Electricity rate unit price determination device and electricity rate unit price determination method

Abstract

To provide an electricity rate unit price determination device and the like capable of inducing consumer demand.SOLUTION: An electricity rate unit price determining device 10 determines the price of electric power sold to a customer 20 or the like by an electric power retailer. The electricity rate unit price determination device 10 is provided with: a transaction price acquisition unit 11 that acquires a transaction price of electric power based on a sales plan with at least one of a business operator, a wholesale electric power market, and a power generation business; an imbalance price prediction unit 12 that calculates an imbalance price prediction value based on a market price of a wholesale electric power market; an electric power sales amount prediction unit 13 that calculates an electric power sales amount prediction value based on an electric power sales actual value; an electric power rate unit price calculation unit 14 that calculates an electric power sales amount difference between an electric power sales plan and the electric power sales amount forecast value and calculates the electricity rate unit price based on the electric power sales amount difference, the transaction price, and the imbalance price prediction value; and a notification unit 15 that notifies the consumer 20 or the like of the electricity rate unit price.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 3

Description

[Technical Field]

[0001] The present invention relates to an electricity unit price determination device, a controller, and an electricity unit price determination method. [Background technology]

[0002] With the full liberalization of the retail electricity market, a growing number of private companies (so-called retail electricity businesses) are entering the electricity retail business. These retail electricity businesses may offer multiple electricity rate plans in order to secure profits. Patent Document 1 discloses a device that outputs a rate menu (electricity rate plan) that contributes to ensuring profits for retail electricity businesses. [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0003] [Patent Document 1] Japanese Patent Application Publication No. 2019-21113 Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0004] In order to ensure the profits of electricity retailers and a stable balance between supply and demand, it is desirable to suppress the occurrence of imbalances, which are the difference between sales plans and actual values. For example, if it were possible to guide consumers' electricity demand so as to suppress the occurrence of imbalances, this would contribute to the suppression of imbalances, but Patent Document 1 does not disclose such a configuration.

[0005] Therefore, the present invention provides an electricity rate unit price determination device, a controller, and an electricity rate unit price determination method that are capable of guiding electricity demand of consumers. [Means for solving the problem]

[0006] An electricity rate unit price determination device according to one embodiment of the present invention is an electricity rate unit price determination device that determines the price of electricity sold by an electricity retailer to consumers, and includes: a trading price acquisition unit that acquires the trading price of electricity based on a sales energy plan between the retailer and at least one of a wholesale electricity trading market and a power generation company; an imbalance price prediction unit that calculates an imbalance price prediction value based on the market price in the wholesale electricity trading market; a sales energy prediction unit that calculates a sales energy prediction value based on an actual sales energy value; an electricity rate unit price calculation unit that calculates a sales energy difference, which is the difference between the sales energy plan and the sales energy prediction value, and calculates an electricity rate unit price based on the sales energy difference, the trading price, and the imbalance price prediction value; and a notification unit that notifies the consumer of the electricity rate unit price.

[0007] A controller according to one embodiment of the present invention is a controller that controls energy resources installed at a consumer, and includes an acquisition unit that acquires the electricity rate unit price calculated by the above-mentioned electricity rate unit price determination device, and a second presentation unit that presents the electricity rate unit price.

[0008] An electricity rate unit price determination method according to one aspect of the present invention is a method for determining the price of electricity sold by an electricity retailer to consumers, and includes the steps of: acquiring the trading price of electricity based on a sales energy plan between the retailer and at least one of a wholesale electricity trading market and a power generation company; calculating an imbalance price prediction value based on the market price in the wholesale electricity trading market; calculating a sales energy prediction value based on an actual sales energy value; calculating a sales energy difference, which is the difference between the sales energy plan and the sales energy prediction value, and calculating an electricity rate unit price based on the sales energy difference, the trading price, and the imbalance price prediction value; and notifying the consumer of the electricity rate unit price. [Effects of the Invention]

[0009] According to one aspect of the present invention, it is possible to realize an electricity rate unit price determination device and the like that can guide the demand of consumers. [Brief explanation of the drawings]

[0010] [Figure 1] FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing a schematic configuration of a power demand guidance system according to the first embodiment. [Figure 2] FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing a functional configuration of the electricity unit price determination device according to the first embodiment. [Figure 3] FIG. 3 is a block diagram illustrating a functional configuration of the controller according to the first embodiment. [Figure 4] FIG. 4 is a sequence diagram showing the operation of the power demand guidance system according to the first embodiment. [Figure 5] FIG. 5 is a flowchart showing the operation of the electricity unit price determination device according to the first embodiment. [Figure 6] FIG. 6 is a block diagram showing a functional configuration of the electricity unit price determination device according to the second embodiment. [Figure 7] FIG. 7 is a block diagram showing a functional configuration of an electricity unit price determination device according to the third embodiment. [Figure 8] FIG. 8 is a sequence diagram showing a first example of the operation of the power demand guidance system according to the third embodiment. [Figure 9] FIG. 9 is a sequence diagram showing a second example of the operation of the power demand guidance system according to the third embodiment. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0011] (Background to the invention) In Japan, full liberalization of the electricity retail market began in 2016, allowing all users (consumers), including households and stores, to freely choose where to purchase electricity and the rate plan they choose. As a result, while electricity was previously supplied mainly by power companies (formerly known as general electricity suppliers) in each area, new businesses entering the electricity retail business in response to the liberalization of the electricity market, so-called "retail electricity suppliers (formerly known as specified-scale electricity suppliers), are appearing one after another. Retail electricity suppliers are one example of businesses that retail electricity. However, businesses that retail electricity are not limited to retail electricity suppliers.

