" information (white arrow in FIG. 14). On February 2, 2023, the power consumption schedule information for "today" (white square with 2) is compared (divided) with the power consumption actual information for February 2, 2023 (black square with 2 with 23 on top) to obtain the electric lighting consumption comparison information. The comparison may be made by taking a ratio between actual power consumption information and planned power consumption information (e.g., actual power consumption information / power consumption comparison information, the numerator and denominator may be reversed), by taking the difference between the two (e.g., planned power consumption information-actual power consumption information, or subtraction may be performed in the opposite direction), or by some other method.

[0106] Therefore, the power consumption comparison information may be in the present or past tense.

[0107] <Embodiment 1: Explanation of the tense of various information: Power consumption tendency information> The power consumption tendency information is indicated by numbered stars in the fourth table in Fig. 14. The power consumption tendency information is output based on the power consumption comparison information acquired as described above and the stored power consumption tendency acquisition rules. Since the power consumption tendency information is based on the power consumption comparison information, which is information in the present and past tense, the power consumption tendency information is also information in the present or past tense, as shown in Fig. 14.

[0108] <Embodiment 1: Power consumption tendency information output unit (F) (0106)> The 'power consumption tendency information output unit (F)' (0106) is configured to output power consumption tendency information based on the acquired power consumption comparison information and the stored power consumption tendency acquisition rule.

[0109] When this system outputs power consumption tendency information and the relevant consumer acquires it, they can recognize whether their own behavior is appropriate from the viewpoint of power consumption, in relation to their currently planned power consumption. If it seems that they will not be able to keep to their planned power consumption, they can take measures such as energy saving. Also, if they are able to keep to their planned power consumption, they can determine that their current power consumption behavior is appropriate.

[0110] It is preferable to install a receiving terminal in a place where a consumer can easily check it, which receives the power consumption tendency information and can understand whether the power consumption tendency is appropriate or needs improvement by a text message, a change in a symbol (circle, triangle, cross) or color (green, yellow, red), or a change in a simplified facial expression (smile, neutral, crying face). The information may be received by an information terminal such as a PC used by the consumer, in which case a notification may be displayed on the screen by push communication or the like. The system may be configured in a server device or computer managed by the consumer, or in a server device managed by the supplier, and the output of the power consumption tendency information may be acquired and used by the consumer. In addition, the constituent elements (A) to (J) described in claim 1 do not necessarily have to be present together in one device, and may be configured to be present in a distributed manner.

[0111] For example, a part of the system may exist in a server device of the supplier and another part in a computer managed by the consumer. Furthermore, a part of the system may exist on a cloud, which is a computer network. The definition of the existence of each of these components is common throughout this specification.

[0112] <Embodiment 1: Demand response system (0100)> The "demand response system" (0100) has a recommended power consumption information acquisition unit (A) (0101), a power consumption actual result information acquisition unit (B) (0102), a power consumption schedule information acquisition unit (C) (0103), a power consumption comparison information acquisition unit (D) (0104), a power consumption tendency information acquisition rule storage unit (E) (0105), and a power consumption tendency information output unit (F) (0106), and is configured to perform demand response to consumers and output power consumption tendency information.

[0113] <Examples of demand response system usage> An example of the use of the demand response system of the present invention (lower DR) will be described with reference to Fig. 15 to Fig. 17. Note that the present invention is not limited to this example. The same effect can be obtained in the case of higher DR.

[0114] <User top page> FIG. 15 is an example of a user's top screen when a user of this system accesses this system on January 15, 2023 using an app, web browser, etc. FIG. 15 shows an example of the top screen after a user who has already registered in this system logs in. When a user before registration accesses the system, the ID is not displayed at the bottom of the screen, and the user identification information and / or user attribute information is registered in this system by first pressing the "Initial Registration" button. At that time, the incentive points described in the following embodiment can be registered for use in paying electricity bills, converting them into money or electronic money, or exchanging them for goods, and information such as an account at a financial institution for converting the incentive points into money or electronic money, and an electronic money ID can be registered.

[0115] Other menu buttons are the "View incentive points results" button to view the incentive points granted for the results of responding to DR requests, the "View DR results" button to view the power results when responding to DR requests, and the "Change registered details" button to transition to a screen for changing the information registered as a user. After completing the initial registration and logging in, if you wish to apply to respond to a DR request the next day, press the "DR application for the following Monday, January 16th" button. You will be transitioned to the screen shown in Figure 16.

[0116] <Present recommended power consumption information> Figure 16 is an example of a screen sent to a consumer on Sunday, January 15th, informing him of the demand response for the following day, Monday, January 16th, 2023. The horizontal axis of the graph shows 48 demand time slots, each 30 minutes long, from midnight to midnight on January 16th. The time written on the horizontal axis is the start time of each demand time slot (similar to the horizontal axis in the similar Figure 17). The vertical axis shows the power consumption (kW). The bar graph shows the average value of the consumer's actual power consumption information over the past week (including operation on Saturdays and Sundays, which are not holidays). The solid line graph shows the recommended power consumption information proposed by the supplier. The time slots indicated by the large double arrows are the time slots subject to demand response, and in the case of Figure 16, this is a downward DR, Recommended power consumption information It is desirable for the actual power consumption of consumers to be lower than the estimated power consumption.

[0117] In this system, the power consumption amount for each demand time slot of the consumer (which may be in units of time shorter than the demand time slot, for example 10% of the length of the demand time slot) is acquired by the power consumption actual information acquisition unit (B) of this system from the high-voltage substation equipment or its monitoring device that measures the amount of power purchased and consumed by the consumer, or from a smart meter. The acquired power consumption actual information may be configured to be stored in chronological order by providing a power consumption actual information storage unit. From the acquired power consumption actual information, the average value for each demand time slot, which is the average of the power consumption actual information of the consumer for the past week, is calculated as the normal baseline. The normal baseline is information displayed as a bar graph in Figure 16. The normal baseline is calculated based on one or more of the following day's power supply and demand forecast, the following day's weather forecast (one or more of expected temperature, sunshine, wind, etc.), and information from the smart meter. Recommended power consumption information This system Recommended power consumption information The acquisition unit (A) acquires the power saving baseline. The power saving baseline is represented by a solid line graph in FIG.

[0118] As mentioned above, the power saving baseline Recommended power consumption information The information is obtained from a server device managed by the company (supplier) that supplies electricity to consumers. The supplier provides the consumer with information on actual electricity consumption (usually the baseline) and Recommended power consumption information (power saving baseline) and information on the DR request time period are provided as shown in Figure 16, and power consumption schedule information from consumers is Recommended power consumption information (The power consumption schedule information acquisition unit (C) of the system acquires the power consumption schedule information based on the actual power consumption information. (The power consumption schedule information acquisition unit (C) will be described later with reference to FIG. 17.) The actual power consumption information can be configured to be acquired from a server device of the supplier, or from a server or computer managed by the consumer.

[0119] It is possible to configure so that recommended power consumption information (power saving baseline) is directly acquired based on acquired past power consumption performance information, etc., without acquiring the normal baseline. This simplifies the processing. When the normal baseline is not acquired, Fig. 16 shows the power saving baseline (recommended power consumption information) as a bar graph, and in the initial state, a line graph showing planned power consumption information is displayed connecting the tips of the bar graph, and the consumer is allowed to drag the line graph to adjust and input the settings.

[0120] Instead of displaying the consumer's actual power consumption information shown by the bar graph as an average for the past week, for example, the average or maximum value of the actual power consumption information on January 16th over the past 10 years, or the actual power consumption information itself on January 14th, which is the day before January 15th to be entered, may be displayed. Alternatively, instead of the average value of the past actual power consumption information or its value, processed actual information may be displayed that has been processed by multiplying the actual power consumption in the time period for which downward DR is desired by a specified ratio or by reducing a specified amount of power.

[0121] Represented by a solid line graph Recommended power consumption information is information calculated as the recommended power consumption schedule desired by the supplier for the consumer, based on the consumer's past power consumption record information acquired and held by the supplier from high-voltage substation equipment or its monitoring device, or smart meters, the power supply and demand situation on January 16th in the area where the consumer is located, weather forecasts (weather, temperature, wind direction and speed, etc.), other consumers' power consumption record information, and actual values ​​when responding to demand response, etc. If the supplier wishes to adjust the power demand for its own convenience, the adjustment fee may be added.

[0122] The consumer receives DR information from the supplier and sees a screen like the one shown in Figure 16. The DR request time periods on January 16 are 8:00-11:00 and 13:00-17:00. If the consumer wishes to participate in either or both of the DR time periods, he or she presses the "Participate" button in the upper right.

[0123] <Getting electricity consumption forecast information> FIG. 17 is a screen where a consumer inputs planned power consumption information after pressing the "Participate" button on the screen in FIG. 16. Planned power consumption information for January 16 is displayed as a dotted line graph. In the initial state, the dotted line graph is located at the top of the bar graph, and can be adjusted up or down for each demand time period by dragging it with the mouse or other device. For example, in FIG. 17, the bar graph for the demand time period from 10:30 to 11:00 shows 100kW, but the dotted line graph located at the top of the bar graph is dragged down to 80kW by dragging it with the mouse pointer. When the input setting of the planned power consumption information is completed, the "Settings Complete" button is pressed at the bottom right of the screen. If the user wants to start over, the "Redo" button is pressed, and the screen returns to the initial state of the input setting of planned power consumption information immediately after pressing the "Participate" button on the screen in FIG. 16. The "Back" button is pressed when the user wants to cancel participation itself.

[0124] The supplier provides the consumer with information on actual electricity consumption (usually the baseline) and Recommended power consumption information (power saving baseline) and information on the DR request time period are provided as shown in Figure 16, and power consumption schedule information from consumers is Recommended power consumption information Based on the actual power consumption information, the power consumption forecast information acquisition unit (C) of the system acquires the information.

[0125] <Power consumption tendency information output> When "Settings Complete" is pressed, for example, power consumption comparison information obtained by comparing the planned power consumption information for January 16th entered into the system with the actual power consumption amount for each demand time period obtained on January 16th, and the power consumption tendency information of the consumer based on the power consumption tendency information acquisition rules are output to the consumer's PC. The output power consumption tendency information can be data such as numbers, graphs showing data for each demand time period, colors, simplified faces, or text such as excellent / good / fair.

[0126] The power consumption comparison information acquisition unit (D) of this system acquires power consumption comparison information, which is information comparing the acquired power consumption schedule information with the actual power consumption of the consumer acquired by the power consumption actual information acquisition unit (B) on January 16 (power consumption actual information on January 16). Power consumption tendency information is output based on the acquired power consumption comparison information and the power consumption tendency acquisition rules stored in the power consumption tendency information acquisition rule storage unit (E).

[0127] It may be configured to hold a power consumption tendency information rule for acquiring power consumption tendency information based on the acquired recommended power consumption information and the actual power consumption information actually acquired on the scheduled day, without acquiring power consumption schedule information. In this case, the power consumption tendency information output unit (F) is configured to output power consumption tendency information based on the acquired recommended power consumption information, the actual power consumption information actually acquired on the scheduled day, and the power consumption tendency information rule.

[0128] <Processing flow of embodiment 1> Fig. 2 is a flowchart of an operation method of the demand response system of embodiment 1. As shown in this figure, the demand response system of embodiment 1 has a recommended power consumption information acquisition step (a) (S0201), a power consumption record information acquisition step (b) (S0202), a power consumption schedule information acquisition step (c) (S0203), a power consumption comparison information acquisition step (d) (S0204), a power consumption tendency information acquisition rule retention step (e) (S0205), and a power consumption tendency information output step (f) (S0206).

[0129] The operation method of the demand response system, which is a computer, is as follows: The recommended power consumption information acquisition step (a) (S0201) performs a process of acquiring recommended power consumption information, which is information indicating the recommended power consumption amount within each demand time period, for each power consumer (hereinafter simply referred to as a "consumer") based on a power supply and demand forecast or the like; The power consumption record information acquisition step (b) (S0202) performs a process of acquiring power consumption record information which is information indicating the power consumption record of a consumer within each demand time period, The power consumption schedule information acquisition step (c) (S0203) performs a process of acquiring power consumption schedule information, which is information indicating a future power consumption schedule of the consumer, based on the acquired recommended power consumption information and the actual power consumption information; The power consumption comparison information acquisition step (d) (S0204) performs a process of acquiring power consumption comparison information, which is information obtained by comparing the acquired power consumption schedule information with actual power consumption in the future, The power consumption tendency information acquisition rule holding step (e) (S0205) performs a process of holding a power consumption tendency information acquisition rule, which is a rule for acquiring power consumption tendency information, which is information indicating a power consumption tendency (e.g., an alarm indicating that a planned upper limit of power consumption is being approached) for a consumer based on the power consumption comparison information, The power consumption tendency information output step (f) (S0206) performs a process of outputting power consumption tendency information based on the obtained power consumption comparison information and the stored power consumption tendency acquisition rule. This is an operating method for causing a demand response system, which is a computer, to execute such a series of processes.

[0130] <Description of Hardware Configuration of First Embodiment> The hardware configuration of the demand response system of the first embodiment will be described with reference to FIG.

[0131] FIG. 3 is a diagram showing the hardware configuration of the demand response system in the first embodiment. As shown in this diagram, the high-voltage substation equipment abnormality response system in this embodiment includes a "CPU (Central Processing Unit)" that performs various arithmetic processing, a "chipset", a "graphics card", a "main memory", a "non-volatile memory" that holds various programs and data (information), an "I / O controller", a "USB, SATA, LAN terminal, etc.", a "BIOS (UEFI)", a "PCI Express slot", and a "real-time clock". These are connected to each other by a data communication path such as a "system bus" to transmit and receive information and perform processing. The non-volatile memory includes a flash memory and a HDD as described above.

[0132] The various programs and data (information) stored in the non-volatile memory are expanded into the main memory when the system is started up, and upon receiving an execution command, the CPU sequentially executes the programs to perform calculations using the data.

[0133] When this system starts up, the various programs and data (information) stored in the "non-volatile memory" are read, expanded, and stored in the "main memory," which also provides a work area for those programs. By receiving execution commands, the "CPU" sequentially executes the programs using the data to perform calculations. Note that multiple addresses are assigned to this "main memory" and "non-volatile memory," and programs executed by the "CPU" can identify and access these addresses to exchange data with each other and perform processing. In the first embodiment, the programs stored in the "main memory" are a recommended power consumption information acquisition program (a), a power consumption record information acquisition program (b), a power consumption schedule information acquisition program (c), a power consumption comparison information acquisition program (d), a power consumption tendency information acquisition rule storage program (e), and a power consumption tendency information output program (f). In addition, the "main memory" and the "non-volatile memory" store recommended power consumption information, power consumption record information, power consumption schedule information, power consumption comparison information, power consumption tendency information acquisition rules, power consumption tendency information, etc.

[0134] The "CPU" performs the following processes: A recommended power consumption information acquisition program (a) stored in the "main memory" is executed to acquire recommended power consumption information, which is information indicating the recommended amount of power consumption within each demand time period, for each power consumer (hereinafter simply referred to as "consumer") based on power supply and demand forecasts, etc. The power consumption record information acquisition program (b) stored in the "main memory" is executed to acquire power consumption record information, which is information indicating the power consumption record of the consumer within each demand time period. The power consumption forecast information acquisition program (c) stored in the "main memory" is executed to acquire power consumption forecast information, which is information indicating the consumer's future power consumption plans, from the consumer via the Internet line through "USB, SATA, LAN terminal, etc." based on the acquired recommended power consumption information and actual power consumption information. Then, the power consumption comparison information acquisition program (d) stored in the “main memory” is executed to acquire power consumption comparison information, which is information comparing the acquired power consumption forecast information with actual power consumption in the future. The power consumption tendency information acquisition rule holding program (e) stored in the "main memory" is executed, and power consumption tendency information acquisition rules, which are rules for acquiring power consumption tendency information, which is information indicating power consumption tendencies (e.g., an alarm indicating approaching the planned power consumption upper limit) for consumers based on the power consumption comparison information, are held. A power consumption tendency information output program (f) stored in the “main memory” is executed to output power consumption tendency information based on the acquired power consumption comparison information and the stored power consumption tendency acquisition rules.