[0012] With the full liberalization of the electricity retail market, the Planned Value Simultaneous Balance System was introduced in 2016. This requires electricity retailers to constantly match their electricity sales plans with their actual sales (for example, to the nearest 30 minutes). When an imbalance occurs, which is the difference between a retailer's sales plan, which includes the planned value of electricity demand, and its actual sales, which includes the actual value of electricity demand, the retailer may be required to pay a fee called an imbalance fee. Therefore, minimizing the difference between sales plans and actual sales is important for the profits of electricity retailers. Reducing the imbalance reduces the costs of electricity procurement and adjustment at the retailer's level, which leads to improved profits for the retailer. Reducing the imbalance also helps maintain the supply-demand balance in the power grid.

[0013] It should be noted that 30 minutes is an example of a predetermined period. The predetermined period is a period in units of a demand time limit (demand time limit), for example, 30 minutes, but is not limited to this. Furthermore, the method for creating a sales plan is not particularly limited, and any existing method may be used. Sales are also referred to as supply, and a sales plan is also referred to as a demand plan or a sales energy amount plan.

[0014] We will explain the general business flow of such a retail electricity supplier. First, we will explain the business flow on the day before selling electricity to consumers.

[0015] When necessary, electricity retailers obtain information on the next day's FIT (Feed-in Tariff) power generation plan values ​​from general electricity transmission and distribution companies (the transmission and distribution division of former general electricity companies). The power generation plan values ​​may be, for example, planned values ​​in 30-minute increments. Furthermore, when necessary, electricity retailers formulate sales plans for the next day based on predicted values ​​of demand (power demand) from contracted consumers. The sales plan includes, for example, demand for 48 30-minute intervals for the next day (current day).

[0016] Electricity retailers determine whether there will be a shortage of electricity for the next day based on their sales plan and, for example, the amount of electricity they procure directly from power generation companies. If there is a shortage, they procure the shortage through bidding on the wholesale electricity trading market (the so-called spot market) at JEPX (Japan Electric Power Exchange, a general incorporated association). Power generation companies are businesses that maintain and operate their own power generation facilities (electrical facilities for power generation) and generate electricity for use in retail electricity businesses, etc. Note that if an electricity retailer owns power generation facilities, i.e., for example, if it is engaged in both power generation and retail electricity businesses, the electricity retailer may determine whether there will be a shortage of electricity for the next day based on their sales plan and the amount of electricity generated by the power generation facilities (forecasted power generation amount).

[0017] Then, the retail electricity supplier formulates a final sales plan for the next day, including the amount procured from the wholesale electricity market, and submits the formulated sales plan to the Organization for Cross-regional Coordination of Transmission Operators (OCCTO). The final sales plan for the next day is also referred to as the initial sales plan. The Organization for Cross-regional Coordination of Transmission Operators (OCCTO) is an organization that formulates long-term policies and cross-regional grid development plans, and reviews grid access operations.

[0018] Electricity trading prices include the price between power generation companies and retail electricity suppliers, and the price when procuring electricity from the spot market. The trading price between power generation companies and retail electricity suppliers is determined in a bilateral contract between the two companies.

[0019] Furthermore, the transaction price when procuring from the spot market is, for example, the contract price in the spot market, which is determined after 10:00 a.m. the day before. For example, the contract price, i.e., the market price in the wholesale electricity trading market, can be the system price (the price at the intersection of the nationwide selling bid curve and the buying bid curve) or the area price for each area (the price when the contract price is calculated for each area due to the constraints of interconnection line capacity), but the transaction price can be either price. The transaction price can also be said to be the price of electricity based on transactions between one or more retail electricity suppliers and one or more power generation companies via the wholesale electricity trading market. The spot market is an example of a day-ahead market or a one-day-ahead market. Note that while we have explained the case of a power shortage, if a retail electricity supplier has surplus electricity for the next day based on its sales plan and, for example, the amount of electricity it procures directly from power generation companies, it may bid and trade as a seller on the spot market.

[0020] At least one of the transaction price between a power generation company and an electricity retailer and the transaction price when procuring electricity from the spot market is an example of the transaction price of electricity based on the power sales amount plan.

[0021] Although the above describes an example of procuring electricity from the spot market on JEPX, the present invention is not limited to the spot market on JEPX, and any wholesale electricity trading market may be used.

[0022] Next, the workflow for supplying power to consumers on the day will be described.

[0023] Electricity retailers monitor whether they are selling electricity in accordance with the sales plan they formulated the day before (monitoring whether they are achieving simultaneous balance). If there is a shortage of electricity on the day, they procure the shortfall that occurred on the day by bidding on the wholesale electricity trading market (the so-called pre-hour market) on JEPX, and if necessary, they re-plan their sales plan and submit it to Organization for Cross-regional Coordination of Transmission Operators (OCCTO). Rescheduling is done, for example, when there is a large discrepancy between the sales plan formulated the day before and the sales on the day. If there is a surplus, they may bid and trade as a seller on the pre-hour market, just like in the spot market. The pre-hour market is an example of an intraday market, and the trading price of electricity in the pre-hour market is an example of the market price in the wholesale electricity trading market.

[0024] In this way, retail electricity suppliers supply electricity to suppress imbalances by procuring electricity on the day, but it is desirable to suppress imbalances even further. Although we have explained the case of a shortage, if there is a surplus compared to the planned value, the surplus will be delivered to suppress imbalances.