[0135] <Effects of the First Embodiment> The demand response system of this embodiment presents recommended power consumption information, which is a target for reducing power consumption, to the consumer. The demand response system has the consumer input power consumption schedule information, which is the power consumption target, and outputs power consumption propensity based on power comparison information obtained by comparing the power consumption schedule information with actual power consumption and power consumption propensity acquisition rules. By having the consumer input the power consumption target, it is possible to make the consumer aware of power consumption reduction and demand response. In addition, by outputting the power consumption propensity information, it is possible to inform the consumer whether or not the demand response can be achieved, and if it is unlikely to be achieved, it is possible to motivate the consumer to take measures to achieve the target.

[0136] <Overview of embodiment 2> Mainly claims 2, 6, and 10 The demand response system of the second embodiment based on the first embodiment is configured to perform processing for granting a registration incentive to consumers who have registered with the system.

[0137] <Functional configuration of embodiment 2> Fig. 4 shows a functional block diagram of a demand response system of embodiment 2 based on embodiment 1. The demand response system (0400) of embodiment 2 further includes a consumer information holding unit (G) (0407), a registration unit (H) (0408), and a registration incentive processing unit (J) (0409) in addition to the configuration of embodiment 1.

[0138] <Description of the configuration of embodiment 2> <Embodiment 2: Customer information storage unit (G) (0407)> The 'demand user information storage unit (G)' (0407) is configured to store consumer attribute information in association with consumer identification information, which is information for identifying a consumer.

[0139] "Consumer identification information" is information for identifying a consumer, and may be a customer management number consisting of a simple character string or symbol, or the consumer's own name, shop name, trade name, address, telephone number, email address, etc. It may also be a character string consisting of letters, numbers, symbols, etc., such as a membership number or customer management number assigned to the consumer by the present system.

[0140] "Attribute information" refers to information indicating the attributes of a consumer, such as the consumer's name, store name, trade name, company name, address, building name, power contract capacity, power contract plan, installed high-voltage substation equipment, its monitoring device, smart meter, contract period, etc. It may also include a history of past contract renewals, a history of past maximum demand values ​​(maximum power consumption during a demand time period), actual power consumption information, etc. The attribute information indicating the attributes of a consumer is associated with consumer identification information and stored in the consumer information storage unit (G) as consumer information. <Embodiment 2 Registration Section (H) (0408)> The "registration unit (H)" (0408) is configured to register attribute information of a consumer in association with consumer identification information for identifying the consumer in the consumer information storage unit (G) (0407).

[0141] "Registration" means inputting attribute information indicating the attributes of a consumer into this system in association with consumer identification information. The registered (input) attribute information is stored in the consumer information storage unit (G) described above. <Embodiment 2: Registration incentive processing unit (J) (0409)> The registration incentive processing unit (J) (0409) is configured to perform processing for granting an incentive to a consumer when the consumer is registered by the registration unit (H) (0408).

[0142] The "registration incentive" is, for example, a reward paid to a consumer for registering in the system or for registering to participate when DR is performed. Examples of incentives include money (including electronic money), goods (including electronic data and NFT data), coupons (e.g., discounts on the usage fee of the system, discounts on the basic electricity fee, discounts on electricity fees for each demand time period, coupons for goods and services of other affiliated companies, etc.), and appropriation to the payment of electricity fees. Since it is paid for registration to participate in demand response, it is preferable to set it to a predetermined fixed amount (irrespective of the amount of power consumption saved during downward DR or the amount of power consumption shifted during upward DR). However, the size of the registration incentive may be adjusted according to the basic fee (a fee determined according to the maximum demand value in the past year) of the power purchase contract that the consumer has with the supplier. For example, the higher the maximum demand value of a consumer, the larger the registration incentive.

[0143] An example of "granting registration incentives" will be described with reference to Fig. 18. Fig. 18 shows a situation in which a consumer registers to use the system, actually receives a demand response (DR) request from a supplier (including an indirect request via recommended power consumption information), and participates in DR from Sunday to Thursday of a specified week (week 1 in Fig. 18). The consumer also participates in DR in weeks 2, 3 and thereafter in the same way as in week 1, but these are omitted in Fig. 18.

[0144] The "grant of registration incentive" can be configured to be granted at one or more of the following timings: when the consumer registers to use the system (at the time (A) in FIG. 18); once a week for the week in which the consumer participated in DR (at the time (B) in FIG. 18. Although it is described at the beginning of the week, it may be during the week or at the end of the week); or for each day in which the consumer participated in DR (at the time (C) in FIG. 18. It may be granted at the time when the consumer actually participates in DR and adjusts the power consumption (at the time when the date changes on that day or at the time when the date changes on the day after that day). Alternatively, it may be granted at the time when the consumer inputs the future power consumption plan information (for example, on the Sunday before the day when the consumer inputs the power consumption plan information for Monday). When multiple registration incentives out of (A), (B), and (C) are granted in combination, it is also possible to configure that (A), (B), and (C) are different amounts rather than the same amount. For example, the registration incentive for (A) registering to use the system can be the largest.

[0145] The "processing for granting" includes, in addition to the process of granting, a process of requesting a financial institution to transfer money to grant the points (electronic money may be used), and when the granting is performed by another institution such as the government, a process of requesting the institution to grant the points. At the time of registration, the system may perform a process of granting registered points that can be exchanged for electronic money that can be used in the system or other shopping sites.

[0146] <Processing flow of embodiment 2> Fig. 6 is a flowchart of an operation method of a demand response system of embodiment 2 based on embodiment 1. As shown in this figure, the demand response system of embodiment 2 has a registration step (h) (S0601), a consumer information holding step (g) (S0602), a registration incentive granting step (j) (S0603), a recommended power consumption information acquisition step (a) (S0604), a power consumption record information acquisition step (b) (S0605), a power consumption schedule information acquisition step (c) (S0606), a power consumption comparison information acquisition step (d) (S0607), a power consumption tendency information acquisition rule holding step (e) (S0608), and a power consumption tendency information output step (f) (S0609).

[0147] The operation method of the demand response system, which is a computer, is as follows: The registration step (h) (S0601) performs a process of registering attribute information of a consumer in association with consumer identification information for identifying the consumer in the consumer information storage unit (G); The consumer information holding step (g) (S0602) performs a process of holding consumer attribute information in association with consumer identification information, which is information for identifying a consumer; A registration incentive granting step (j) (S0603) performs a process for granting an incentive to a consumer when the consumer is registered in the registration step (h) (S0602), The recommended power consumption information acquisition step (a) (S0604) performs a process of acquiring recommended power consumption information, which is information indicating the recommended power consumption amount within each demand time period, for each power consumer (hereinafter simply referred to as a "consumer") based on a power supply and demand forecast or the like; The power consumption record information acquisition step (b) (S0605) performs a process of acquiring power consumption record information which is information indicating the power consumption record of the consumer within each demand time period, The power consumption schedule information acquisition step (c) (S0606) performs a process of acquiring power consumption schedule information, which is information indicating a future power consumption schedule of the consumer, based on the acquired recommended power consumption information and the actual power consumption information; The power consumption comparison information acquisition step (d) (S0607) performs a process of acquiring power consumption comparison information, which is information obtained by comparing the acquired power consumption schedule information with actual power consumption in the future, The power consumption tendency information acquisition rule holding step (e) (S0608) performs a process of holding a power consumption tendency information acquisition rule, which is a rule for acquiring power consumption tendency information, which is information indicating a power consumption tendency (e.g., an alarm indicating that the planned upper limit of power consumption is being approached) for a consumer based on the power consumption comparison information, The power consumption tendency information output step (f) (S0609) performs a process of outputting power consumption tendency information based on the obtained power consumption comparison information and the stored power consumption tendency acquisition rule. This is an operating method for causing a demand response system, which is a computer, to execute such a series of processes.

[0148] <Description of Hardware Configuration of Second Embodiment> The hardware configuration of a demand response system according to the second embodiment, which is based on the first embodiment, will be described with reference to FIG.

[0149] FIG. 6 is a diagram showing the hardware configuration of a demand response system of embodiment 2 based on embodiment 1. As shown in this diagram, the high-voltage substation equipment abnormality response system in this embodiment includes a "CPU (Central Processing Unit)" that performs various arithmetic processing, a "chipset", a "graphics card", a "main memory", a "non-volatile memory" that holds various programs and data (information), an "I / O controller", a "USB, SATA, LAN terminal, etc.", a "BIOS (UEFI)", a "PCI Express slot", and a "real-time clock". These are connected to each other by a data communication path such as a "system bus" to transmit and receive information and perform processing. The non-volatile memory includes a flash memory and a HDD as described above.

[0150] The various programs and data (information) stored in the non-volatile memory are expanded into the main memory when the system is started up, and upon receiving an execution command, the CPU sequentially executes the programs to perform calculations using the data.

[0151] When this system starts up, the various programs and data (information) stored in the "non-volatile memory" are read, expanded, and stored in the "main memory," which also provides a work area for those programs. By receiving execution commands, the "CPU" sequentially executes the programs using the data to perform calculations. Note that multiple addresses are assigned to this "main memory" and "non-volatile memory," and programs executed by the "CPU" can identify and access these addresses to exchange data with each other and perform processing.

[0152] In this embodiment, the programs stored in the "main memory" are a recommended power consumption information acquisition program (a), a power consumption record information acquisition program (b), a power consumption schedule information acquisition program (c), a power consumption comparison information acquisition program (d), a power consumption tendency information acquisition rule storage program (e), a power consumption tendency information output program (f), a consumer information storage program (g), a registration program (h), and a registered incentive processing program (j). In addition, the "main memory" and the "non-volatile memory" store recommended power consumption information, power consumption record information, power consumption schedule information, power consumption comparison information, power consumption tendency information acquisition rules, power consumption tendency information, consumer identification information, attribute information, and the like.

[0153] The "CPU" performs the following processes: A registration program (h) stored in the "main memory" is executed to register attribute information of the consumer in association with consumer identification information that identifies the consumer input from a keyboard or the like via the "I / O controller." A customer information holding program (g) stored in the "main memory" is executed to hold customer attribute information in association with customer identification information, which is information for identifying registered customers. When registration is completed, a registered incentive processing program (j) stored in the "main memory" is executed to perform processing for granting an incentive to the consumer. Then, the recommended power consumption information acquisition program (a) stored in the "main memory" is executed to acquire recommended power consumption information, which is information indicating the recommended amount of power consumption within each demand time period, for each power consumer (hereinafter simply referred to as "consumer") based on power supply and demand forecasts, etc. The power consumption record information acquisition program (b) stored in the "main memory" is executed to acquire power consumption record information, which is information indicating the power consumption record of the consumer within each demand time period. The power consumption forecast information acquisition program (c) stored in the "main memory" is executed to acquire power consumption forecast information, which is information indicating the consumer's future power consumption plans, based on recommended power consumption information and actual power consumption information acquired from the consumer via the Internet line through "USB, SATA, LAN terminal, etc." The power consumption comparison information acquisition program (d) stored in the “main memory” is executed to acquire power consumption comparison information, which is information comparing the acquired power consumption forecast information with actual power consumption in the future. The power consumption tendency information acquisition rule holding program (e) stored in the "main memory" is executed, and power consumption tendency information acquisition rules, which are rules for acquiring power consumption tendency information, which is information indicating power consumption tendencies (e.g., an alarm indicating approaching the planned power consumption upper limit) for consumers based on the power consumption comparison information, are held. A power consumption tendency information output program (f) stored in the “main memory” is executed to output power consumption tendency information based on the acquired power consumption comparison information and the stored power consumption tendency acquisition rules.

[0154] The demand response system of the present embodiment performs a process for providing an incentive at the time of registration, thereby motivating consumers who do not use the system to register. By having consumers use the registered system, consumers are motivated to perform demand response.

[0155] <Overview of embodiment 3> Mainly claims 3, 7, and 11 The demand response system of embodiment 3, which is based on either embodiment 1 or 2, is configured to perform processing for granting a running incentive based on one or more of the output power consumption tendency information, recommended power consumption information, and actual power consumption information, and on the retained granting rules.

[0156] <Functional configuration of embodiment 3> Fig. 7 shows a functional block diagram of a demand response system of embodiment 3 based on embodiment 1. The demand response system (0700) of embodiment 3 has a grant rule storage unit (K) (0710) and a running incentive processing unit (L) (0711) in addition to the configuration of embodiment 1. The same effect can be obtained even if embodiment 2 is used as a base.

[0157] <Description of the configuration of embodiment 3> <Third embodiment: Assignment rule storage unit (K) (0710)> The “granting rule storage unit (K)” (0710) is configured to store granting rules, which are rules for determining whether to grant a running incentive, which is an incentive based on one or more of the output power consumption tendency information, the recommended power consumption information, and the actual power consumption information.

[0158] A "running incentive" is an incentive given to a consumer who uses the system other than at the time of registration, based on one or more of power consumption tendency information, recommended power consumption information, and power consumption record information. The running incentive will be described with reference to FIG. 18. As described in the first embodiment with reference to FIG. 15 to FIG. 17, a demand response request from a supplier may directly send a time period to a consumer or / and may be indirectly expressed in the recommended power consumption information sent to the consumer. A daily running incentive is given at the timing of (c) in FIG. 18. More specifically, it may be given when the DR day ends and the date changes to the next day, or it may be given after a period required for processing to give the running incentive (e.g., the next day, the day after, or the next week).

[0159] An example of an "award rule" is a rule that is granted when a consumer using this system reduces his / her power consumption as planned or more than planned during a demand period when it is better to reduce power consumption (an example of a reduction DR). The rule may grant a uniform running incentive for the reduction, or it may grant a running incentive according to the amount of reduction. The standard for the reduction amount may be one or more of power consumption tendency information (power consumption schedule information), recommended power consumption information, and actual power consumption information. To increase the motivation of consumers, a rule that increases or decreases the amount of incentive according to the amount of reduction is preferable.

[0160] If the consumption power is not reduced as planned and increases instead, the rule may be that the target was not achieved and no running incentive is given for the demand time period, or that the consumer is charged an amount equivalent to the excess as a penalty, or that the excess is offset as a penalty against a running incentive that would have been given if the target had been achieved in another demand time period. Also, if the amount of power consumption has been stable based on the power consumption tendency information without approaching the amount of power consumption indicated by the power consumption schedule information, a higher running incentive may be given. This is because the consumer is better at controlling the amount of power consumption than a consumer whose power consumption does not change stably.

[0161] Conversely, in order to shift the power consumption peak during a day, a rule may be considered that grants a running incentive when power consumption is increased based on one or more of power consumption propensity information (power consumption schedule information), recommended power consumption information, and power consumption schedule information during a demand time period when it is better to increase power consumption (an example of an increased DR). In the case of an increased DR example, the rule may grant a uniform running incentive for the increased power consumption amount, or the rule may grant a running incentive according to the increased power consumption amount. The standard for the increased power consumption amount may be one or more of power consumption propensity information (power consumption schedule information), recommended power consumption information, and actual power consumption information. In order to increase the motivation of consumers, a rule that increases or decreases the amount of incentive according to the increased power consumption amount is preferable.

[0162] If the demand is not increased as planned and instead decreases, the rule may be such that the demand was not achieved and a running incentive for that demand time period is not granted, or the rule may be such that the amount equivalent to the unachieved amount is collected from the consumer as a penalty, or the rule may be such that the amount equivalent to the unachieved amount is offset against a running incentive that would have been granted if the demand period had been achieved in another demand time period.

[0163] <Embodiment 3: Running incentive processing unit (L) (0711)> The "running incentive processing unit (L)" (0711) is configured to perform processing for granting a running incentive based on one or more of the output power consumption tendency information, recommended power consumption information, and actual power consumption information and the retained granting rules.