[0025] Among the electricity rate plans offered to consumers by retail electricity suppliers are rate plans linked to the wholesale electricity trading market (Real Time Pricing). Such wholesale electricity market-linked rate plans include a pay-per-use type where the unit price (electricity rate) fluctuates every 30 minutes in line with the market price in the wholesale electricity trading market and the pay-per-use rate is calculated. Pay-per-use rate plans are limited to a monotonous rate setting where the unit price of electricity increases when the market price increases, and there is little flexibility in setting rates. For example, it is not possible to set detailed electricity rate units that would guide consumer demand in order to avoid imbalances (penalties).

[0026] Therefore, the inventors of the present application have conducted extensive research into an electricity rate unit price determination device, controller, and electricity rate unit price determination method that can determine an electricity rate unit price that can guide consumer demand, and have devised the electricity rate unit price determination device, controller, and electricity rate unit price determination method described below.

[0027] Each embodiment will be specifically described below with reference to the drawings.

[0028] It should be noted that each of the embodiments described below is a comprehensive or specific example. The numerical values, components, component placement and connection configurations, steps, and step order shown in each of the following embodiments are merely examples and are not intended to limit the present invention. Furthermore, among the components in the following embodiments, components not recited in independent claims are described as optional components.

[0029] Furthermore, each drawing is a schematic diagram and is not necessarily an exact illustration. In each drawing, substantially the same components are denoted by the same reference numerals, and redundant explanations will be omitted or simplified.

[0030] Furthermore, in this specification, terms indicating relationships between elements such as "same," as well as numerical values ​​and numerical ranges, are not expressions that only express a strict meaning, but are expressions that also include a substantially equivalent range, for example, a difference of about a few percent (e.g., about 10%).

[0031] (Embodiment 1) The electricity unit price determination device according to this embodiment will be described below with reference to FIGS. 1 to 5. FIG.

[0032] [1-1. Configuration of the electricity rate unit price determination device] First, the configuration of an electricity rate unit price determination device according to this embodiment and an electricity demand guidance system including the electricity rate unit price determination device will be described with reference to Figs. 1 to 3. Fig. 1 is a block diagram showing a schematic configuration of an electricity demand guidance system 1 according to this embodiment. Fig. 2 is a block diagram showing a functional configuration of an electricity rate unit price determination device 10 according to this embodiment. Note that the following description will cover what happens after bidding on the spot market has been made and the transaction price has been determined, unless otherwise specified.

[0033] 1, the electricity demand guidance system 1 includes an electricity rate unit price determination device 10, consumers 20 and 30 (hereinafter also referred to as consumers 20, etc.), and an external system 40. In the following, the target day (for example, the next day) on which electricity is to be supplied to consumers 20, etc. is referred to as the current day, and the day before that current day is referred to as the previous day.

[0034] The electricity rate unit price determination device 10 is an information processing device that determines the price of electricity that an electricity retailer sells to a consumer 20, etc., based on information supplied from an external system 40, etc. The electricity rate unit price determination device 10 is realized, for example, by a server device or the like managed by the electricity retailer.

[0035] 2, the electricity unit price determination device 10 includes a transaction price acquisition unit 11, an imbalance price prediction unit 12, an energy sales amount prediction unit 13, an electricity unit price calculation unit 14, and a notification unit 15. The electricity unit price determination device 10 is realized by a computer or smartphone including a processor, a memory, etc. Specifically, the electricity unit price determination device 10 functions as the transaction price acquisition unit 11, the imbalance price prediction unit 12, the energy sales amount prediction unit 13, the electricity unit price calculation unit 14, and the notification unit 15 by the processor operating in accordance with a program stored in the memory.

[0036] The transaction price acquisition unit 11 acquires the transaction price of electricity based on the power sales plan between the retail electricity supplier and at least one of the wholesale electricity trading market and the power generation company. The transaction price includes the price (e.g., unit price) at which the retail electricity supplier procures electricity from at least one of the wholesale electricity trading market and the power generation company. The transaction price is, for example, the price for electricity procured to supply to consumers 20 on the day, and is acquired before the timing of notifying the consumers of the electricity unit price.

[0037] The transaction price acquisition unit 11 may acquire the transaction price from an external system 40 (for example, a server device that manages transaction prices). In this case, the transaction price acquisition unit 11 is configured to include a communication circuit (communication module). The transaction price acquisition unit 11 may also acquire the transaction price through input from a user. In this case, the transaction price acquisition unit 11 is configured to include a keyboard, buttons, a touch panel, etc. In addition, if the transaction price is stored in a memory unit (not shown) that the electricity unit price determination device 10 has, the transaction price acquisition unit 11 may read the transaction price from the memory unit.

[0038] The imbalance price prediction unit 12 calculates a predicted imbalance price based on the market price in the wholesale electricity trading market. The predicted imbalance price is the unit price of electricity (unit price of the imbalance charge) at the time when there is a difference between the sales plan and actual sales. The unit price of the imbalance charge is also referred to as the imbalance charge unit price or the imbalance price. For example, the imbalance price prediction unit 12 may calculate both a predicted imbalance price when actual sales are greater than the sales plan and a predicted imbalance price when actual sales are smaller than the sales plan, or may use the same predicted value. That is, if the imbalance price in a surplus and the imbalance price in a shortage are different, the imbalance price prediction unit 12 predicts them separately. For example, a calculation formula for the imbalance price or a correspondence relationship (price curve) between input values ​​and the imbalance price is set in advance, and the imbalance price prediction unit 12 calculates the predicted imbalance price for the day based on the calculation formula or correspondence relationship. The calculation formula for the imbalance price includes the market price in the wholesale electricity trading market.