[0164] As explained in the registration incentive processing section, the "processing for granting" includes, in addition to the granting process, a process for requesting a financial institution to transfer money to grant the incentive (which may be electronic money), and when the incentive is provided by another institution such as a government, a process for requesting the institution to grant the incentive. At the time of registration, the system may perform a process for granting registered points that can be exchanged for electronic money that can be used in the system or other shopping sites.

[0165] The running incentives granted can be further encouraged for consumers if they are published on a website or ranked so that the running incentives of similar consumers (in terms of business size, industry, location, electricity consumption history, etc.) can be compared.

[0166] <Example of running incentives> An example of running incentive provision in downward DR based on recommended power consumption information will be described with reference to Fig. 19 and Fig. 20. Fig. 19 is a diagram showing, in a white bar graph, actual power consumption information actually consumed on January 16th, which is the day of the setting, by a consumer who was informed of DR in Fig. 16 and inputs planned power consumption information as shown in Fig. 17. Fig. 20 is a table showing numerical values ​​on which the graph in Fig. 19 is based. From the left column, the table in Fig. 20 lists the demand start time (start time of the demand period), recommended power consumption (recommended power consumption information), planned power consumption (planned power consumption information), actual power consumption (actual power consumption information on January 16th), and recommended-planned (recommended power consumption information-planned power consumption information: power consumption comparison information (example)). The 92.97 kW in the margin at the bottom right of the table indicates the total amount of power whose planned power consumption information was equal to or less than the recommended power consumption information during the DR request period described later.

[0167] The solid line graph in Figure 19 shows the recommended power consumption information, and the dotted line graph shows the planned power consumption information for January 16th that the consumer set and entered on the previous day, January 15th. For example, during the demand period from 10:30 to 11:00 on January 16th, the recommended power consumption information was 92kW, while the planned power consumption information was 80kW, but efforts to save energy were effective and the actual power consumption information was 76.8kW. The difference between the recommended power consumption information and the actual power consumption information is 15.2kW.

[0168] In two demand time periods, 8:00-8:30 and 8:30-9:00, the actual power consumption information exceeds the recommended power consumption information. Although these are time periods in which the expected expected power consumption information was originally set and input, as an example of an award rule, when the actual power consumption information exceeds the recommended power consumption information in a lower DR request time period, a running incentive is not simply awarded to the relevant time period, but when the actual power consumption information falls below the recommended power consumption information in a lower DR request time period, 1 point is awarded for every 1 kW of power consumption that falls short (rounded off to the nearest 1 kW).

[0169] As shown in Figures 19 and 20, there are two downward DR request time periods on January 16th, from 8:00-11:00 in the morning and 13:00-17:00 in the afternoon. The achievement status of this example consumer on January 16th during the DR request time period was 92.97kW in total (see outside the bottom right of the table in Figure 20), during which the planned power consumption information was below the recommended power consumption information. Therefore, 93 running incentive points are awarded. Incidentally, this consumer in this example has been awarded a total of 2070 points, including the 93 points awarded on January 16th.

[0170] The points granted by the supplier as a running incentive can be configured to be used as part of the electricity fee paid by the consumer to the supplier, with 1 point = 1 yen. Also, in order to convert the points into electronic money equivalent to 1 point = 1 yen, a process of requesting an electronic money company to grant the points as electronic money can be configured to be performed. As described above, the supplier can appropriately set the method of granting the running incentive. Note that the above example is an example of granting a running incentive during a downward DR, but the present invention can also provide the same effect when granting a running incentive during an upward DR. It is also possible to configure the system to grant a running incentive based on power consumption tendency information (power consumption schedule information) or power consumption record information, and the same effect can be obtained.

[0171] Running incentive points may be calculated and awarded over the same period as the base calculation period for electricity charges (e.g., one month), or they may be calculated and awarded for each season, such as summer or winter, when electricity supply is particularly tight compared to demand, or they may be calculated and awarded annually.

[0172] FIG. 21 shows an incentive point result viewing screen to which the user is redirected when the user presses the menu button "View incentive point result" on the user's top screen when using this system shown in FIG. 15. The screen to which the user is redirected (FIG. 21) shows a list of incentive points granted in January 2023, including January 17, 2023, the day the user is attempting to view. The screen may be configured to allow the user to select the year and month when viewing the results. FIG. 21 shows the running incentive point grant results for each day in January 2023 and the power consumption amount for each day when the power consumption plan information for each day was below the recommended power consumption information in response to a request for a downward DR. Since the user is not participating in DR from January 1 to 3 due to the New Year's holiday, "-" is displayed in the result column for each day. Similarly, "-" is displayed in the result column for January 17, which is the viewing date for which the power consumption amount for the day has not yet been determined, and for January 18 to 31, which are future days from the viewing date for which no entry has yet been made.

[0173] The actual points granted from January 4 to January 16 in response to the request for a lowered DR is 914 points, as shown in the upper right of FIG. 21. Including the points granted before January, the total granted points up to January 16 is 2070 points. This may include not only running points but also registered points. Although the lowered DR has been described as an example of the above embodiment, the same applies to the raised DR, and a lowered DR and an raised DR may be set within the same day, or a lowered DR and an raised DR may be mixed within the same month (or within a specified period such as a season or year).

[0174] <Processing flow of embodiment 3> Fig. 8 is a flowchart of an operation method of a demand response system of embodiment 3 based on embodiment 1. As shown in this figure, the demand response system of embodiment 3 has a grant rule holding step (k) (S0801), a recommended power consumption information acquisition step (a) (S0802), a power consumption record information acquisition step (b) (S0803), a power consumption schedule information acquisition step (c) (S0804), a power consumption comparison information acquisition step (d) (S0805), a power consumption tendency information acquisition rule holding step (e) (S0806), a power consumption tendency information output step (f) (S0807), and a running incentive processing step (l) (S0808). The same effect can be obtained even if embodiment 2 is used as a base.

[0175] The operation method of the demand response system, which is a computer, is as follows: The grant rule holding step (k) (S0801) performs a process of holding a grant rule which is a rule for determining whether to grant a running incentive, which is an incentive based on one or more of the output power consumption tendency information, the recommended power consumption information, and the power consumption record information, and The recommended power consumption information acquisition step (a) (S0802) performs a process of acquiring recommended power consumption information, which is information indicating the recommended power consumption amount within each demand time period, for each power consumer (hereinafter simply referred to as a "consumer") based on a power supply and demand forecast or the like; The power consumption record information acquisition step (b) (S0803) performs a process of acquiring power consumption record information which is information indicating the power consumption record of the consumer within each demand time period, The power consumption schedule information acquisition step (c) (S0804) performs a process of acquiring power consumption schedule information, which is information indicating a future power consumption schedule of the consumer, based on the acquired recommended power consumption information and the actual power consumption information; The power consumption comparison information acquisition step (d) (S0805) performs a process of acquiring power consumption comparison information, which is information obtained by comparing the acquired power consumption schedule information with actual power consumption in the future, The power consumption tendency information acquisition rule retention step (e) (S0806) performs a process of retaining a power consumption tendency information acquisition rule, which is a rule for acquiring power consumption tendency information, which is information indicating a power consumption tendency (e.g., an alarm indicating that the planned upper limit of power consumption is being approached) for a consumer based on the power consumption comparison information, A power consumption tendency information output step (f) (S0807) performs a process of outputting power consumption tendency information based on the obtained power consumption comparison information and the stored power consumption tendency acquisition rule, The running incentive processing step (l) (S0808) performs processing to grant a running incentive based on one or more of the output power consumption tendency information, recommended power consumption information, and actual power consumption information and the stored granting rules. This is an operating method for causing a demand response system, which is a computer, to execute such a series of processes.

[0176] <Description of Hardware Configuration in Third Embodiment> The hardware configuration of a demand response system according to the third embodiment, which is based on the first or second embodiment, will be described with reference to FIG.