[0039] Furthermore, the upper limit of the imbalance price may be set based on the power supply reserve rate. The imbalance price prediction unit 12 may calculate the imbalance price prediction value to be equal to or greater than 0 yen, so that the imbalance price prediction value in a shortage is equal to or greater than the imbalance price prediction value in a surplus. The imbalance price prediction value is calculated, for example, every 30 minutes. The correspondence relationship may be, for example, one that uses a correction curve when the power supply and demand are tight.

[0040] The input values ​​required for the imbalance price prediction may be obtained from an external source or may be stored in advance. The market price in the wholesale electricity trading market is obtained, for example, from a server device that manages the market price. The imbalance price prediction unit 12 functions as an acquisition unit that acquires the market price in the wholesale electricity trading market. The reserve power supply rate is, for example, a predicted value for every 30 minutes of the day, and is obtained, for example, from a server device that manages the reserve power supply rate or a general electricity transmission and distribution company. The imbalance price prediction unit 12 may also function as an acquisition unit that acquires the reserve power supply rate. The imbalance price prediction unit 12 may also calculate the reserve power supply rate from the supply capacity and demand predicted values ​​for each area and for every 30 minutes of the day.

[0041] The power sales amount prediction unit 13 calculates the predicted value of the power sales amount for the day based on weather information and the actual value of the power sales amount. The power sales amount prediction unit 13 calculates the predicted value of the power sales amount for the day based on weather information for past periods and for the day, and the actual value of the power sales amount for the past period. The power sales amount prediction unit 13 also functions as an acquisition unit that acquires weather information and the actual value of the power sales amount. Note that, if the actual value of the power sales amount is stored in a memory unit (not shown) that the electricity rate unit price determination device 10 has, the power sales amount prediction unit 13 may read out the transaction price from the memory unit.

[0042] The weather information includes past weather records and a weather forecast for the current day. The weather information includes, but is not limited to, temperature and humidity, weather conditions (e.g., sunny, cloudy, rainy, snowy), and solar radiation. The weather information is acquired from an external server device that manages weather information (e.g., a server device managed by the Japan Meteorological Agency or a private company that provides weather information). The weather information may be, for example, information every three hours. The weather information here is information acquired after bidding on the spot market and the transaction price is determined. That is, the weather information here is information acquired after the sales plan formulated the previous day is submitted to the Organization for Cross-regional Coordination of Transmission Operators (OCCTO). The weather information for the second period here may be updated (changed) from the weather information used when formulating the sales plan to be submitted to the Organization for Cross-regional Coordination of Transmission Operators (OCCTO). Weather information acquired after the sales plan is submitted to the Organization for Cross-regional Coordination of Transmission Operators (OCCTO) is also referred to as updated weather information. The electric power sales amount prediction unit 13 may also acquire event information instead of or in addition to the weather information and calculate the predicted electric power sales amount for the current day based on the event information. The event information includes the details of the event (festival, concert, etc.) and the time period during which the event will be held. The event information may also include calendar information such as holidays. For example, if the consumer is a factory or office building, the calendar information includes information indicating working days, business days, and holidays. Here, the weather information or event information acquired will be weather information or event information linked to at least the area in which the consumer contracted by the retail electricity supplier is located.

[0043] The actual value of the amount of electricity sold is the actual value of the total amount of electricity that has been sold (supplied) in the past to the consumers 20 and the like with whom the retail electricity supplier has a contract.

[0044] The electric power sales amount prediction unit 13 may, for example, identify a past date and time period for which the same weather information as the current day's weather information is provided, and use the actual electric power sales amount value for the identified past date and time period as the electric power sales amount prediction value for the current day. The electric power sales amount prediction unit 13 may, for example, calculate the electric power sales amount prediction value every 30 minutes. Note that the electric power sales amount prediction unit 13 is not limited to calculating the electric power sales amount prediction value, as long as it can predict the electric power sales amount for the current day.

[0045] The power sales amount prediction unit 13 may calculate the predicted value of the amount of power sales for the day based on at least the actual value of the amount of power sales. For example, the power sales amount prediction unit 13 may calculate the predicted value of the amount of power sales for the day based on the past actual value of the amount of power sales for the same date as the current day, or may calculate the predicted value of the amount of power sales for the day based on the actual value of the amount of power sales for the most recent period (for example, the most recent week). In this case, the average value of multiple past actual values ​​of the amount of power sales for the day is used as the predicted value of the amount of power sales for the day, but for example, any one of the median, maximum, minimum, or mode of multiple past actual values ​​of the amount of power sales for the day may also be used as the predicted value of the amount of power sales for the day.

[0046] The electricity rate unit price calculation unit 14 calculates the difference in the amount of electric power sold (first difference) by subtracting the predicted value of the amount of electric power sold from the sales plan, and calculates the unit price of electric power based on the first difference, the transaction price, and the predicted value of the imbalance price. The electricity rate unit price calculation unit 14 may calculate the unit price of electric power every 30 minutes. The electricity rate unit price calculation unit 14 may calculate the same unit price of electric power nationwide, may calculate the same unit price of electric power for each area, or may calculate a different unit price of electric power for each consumer. The electricity rate unit price calculation unit 14 is characterized in that it determines the unit price of electric power using the first difference and the predicted value of the imbalance price. The determination of the unit price of electric power will be described later. The first difference can also be said to be a predicted value of the amount of imbalance.

[0047] The notification unit 15 notifies the consumer 20, etc. of the electricity unit price calculated by the electricity unit price calculation unit 14 via communication. The notification unit 15 is configured to include, for example, a communication circuit (communication module). The notification unit 15 may also publish the electricity unit price calculated by the electricity unit price calculation unit 14 on the website of the electricity retailer.

[0048] The electricity rate unit price determination device 10 may further include a user interface having at least one of a reception unit and a display unit. The reception unit is a device for inputting information for calculating the electricity rate unit price, and for example, receives input of an updated value of the electricity rate unit price from the administrator of the electricity rate unit price determination device 10 (e.g., an electricity retailer) for the electricity rate unit price displayed on the display unit. The reception unit is an operation unit such as a keyboard or buttons, or a touch panel integrated with a display, but may also be a device that receives input by voice. The display unit is an example of a presentation unit that presents the electricity rate unit price, and displays the electricity rate unit price as an image. The presentation unit may present the electricity rate unit price by voice, etc., instead of or together with the image. The reception unit and the presentation unit may be components of a remote terminal.

[0049] 1, the consumer 20 is a consumer who enters into a contract for electricity with a retail electricity supplier and purchases electricity from the retail electricity supplier. The facility of the consumer 20 is, for example, a residence, but is not limited to this, and may be a building where at least a load is placed, such as a factory, an apartment building, a building, a hospital, a school, or the like.

[0050] Consumers 20 and the like are connected to a power system 50 (commercial power system), and can perform forward power flow from the power system 50 to an energy resource 21 of the consumer 20 and the like, or reverse power flow from the energy resource 21 to the power system 50.

[0051] Although FIG. 1 illustrates only consumers 20 and 30 for the sake of convenience, the number of consumers included in power demand guidance system 1 is not particularly limited as long as it is one or more.

[0052] The consumer 20 includes an energy resource 21, a load 22, and a controller 23.

[0053] The energy resource 21 is a distributed energy resource that can generate and / or consume energy (electric power) and can receive control commands (messages) from the controller 23. The energy resource 21 is a power source (distributed power source) owned by the consumer 20, and is, for example, equipment such as a generator, a solar cell (power generation facility), a storage battery (storage battery facility), a storage battery for an electric vehicle, or an electric hot water heater (hot water storage facility) that uses heat pump technology such as EcoCute (registered trademark).

[0054] The load 22 is a device that can consume energy (electric power) and can receive a control command (message) from the controller 23. The load 22 is, for example, but is not limited to, a home appliance, a factory facility, a measuring instrument, etc.

[0055] The controller 23 is installed in the facility of the consumer 20 where the energy resource 21 and the load 22 are installed, and controls the devices installed in the facility, manages power consumption, etc. The controller 23 is, for example, a Home Energy Management System (HEMS) controller having an energy management function, but may also be a home controller, gateway device, or server device having an energy management function. Furthermore, communication between the controller 23 and the energy resource 21 and the load 22 may be wired communication or wireless communication.

[0056] The controller 23 is communicably connected to the electricity unit price determination device 10. The communication between the controller 23 and the electricity unit price determination device 10 may be wireless communication or wired communication.

[0057] The controller 23 will be further described with reference to Fig. 3. Fig. 3 is a block diagram showing the functional configuration of the controller 23 according to this embodiment. Note that Fig. 3 illustrates an example in which the controller 23 outputs a control command to the energy resource 21, but the controller 23 may also output a control command to the load 22.

[0058] As shown in FIG. 3, the controller 23 includes a receiving unit 23a, a display unit 23b, and a control unit 23c.

[0059] The receiving unit 23a acquires the electricity unit price from the electricity unit price determination device 10. The receiving unit 23a receives the electricity unit price, for example, by wireless communication. The receiving unit 23a is a component that enables the controller 23 to communicate with the electricity unit price determination device 10, and is configured to include a communication circuit (communication module). The receiving unit 23a is an example of an acquisition unit that acquires the electricity unit price.

[0060] The display unit 23b displays the electricity unit price acquired by the receiving unit 23a. That is, the display unit 23b visualizes the electricity unit price. For example, the display unit 23b displays the electricity unit price for every 30 minutes of the current day on the previous day. This allows users such as the consumer 20 to know the electricity unit price in advance.

[0061] The electricity unit price may include, for example, three electricity unit prices: a standard electricity unit price (described later), an electricity unit price obtained by subtracting a first amount (first unit price) from the standard electricity unit price, and an electricity unit price obtained by adding a second amount (second unit price) to the standard electricity unit price. Display unit 23b may display the three electricity unit prices in different display modes. Display unit 23b is realized by a display device such as a liquid crystal display.

[0062] The display unit 23b is an example of a presentation unit included in the controller 23. The presentation unit may present the electricity unit price by voice or the like instead of or together with an image. Furthermore, the display unit 23b may display not only the electricity unit price but also at least one of a control command from the control unit 23c and data measured by the energy resource 21 or the like (for example, the amount of stored electricity, etc.).

[0063] Furthermore, if the notification unit 15 of the electricity rate unit price determination device 10 publishes the electricity rate unit price on the website of the electricity retailer, the controller 23 does not need to have the display unit 23b. In this case, users such as consumers 20 view the electricity rate unit price from terminals such as PCs (Personal Computers), tablets, or smartphones.

[0064] The control unit 23c is a control device that controls each component of the controller 23. The control unit 23c functions as a formulation unit that formulates a control command for controlling the energy resource 21 based on the electricity unit price acquired by the receiving unit 23a and outputs the control command to the energy resource 21. The control unit 23c formulates a control command according to the electricity unit price acquired by the receiving unit 23a, for example. The control unit 23c performs control to increase the amount of electricity usage (for example, increase the amount of stored electricity) during time periods when the electricity unit price is low, and performs control to reduce the amount of electricity usage (for example, reduce (discharge) the amount of stored electricity or operate a generator) during time periods when the electricity unit price is high. In addition, the control unit 23c may perform control to increase the amount of electricity usage (for example, increase the amount of stored electricity) during a period (30 minutes) when the electricity unit price is the standard electricity unit price minus a first amount, and may perform control to decrease the amount of electricity usage (for example, reduce (discharge) the amount of stored electricity, or operate a generator) during a period (30 minutes) when the electricity unit price is the standard electricity unit price plus a second amount.