[0177] FIG. 9 is a diagram showing the hardware configuration of a demand response system of the third embodiment based on the first embodiment. As shown in this figure, the high-voltage substation equipment abnormality response system in this embodiment includes a "CPU (Central Processing Unit)" that performs various arithmetic processing, a "chipset", a "graphics card", a "main memory", a "non-volatile memory" that holds various programs and data (information), an "I / O controller", a "USB, SATA, LAN terminal, etc.", a "BIOS (UEFI)", a "PCI Express slot", and a "real-time clock". These are connected to each other by a data communication path such as a "system bus" to transmit and receive information and perform processing. The non-volatile memory includes a flash memory and a HDD as described above. The same effect can be obtained by using the second embodiment.

[0178] The various programs and data (information) stored in the non-volatile memory are expanded into the main memory when the system is started up, and upon receiving an execution command, the CPU sequentially executes the programs to perform calculations using the data.

[0179] When this system starts up, the various programs and data (information) stored in the "non-volatile memory" are read, expanded, and stored in the "main memory," which also provides a work area for those programs. By receiving execution commands, the "CPU" sequentially executes the programs using the data to perform calculations. Note that multiple addresses are assigned to this "main memory" and "non-volatile memory," and programs executed by the "CPU" can identify and access these addresses to exchange data with each other and perform processing. In this embodiment, the programs stored in the "main memory" are a recommended power consumption information acquisition program (a), a power consumption record information acquisition program (b), a power consumption schedule information acquisition program (c), a power consumption comparison information acquisition program (d), a power consumption tendency information acquisition rule storage program (e), a power consumption tendency information output program (f), a grant rule storage program (k), and a running incentive processing program (l). In addition, the "main memory" and the "non-volatile memory" store recommended power consumption information, power consumption record information, power consumption schedule information, power consumption comparison information, power consumption tendency information acquisition rules, power consumption tendency information, and grant rules.

[0180] The "CPU" performs the following processes: An awarding rule storage program (k) stored in the "main memory" is started, and an awarding rule, which is a rule for determining whether to award a running incentive, which is an incentive based on one or more of the output power consumption tendency information, recommended power consumption information, and actual power consumption information, is stored. A recommended power consumption information acquisition program (a) stored in the "main memory" is executed to acquire recommended power consumption information, which is information indicating the recommended amount of power consumption within each demand time period, for each power consumer (hereinafter simply referred to as "consumer") based on power supply and demand forecasts, etc. The power consumption record information acquisition program (b) stored in the "main memory" is executed to acquire power consumption record information, which is information indicating the power consumption record of the consumer within each demand time period. The power consumption forecast information acquisition program (c) stored in the "main memory" is executed to acquire power consumption forecast information, which is information indicating the consumer's future power consumption plans, based on recommended power consumption information and actual power consumption information acquired from the consumer via the Internet line through "USB, SATA, LAN terminal, etc." The power consumption comparison information acquisition program (d) stored in the “main memory” is executed to acquire power consumption comparison information, which is information comparing the acquired power consumption forecast information with actual power consumption in the future. The power consumption tendency information acquisition rule holding program (e) stored in the "main memory" is executed, and power consumption tendency information acquisition rules, which are rules for acquiring power consumption tendency information, which is information indicating power consumption tendencies (e.g., an alarm indicating approaching the planned power consumption upper limit) for consumers based on the power consumption comparison information, are held. A power consumption tendency information output program (f) stored in the “main memory” is executed to output power consumption tendency information based on the acquired power consumption comparison information and the stored power consumption tendency acquisition rules. Then, the running incentive processing program (l) stored in the "main memory" is executed to perform processing for granting a running incentive based on one or more of the output power consumption tendency information, recommended power consumption information, and actual power consumption information, and the retained granting rules.

[0181] The demand response system of this embodiment performs processing to grant a running incentive to a consumer based on one or more of power consumption tendency information, recommended power consumption information, and actual power consumption information and granting rules, thereby enabling the consumer to maintain and increase their motivation to continue participating in demand response using this system.

[0182] <Overview of embodiment 4> Mainly claims 4, 8, and 12 The demand response system of embodiment 4, which is based on any one of embodiments 1 to 3, is configured to retain the acquired planned power consumption information as future power consumption planned information, which is planned power consumption information for the next day and thereafter, and to record the future planned power consumption information as planned power consumption information for the current day at the time the date changes.

[0183] <Functional Configuration of Fourth Embodiment> Fig. 10 shows a functional block diagram of a demand response system of embodiment 4 based on embodiment 1. The demand response system (1000) of embodiment 4 has a current day power consumption schedule information storage unit (M) (1012), a future power consumption schedule information storage unit (N) (1013), and a current day power consumption schedule information recording unit (O) (1014) in addition to the configuration of embodiment 1. The same effect can be obtained even if the system is based on either embodiment 2 or 3.

[0184] <Description of the Configuration of the Fourth Embodiment> <Fourth embodiment: Today's electricity consumption schedule information storage unit (M) (1012)> The 'storage unit for daily scheduled power consumption information (M)' (1012) is configured to store daily scheduled power consumption information, which is information on the scheduled power consumption of the consumer for that day.

[0185] The "today" is the day on which the consumer inputs electricity consumption schedule information to the system. <Fourth embodiment: Future power consumption schedule information storage unit (N) (1013)> The 'future power consumption schedule information storage unit (N)' (1013) is configured to store the acquired power consumption schedule information as future power consumption schedule information, which is power consumption schedule information for the next day and thereafter.

[0186] The "future" refers to the day after the day on which the power consumption schedule information is input. Therefore, it is preferable that the future power consumption schedule information is stored in association with application date information that is information indicating the date on which the future power consumption schedule information is applied. <Fourth embodiment: Today's electricity consumption schedule information recording unit (O) (1014)> The 'today's scheduled power consumption information recording unit (O)' (1014) is configured to record future scheduled power consumption information as today's scheduled power consumption information in the today's scheduled power consumption information storage unit (M) at the timing when the date changes.

[0187] The "timing when the date changes" is the timing when the future power consumption schedule information changes to the date to which it should be applied. When the time changes from 23:59 on the day before the date to which it should be applied to 0:00 on the next day, the future power consumption schedule information is recorded as that day's power consumption schedule information in the current day power consumption schedule information storage unit (M).

[0188] Using the example of FIG. 14, the power consumption schedule information input by the consumer as of February 1, 2023 and acquired by the system is stored in the future power consumption schedule information storage unit (N) as future power consumption schedule information until 23:59 on February 1, the day of input. At the time when it changes to 0:00 on the next day, February 2, 2023, the future power consumption schedule information for February 2, 2023, which was information indicating the power to be consumed in the future until 23:59 on February 1, 2023, is switched to the current day power consumption schedule information, and the current day power consumption schedule information recording unit (O) records it in the current day power consumption schedule information storage unit (M). The current day power consumption schedule information is used to acquire power consumption comparison information and power consumption tendency information for February 2, 2023. Similarly, when a consumer inputs (acquired by this system) information on planned power consumption for the following day, February 3, 2023, on February 2, 2023, the information is stored in the future power consumption plan information storage unit (N) as future power consumption plan information, and at 0:00 on February 3, 2023, the current day power consumption plan information recording unit (O) records the information in the current day power consumption plan information storage unit (M) as current day power consumption plan information.

[0189] The reason why future planned power consumption information from the next day onwards is not immediately recorded and retained as planned power consumption information for the current day is to prevent the planned power consumption information for the current day from being overwritten and updated, which could lead to inappropriate use of planned power consumption information for future days other than the current day when obtaining power consumption comparison information or power consumption tendency information for the current day.

[0190] <Processing flow of embodiment 4> Fig. 11 is a flowchart of an operation method of a demand response system of embodiment 4 based on embodiment 1. As shown in this figure, the demand response system of embodiment 4 has a recommended power consumption information acquisition step (a) (S1101), a power consumption record information acquisition step (b) (S1102), a power consumption schedule information acquisition step (c) (S1103), a future power consumption schedule information storage step (n) (S1104), a power consumption schedule information recording step (o) (S1105), a power consumption schedule information storage step (m) (S1106), a power consumption comparison information acquisition step (d) (S1107), a power consumption tendency information acquisition rule storage step (e) (S1108), and a power consumption tendency information output step (f) (S1109). The same effect can be obtained even if either embodiment 2 or 3 is used as a base.