[0065] In this way, the control unit 23c may perform control to suppress the occurrence of imbalance. Note that the control unit 23c is not limited to automatically controlling the energy resource 21 based on the electricity unit price acquired by the receiving unit 23a, and may control based on instructions from a user, for example. The control unit 23c is an example of a second control unit.

[0066] For example, the controller 23 may further include a reception unit that receives input from a user. After the display unit 23b displays the electricity rate, the reception unit receives instructions regarding control of at least one of the energy resource 21 and the load 22. The instructions include, for example, an instruction to increase or decrease the amount of power usage every 30 minutes according to the electricity unit price. The reception unit is, for example, a keyboard, buttons, or a touch panel integrated with the display unit 23b, but may also be configured to receive input from the user by voice. Furthermore, the reception unit may provide an API (Application Programming Interface) and receive input via the API from a terminal such as a smartphone. In this way, the control unit 23c may control the energy resource 21 based on a manual operation by the user.

[0067] The consumer 30 has an energy resource 31, a load 32, and a controller 33. The functions of the energy resource 31, the load 32, and the controller 33 are the same as those of the energy resource 21, the load 22, and the controller 23, respectively, and therefore description thereof will be omitted.

[0068] The external system 40 is communicably connected to the electricity rate unit price determination device 10 and outputs various information used to determine the unit price of electricity in the electricity rate unit price determination device 10. The external system 40 is configured to include, for example, one or more server devices that manage transaction prices, market prices in the wholesale electricity trading market, a reserve power supply rate, weather information, and actual values ​​of the amount of electricity sold. Note that it is sufficient for the external system 40 to manage at least one of the transaction prices, market prices in the wholesale electricity trading market, a reserve power supply rate, weather information, and actual values ​​of the amount of electricity sold.

[0069] [1-2. Operation of the power demand induction system] Next, the operation of the electricity demand guidance system 1 configured as described above will be described with reference to Figs. 4 and 5. Fig. 4 is a sequence diagram showing the operation (electricity rate unit price determination method) of the electricity demand guidance system 1 according to this embodiment. Note that Fig. 4 shows an example in which the electricity rate unit price is output from the electricity rate unit price determination device 10 to the controller 23 of the consumer 20, but the electricity rate unit price is also output to the controller 33 of the consumer 30. The electricity rate unit price output to the controller 23 and the electricity rate unit price output to the controller 33 are, for example, the same price. Furthermore, the process shown in Fig. 4 is performed, for example, on the previous day, but is not limited to this. For example, if the consumer does not perform the control of step S16, the electricity rate unit price may be calculated ex post at the time of electricity bill settlement and the calculated electricity rate unit price may be notified.

[0070] As shown in Fig. 4, the electricity rate determination device 10 acquires a trading price from the external system 40 (S11), acquires a market price in the wholesale electricity trading market from the external system 40 (S12), acquires weather information from the external system 40 (S13), and acquires an actual value of the amount of electricity sold from the external system 40 (S14). The timing at which the electricity rate determination device 10 acquires each piece of information is not particularly limited, and the pieces of information may be acquired at different times. Furthermore, the order in which the electricity rate determination device 10 acquires each piece of information is not limited to this. Note that the electricity rate determination device 10 may further acquire a reserve power supply rate from the external system 40 in step S12.

[0071] Next, the electricity rate unit price determination device 10 calculates the electricity rate unit price for the consumer 20, etc. based on the acquired transaction price, the market price in the wholesale electricity trading market, weather information, and actual value of the amount of electricity sold, and outputs it to the controller 23 (S15).

[0072] Next, the controller 23 generates a control command for controlling the energy resource 21 based on the electricity unit price acquired in step S15, and outputs the control command to the energy resource 21 (S16). The control command output here includes the control content of the energy resource 21 for the current day. The control command may include, for example, control content for 24 hours, every 30 minutes. Furthermore, the controller 23 may transmit a control command to the energy resource 21 each time the control content changes.

[0073] Next, the operation of the electricity rate unit price determination device 10 will be described with reference to Fig. 5. Fig. 5 is a flowchart showing the operation (electricity rate unit price determination method) of the electricity rate unit price determination device 10 according to this embodiment. Each process shown in Fig. 5 is performed, for example, once a day (for example, the day before), but the execution timing is not limited to the day before, and the number of times is also not limited to once.

[0074] As shown in Fig. 5, the transaction price acquisition unit 11 of the electricity rate unit price determination device 10 acquires a transaction price from the external system 40 (S101), the imbalance price prediction unit 12 acquires the market price in the wholesale electricity trading market from the external system 40 (S102), and the electric power sales amount prediction unit 13 acquires weather information and actual values ​​of electric power sales amount from the external system 40 (S103 and S104). Step S101 corresponds to step S11 shown in Fig. 4, step S102 corresponds to step S12 shown in Fig. 4, step S103 corresponds to step S13 shown in Fig. 4, and step S104 corresponds to step S14 shown in Fig. 4. Although not shown, the sales plan may be submitted to the Organization for Cross-regional Coordination of Transmission Operators (OCCTO) either before or after step S101.

[0075] Next, the imbalance price prediction unit 12 calculates an imbalance price prediction value based on the market price in the wholesale electricity trading market (S105). The imbalance price prediction unit 12 calculates an imbalance price prediction value for each 30 minutes based on the predicted market price in the wholesale electricity trading market for each area on the day. The imbalance price prediction unit 12 outputs the calculated imbalance price prediction value to the electricity unit price calculation unit 14.

[0076] Furthermore, in step S102, if the imbalance price prediction unit 12 acquires, for example, the value of the reserve power supply rate for each area and for each 30 minutes of the day, the imbalance price prediction unit 12 may calculate a predicted value of the upper limit of the imbalance price based on the value of the reserve power supply rate.

[0077] The imbalance price prediction unit 12 may further calculate the predicted imbalance price value based on at least one of weather information and the actual imbalance price value. The actual imbalance price value is acquired from the external system 40. The imbalance price prediction unit 12 may calculate the predicted imbalance price value for the current day based on weather information for a past period and the current day and the actual imbalance price value for the past period. The imbalance price prediction unit 12 may also calculate the error range of the imbalance price based on, for example, weather information and the actual imbalance price value.

[0078] Next, the power sales amount prediction unit 13 calculates a predicted value of the power sales amount based on the weather information and the actual value of the power sales amount (S106). The power sales amount prediction unit 13 outputs the calculated predicted value of the power sales amount to the electricity rate unit price calculation unit 14. The weather information here is updated weather information. In other words, the predicted value of the power sales amount output to the electricity rate unit price calculation unit 14 is a predicted value based on the updated weather information.

[0079] Next, the electricity rate unit price calculation unit 14 calculates the electricity rate unit price based on the transaction price, the predicted imbalance price, and the predicted amount of electricity sold (S107). First, the electricity rate unit price calculation unit 14 determines whether the absolute value of a first difference, which is obtained by subtracting the predicted amount of electricity sold based on the updated weather information from the initial sales plan submitted to the Organization for Cross-regional Coordination of Transmission Operators (OCCTO), exceeds a predetermined value. In other words, the electricity rate unit price calculation unit 14 determines whether the absolute value of the first difference is within a predetermined range. If the absolute value of the first difference is equal to or less than the predetermined value, that is, if the first difference is within the predetermined range, the electricity rate unit price calculation unit 14 determines the electricity rate unit price to be the standard electricity rate unit price. Specifically, the electricity rate unit price calculation unit 14 determines the standard electricity rate unit price as the electricity rate unit price by adding a predetermined amount (e.g., wheeling fee, profit, etc.) to the transaction price. Note that the standard electricity rate unit price may be a unit price based on the transaction price, and the calculation method is not limited thereto.

[0080] Furthermore, when the first difference is greater than the upper limit of a predetermined range, the electricity unit price calculation unit 14 calculates the electricity unit price as the amount obtained by subtracting the first amount from the standard electricity unit price (see (Equation 1) below).

[0081] Electricity unit price = Standard electricity unit price - First amount (Equation 1)

[0082] The electricity rate unit price calculation unit 14 calculates the first amount according to the imbalance price prediction value. For example, the electricity rate unit price calculation unit 14 calculates the first amount so that the amount increases as the imbalance price prediction value increases. The electricity rate unit price calculation unit 14 may also calculate the first amount according to the first difference. The electricity rate unit price calculation unit 14 may lower the electricity unit price when the first difference is greater than the upper limit of a predetermined range below the standard electricity unit price according to at least one of the imbalance price prediction value and the first difference. For example, the electricity rate unit price calculation unit 14 may calculate the first amount so that the amount increases as at least one of these values ​​increases.

[0083] Furthermore, when the first difference is smaller than the lower limit of a predetermined range, the electricity unit price calculation unit 14 calculates the electricity unit price as the amount obtained by adding the second amount to the standard electricity unit price (see (Equation 2) below).

[0084] Electricity unit price = Standard electricity unit price + Second amount (Equation 2)

[0085] The electricity rate unit price calculation unit 14 calculates the second amount according to the imbalance price prediction value. For example, the electricity rate unit price calculation unit 14 calculates the second amount so that the amount increases as the imbalance price prediction value increases. The electricity rate unit price calculation unit 14 may also calculate the second amount according to the first difference. The electricity rate unit price calculation unit 14 may increase the electricity unit price when the first difference is smaller than the lower limit of a predetermined range, above the standard electricity unit price, according to at least one of the imbalance price prediction value and the first difference. For example, the electricity rate unit price calculation unit 14 may calculate the second amount so that the amount increases as at least one of these values ​​increases.

[0086] The first amount and the second amount may be the same amount or may be different amounts. Furthermore, when the first difference is smaller than the lower limit of a predetermined range, the electricity rate unit price becomes higher than the standard electricity rate unit price according to (Equation 2), and therefore the electricity rate unit price calculation unit 14 may return the reduced imbalance settlement costs to the consumers 20, etc.

[0087] In this way, the electricity rate unit price calculation unit 14 sets the electricity rate unit price to an amount lower than the standard electricity rate unit price when the first difference is larger than the upper limit of the predetermined range, i.e., when the plan is larger than the prediction, and sets the electricity rate unit price to an amount higher than the standard electricity rate unit price when the first difference is smaller than the lower limit of the predetermined range, i.e., when the prediction is larger than the plan. In this way, the electricity rate unit price calculation unit 14 can set the electricity rate unit price in detail.

[0088] The electricity rate unit price calculation unit 14 calculates the electricity rate unit price every 30 minutes. The electricity rate unit price calculation unit 14 determines whether or not all the electricity rate unit prices for 24 hours have been calculated every 30 minutes, and if all the electricity rate unit prices have been calculated, outputs the calculated electricity rate unit prices to the notification unit 15. If all the electricity rate unit prices have not been calculated, the processing of step S107 continues.