[0191] The operation method of the demand response system, which is a computer, is as follows: The recommended power consumption information acquisition step (a) (S1101) performs a process of acquiring recommended power consumption information, which is information indicating the recommended power consumption amount within each demand time period, for each power consumer (hereinafter simply referred to as a "consumer") based on a power supply and demand forecast, etc. The power consumption record information acquisition step (b) (S1102) performs a process of acquiring power consumption record information which is information indicating the power consumption record of a consumer within each demand time period, The power consumption schedule information acquisition step (c) (S1103) performs a process of acquiring power consumption schedule information, which is information indicating a future power consumption schedule of the consumer, based on the acquired recommended power consumption information and actual power consumption information; A future power consumption schedule information holding step (n) (S1104) performs a process of holding the acquired power consumption schedule information as future power consumption schedule information, which is power consumption schedule information for the next day and thereafter; In the current day power consumption schedule information recording step (o) (S1105), a process is performed to record the future power consumption schedule information as the current day power consumption schedule information in the current day power consumption schedule information storage step (m) (S1106) at the timing when the date changes, The step (m) of storing information on electric power consumption schedule for the day (S1106) includes a process of storing information on electric power consumption schedule for the day, which is information on electric power consumption schedule of the consumer for the day; The power consumption comparison information acquisition step (d) (S1107) performs a process of acquiring power consumption comparison information, which is information obtained by comparing the acquired power consumption schedule information with actual power consumption in the future, The power consumption tendency information acquisition rule retention step (e) (S1108) performs a process of retaining a power consumption tendency information acquisition rule, which is a rule for acquiring power consumption tendency information, which is information indicating a power consumption tendency (e.g., an alarm indicating that the planned upper limit of power consumption is being approached) for a consumer based on the power consumption comparison information, The power consumption tendency information output step (f) (S1109) performs a process of outputting power consumption tendency information based on the obtained power consumption comparison information and the stored power consumption tendency acquisition rule. This is an operating method for causing a demand response system, which is a computer, to execute such a series of processes.

[0192] <Fourth embodiment: Description of hardware configuration> The hardware configuration of a demand response system according to the fourth embodiment, which is based on any one of the first to third embodiments, will be described with reference to FIG.

[0193] FIG. 12 is a diagram showing the hardware configuration of a demand response system of embodiment 4 based on embodiment 1. As shown in this figure, the high-voltage substation equipment abnormality response system in this embodiment includes a "CPU (Central Processing Unit)" that performs various arithmetic processing, a "chipset", a "graphics card", a "main memory", a "non-volatile memory" that holds various programs and data (information), an "I / O controller", a "USB, SATA, LAN terminal, etc.", a "BIOS (UEFI)", a "PCI Express slot", and a "real-time clock". These are connected to each other by a data communication path such as a "system bus" to transmit and receive information and perform processing. The non-volatile memory includes a flash memory and a HDD as described above. The same effect can be obtained even if either embodiment 2 or 3 is used as a base.

[0194] The various programs and data (information) stored in the non-volatile memory are expanded into the main memory when the system is started up, and upon receiving an execution command, the CPU sequentially executes the programs to perform calculations using the data.

[0195] When this system starts up, the various programs and data (information) stored in the "non-volatile memory" are read, expanded, and stored in the "main memory," which also provides a work area for those programs. By receiving execution commands, the "CPU" sequentially executes the programs using the data to perform calculations. Note that multiple addresses are assigned to this "main memory" and "non-volatile memory," and programs executed by the "CPU" can identify and access these addresses to exchange data with each other and perform processing. In this embodiment, the programs stored in the "main memory" are a recommended power consumption information acquisition program (a), a power consumption record information acquisition program (b), a power consumption schedule information acquisition program (c), a power consumption comparison information acquisition program (d), a power consumption tendency information acquisition rule storage program (e), a power consumption tendency information output program (f), a current day power consumption schedule information storage program (m), a future power consumption schedule information storage program (n), and a current day power consumption schedule information recording program (o). In addition, the "main memory" and the "non-volatile memory" store recommended power consumption information, power consumption record information, power consumption schedule information, power consumption comparison information, power consumption tendency information acquisition rules, power consumption tendency information, current day power consumption schedule information, future power consumption schedule information, etc.

[0196] The "CPU" performs the following processes: A recommended power consumption information acquisition program (a) stored in the "main memory" is executed to acquire recommended power consumption information, which is information indicating the recommended amount of power consumption within each demand time period, for each power consumer (hereinafter simply referred to as "consumer") based on power supply and demand forecasts, etc. The power consumption record information acquisition program (b) stored in the "main memory" is executed to acquire power consumption record information, which is information indicating the power consumption record of the consumer within each demand time period. The power consumption forecast information acquisition program (c) stored in the "main memory" is executed to acquire power consumption forecast information, which is information indicating the consumer's future power consumption plans, based on recommended power consumption information and actual power consumption information obtained from the consumer via the Internet line through "USB, SATA, LAN terminal, etc." The power consumption schedule information acquired by executing the future power consumption schedule information holding program (n) stored in the "main memory" is held as future power consumption schedule information, which is power consumption schedule information for the next day and thereafter. A program (o) for recording electric power consumption schedule information for the current day stored in the "main memory" is executed to record future electric power consumption schedule information as electric power consumption schedule information for the current day at the timing when the date changes. The program (m) for storing electric power consumption schedule information for the day stored in the "main memory" executes the program (m) for storing electric power consumption schedule information for the day, and stores the electric power consumption schedule information for the day of the consumer recorded therein. Then, the power consumption comparison information acquisition program (d) stored in the "main memory" is executed to acquire power consumption comparison information, which is information comparing the acquired power consumption forecast information with actual power consumption in the future. The power consumption tendency information acquisition rule holding program (e) stored in the "main memory" is executed, and power consumption tendency information acquisition rules, which are rules for acquiring power consumption tendency information, which is information indicating power consumption tendencies (e.g., an alarm indicating approaching the planned power consumption upper limit) for consumers based on the power consumption comparison information, are held. A power consumption tendency information output program (f) stored in the “main memory” is executed to output power consumption tendency information based on the acquired power consumption comparison information and the stored power consumption tendency acquisition rules.

[0197] The demand response system of this embodiment can record future planned power consumption information input on the day in the current day planned power consumption information storage unit at the timing when the corresponding date changes. When future planned power consumption information is input, it is possible to prevent the current day's planned power consumption information from being unexpectedly overwritten and updated, and it is possible to prevent inappropriate power consumption tendency information from being output.

[0198] <5. Effects> The demand response system having the above configuration presents recommended power consumption information, which is a target for reducing power consumption, to consumers. The demand response system has the consumers input planned power consumption information, which is the power consumption target, and outputs power consumption propensity based on power comparison information that compares the planned power consumption information with actual power consumption and power consumption propensity acquisition rules. Having the consumers input their power consumption target makes it possible to raise awareness of reducing power consumption. Also, by outputting power consumption propensity information, it is possible to inform the consumers whether the target can be achieved, and if it is unlikely to be achieved, it is possible to motivate the consumers to take measures to achieve the target. [Explanation of symbols]

[0199] Demand Response System··0100 Recommended power consumption information acquisition unit (A)···0101 Power consumption record information acquisition unit (B) ···0102 Power consumption forecast information acquisition unit (C) ···0103 Power consumption comparison information acquisition unit (D)...0104 Power consumption tendency information acquisition rule storage unit (E)···0105 Power consumption propensity information output section (F)...0106

Claims

1. a recommended power consumption information acquisition unit (A) for acquiring, for each power consumer (hereinafter simply referred to as "consumer"), recommended power consumption information indicating a recommended amount of power consumption within each demand time period, which is a requested power amount that a supplier supplying power to the consumer wishes to increase or decrease, based on a power supply and demand forecast, an actual power consumption information acquisition unit (B) that acquires actual power consumption information that is information indicating actual power consumption of a consumer within each demand time period; a power consumption schedule information acquisition unit (C) that acquires power consumption schedule information that is information indicating a future power consumption schedule of a consumer based on the acquired recommended power consumption information and actual power consumption information; a power consumption comparison information acquiring unit (D) for acquiring power consumption comparison information which is information obtained by comparing the acquired power consumption schedule information with actual power consumption in the future; a power consumption tendency information acquisition rule storage unit (E) for storing power consumption tendency information acquisition rules, which are rules for acquiring power consumption tendency information, which is information indicating a power consumption tendency (e.g., an alarm indicating that a power consumption upper limit is being approached) for a consumer based on the power consumption comparison information; a power consumption tendency information output unit (F) that outputs power consumption tendency information based on the acquired power consumption comparison information and the stored power consumption tendency acquisition rule; A demand response system having: The power consumption record information used when the power consumption schedule information acquisition unit (C) acquires the power consumption schedule information is one or more of power consumption record information of other consumers with a similar facility configuration (power usage device configuration), power consumption record information of other consumers in a similar location (climate: temperature, humidity, sunlight, etc., latitude, longitude, distance from rivers or the sea), power consumption record information of other consumers with a similar power consumption tendency, and power usage record information of the consumer itself. Demand response system.

2. A consumer information storage unit (G) that stores consumer attribute information in association with consumer identification information that is information for identifying a consumer; a registration unit (H) for registering attribute information of a consumer in association with consumer identification information for identifying the consumer in a consumer information holding unit (G); a registration incentive processing unit (J) for performing a process for granting an incentive to a consumer when the consumer is registered by the registration unit (H); The demand response system of claim 1 .

3. a grant rule storage unit (K) for storing grant rules for determining whether to grant a running incentive, which is an incentive based on one or more of the output power consumption tendency information, the recommended power consumption information, and the power consumption record information; a running incentive processing unit (L) for performing processing for granting a running incentive based on one or more of the output power consumption tendency information, the recommended power consumption information, and the power consumption record information and the stored granting rule; 3. The demand response system according to claim 1 or 2, comprising:

4. A current day power consumption schedule information storage unit (M) for storing current day power consumption schedule information, which is information on the current day power consumption schedule of a consumer; a future power consumption schedule information storage unit (N) that stores the acquired power consumption schedule information as future power consumption schedule information that is power consumption schedule information for the next day and thereafter; a current day power consumption schedule information recording unit (O) for recording future power consumption schedule information as current day power consumption schedule information in a current day power consumption schedule information holding unit (M) at the timing when the date changes; 3. The demand response system according to claim 1 or 2, comprising:

5. A recommended power consumption information acquisition step (a) for acquiring recommended power consumption information for each power consumer (hereinafter simply referred to as "consumer") based on a power supply and demand forecast or the like, the recommended power consumption information being information indicating the recommended power consumption amount within each demand time period, which is the desired power that a supplier supplying power to the consumer is requested to increase or decrease in power consumption; a power consumption result information acquisition step (b) of acquiring power consumption result information which is information indicating power consumption results of consumers within each demand time period; a power consumption schedule information acquisition step (c) of acquiring power consumption schedule information which is information indicating a future power consumption schedule of the consumer based on the acquired recommended power consumption information and the actual power consumption information; a power consumption comparison information acquiring step (d) of acquiring power consumption comparison information which is information obtained by comparing the acquired power consumption schedule information with actual power consumption in the future; a power consumption tendency information acquisition rule holding step (e) for holding a power consumption tendency information acquisition rule which is a rule for acquiring power consumption tendency information which is information indicating a power consumption tendency (e.g., an alarm indicating that a power consumption upper limit is being approached) for a consumer based on the power consumption comparison information; A method for operating a demand response system that is a computer, the method comprising: a power consumption tendency information output step (f) of outputting power consumption tendency information based on the acquired power consumption comparison information and a stored power consumption tendency acquisition rule, The power consumption record information used when acquiring the power consumption schedule information in the power consumption schedule information acquisition step (c) is one or more of power consumption record information of other consumers with a similar facility configuration (power usage device configuration), power consumption record information of other consumers in a similar location (climate: temperature, humidity, sunlight, etc., latitude, longitude, distance from rivers or the sea), power consumption record information of other consumers with a similar power consumption tendency, and power usage record information of the consumer itself. A method of operation of a demand response system that is a computer.

6. A registration step (h) of registering attribute information of a consumer in association with consumer identification information that identifies the consumer; a customer information storage step (g) for storing attribute information of the customer registered in the registration step (h); and a registration incentive processing step (j) for performing a process for granting an incentive to the consumer when the consumer is registered in the registration step (h).

6. The method of claim 5.

7. a grant rule storage step (k) for storing a grant rule for determining whether to grant a running incentive, which is an incentive based on one or more of the output power consumption tendency information, the recommended power consumption information, and the power consumption record information; a running incentive processing step (l) for performing processing for granting a running incentive based on one or more of the output power consumption tendency information, the recommended power consumption information, and the power consumption record information and the stored granting rule; A method according to claim 5 or claim 6.

8. a current day power consumption schedule information holding step (m) of holding current day power consumption schedule information which is information on the current day power consumption schedule of the consumer; a future power consumption schedule information storing step (n) of storing the acquired power consumption schedule information as future power consumption schedule information which is power consumption schedule information for the next day and thereafter; a current day power consumption schedule information recording step (o) for recording the future power consumption schedule information as current day power consumption schedule information in a current day power consumption schedule information holding step (m) at the timing when the date changes; A method according to claim 5 or claim 6.

9. A recommended power consumption information acquisition step (a) for acquiring recommended power consumption information for each power consumer (hereinafter simply referred to as "consumer") based on a power supply and demand forecast or the like, the recommended power consumption information being information indicating the recommended power consumption amount within each demand time period, which is the desired power that a supplier supplying power to the consumer is requested to increase or decrease in power consumption; a power consumption result information acquisition step (b) of acquiring power consumption result information which is information indicating power consumption results of consumers within each demand time period; a power consumption schedule information acquisition step (c) of acquiring power consumption schedule information which is information indicating a future power consumption schedule of the consumer based on the acquired recommended power consumption information and the actual power consumption information; a power consumption comparison information acquiring step (d) of acquiring power consumption comparison information which is information obtained by comparing the acquired power consumption schedule information with actual power consumption in the future; a power consumption tendency information acquisition rule holding step (e) for holding a power consumption tendency information acquisition rule which is a rule for acquiring power consumption tendency information which is information indicating a power consumption tendency (e.g., an alarm indicating that a power consumption upper limit is being approached) for a consumer based on the power consumption comparison information; a power consumption tendency information output step (f) of outputting power consumption tendency information based on the acquired power consumption comparison information and the stored power consumption tendency acquisition rule, The power consumption record information used when acquiring the power consumption schedule information in the power consumption schedule information acquisition step (c) is one or more of power consumption record information of other consumers with a similar facility configuration (power usage device configuration), power consumption record information of other consumers in a similar location (climate: temperature, humidity, sunlight, etc., latitude, longitude, distance from rivers or the sea), power consumption record information of other consumers with a similar power consumption tendency, and power usage record information of the consumer itself. A program to be executed by a computer-based demand response system.

10. A registration step (h) of registering attribute information of a consumer in association with consumer identification information that identifies the consumer; a customer information storage step (g) for storing attribute information of the customer registered in the registration step (h); 10. The program according to claim 9, further comprising a registration incentive processing step (j) of performing processing for granting an incentive to the consumer when the consumer is registered in the registration step (h).

11. a grant rule storage step (k) for storing a grant rule for determining whether to grant a running incentive, which is an incentive based on one or more of the output power consumption tendency information, the recommended power consumption information, and the power consumption record information; a running incentive processing step (l) for performing processing for granting a running incentive based on one or more of the output power consumption tendency information, the recommended power consumption information, and the power consumption record information and the stored granting rule; The program according to claim 9 or 10.

12. a current day power consumption schedule information holding step (m) of holding current day power consumption schedule information which is information on the current day power consumption schedule of the consumer; a future power consumption schedule information storing step (n) of storing the acquired power consumption schedule information as future power consumption schedule information which is power consumption schedule information for the next day and thereafter; and (o) recording the future power consumption schedule information in a current day power consumption schedule information holding step (m) as current day power consumption schedule information at the timing when the date changes. The program according to claim 9 or 10.

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