[0089] Next, the notification unit 15 notifies the consumer 20, etc. of the electricity unit price (S108). The notification unit 15 notifies the consumer 20, etc. of the electricity unit price output from the electricity unit price calculation unit 14. Note that when an updated value of the electricity unit price is input by the administrator, etc. via the reception unit, the notification unit 15 notifies the consumer 20, etc. of the updated value of the electricity unit price. The notification unit 15 notifies the consumer 20, etc. of the updated value of the electricity unit price instead of the electricity unit price output from the electricity unit price calculation unit 14.

[0090] As a result, each of the consumers 20, etc. is notified of an electricity unit price according to the difference in the amount of electricity sold (first difference). Taking the consumer 20 as an example, when a user sees an electricity unit price lower than the standard electricity unit price displayed on the display unit 23b of the controller 23, the user may control the energy resource 21 to use more electricity. In other words, the electricity unit price calculation unit 14 can indirectly encourage the user to use more electricity. Also, when a user sees an electricity unit price higher than the standard electricity unit price displayed on the display unit 23b of the controller 23, the user may control the energy resource 21 to use less electricity. In other words, the electricity unit price calculation unit 14 can indirectly encourage the user to reduce their use of electricity.

[0091] [1-3. Effects, etc.] As described above, the electricity rate unit price determination device 10 according to this embodiment is an electricity rate unit price determination device that determines the price of electricity sold by an electricity retailer (an example of a business that retails electricity) to consumers 20, etc. The electricity rate unit price determination device 10 includes: a transaction price acquisition unit 11 that acquires the transaction price of electricity based on a sales plan (an example of an energy sales amount plan) between the electricity retailer and at least one of a wholesale electricity trading market and a power generation company; an imbalance price prediction unit 12 that calculates a predicted imbalance price based on the market price in the wholesale electricity trading market; an energy sales amount prediction unit 13 that calculates a predicted energy sales amount based on an actual value of the energy sales amount; an electricity rate unit price calculation unit 14 that calculates a difference in energy sales amount between the energy sales amount plan and the predicted energy sales amount, and calculates an electricity rate unit price based on the difference in energy sales amount, the trading price, and the predicted imbalance price; and a notification unit 15 that notifies consumers 20, etc. of the electricity rate unit price.

[0092] As a result, the electricity unit price determination device 10 can notify users such as consumers 20 of the calculated electricity unit price, i.e., the electricity unit price according to the difference in the amount of electricity sold. For example, when a high electricity unit price is displayed at a consumer 20, the user is expected to reduce electricity consumption or control equipment (e.g., energy resource 21) to discharge electricity, and when a low electricity unit price is displayed, the user is expected to increase electricity consumption or control equipment to store electricity. Therefore, according to this embodiment, electricity demand can be indirectly induced by the electricity unit price, and therefore it is possible to realize an electricity unit price determination device 10 that can induce electricity demand of consumers 20, etc. By induced electricity demand of consumers 20, etc., it is possible to avoid the occurrence of imbalances.

[0093] Furthermore, when the difference in the amount of electric power sold falls within a predetermined range, the electricity rate unit price calculation unit 14 sets the electricity rate unit price to the standard electricity rate unit price; when the difference in the amount of electric power sold is greater than the upper limit of the predetermined range, the electricity rate unit price is lower than the standard electricity rate unit price in accordance with at least one of the imbalance price prediction value and the difference in the amount of electric power sold; and when the difference in the amount of electric power sold is smaller than the lower limit of the predetermined range, the electricity rate unit price is higher than the standard electricity rate unit price in accordance with at least one of the imbalance price prediction value and the difference in the amount of electric power sold.

[0094] As a result, when an imbalance is predicted to occur, the electricity rate unit price determination device 10 can more reliably induce the electricity demand of the consumers 20 and the like so as to suppress the occurrence of the imbalance.

[0095] Furthermore, the system further includes a display unit (an example of a first presentation unit) that presents the electricity unit price calculated by the electricity unit price calculation unit 14, and a reception unit that accepts input of an updated value of the electricity unit price, and the notification unit 15 notifies the consumer 20 of the updated value of the electricity unit price input to the reception unit.

[0096] This allows the administrator of the electricity rate unit price determination device 10 (for example, an operator of an electricity retailer) to correct the electricity rate unit price. By the administrator appropriately correcting the electricity rate unit price according to various situations, it is possible to notify the consumers 20 and the like of an electricity rate unit price that further suppresses the occurrence of imbalances.

[0097] Furthermore, the imbalance price prediction unit 12 further calculates an imbalance price prediction value based on at least one of the actual imbalance price value and the weather information.

[0098] As a result, the predicted imbalance price value is calculated using at least one of the actual imbalance price value and the weather information, and therefore it is expected that the prediction accuracy of the predicted imbalance price value will be improved.

[0099] As described above, the controller 23 according to this embodiment is a controller that controls the energy resource 21 installed in the consumer 20. It includes a receiving unit 23a (an example of an acquiring unit) that acquires the electricity unit price calculated by the electricity unit price determination device 10, and a display unit 23b (an example of a second presenting unit) that displays the electricity unit price.

[0100] This allows the controller 23 to notify users such as the consumers 20 of the electricity unit price calculated by the electricity unit price determination device 10, i.e., the electricity unit price according to the difference in the amount of electricity sold. For example, when a high electricity unit price is displayed, the user is expected to reduce electricity consumption or control the energy resource 21 to discharge electricity, and when a low electricity unit price is displayed, the user is expected to increase electricity consumption or control the energy resource 21 to store electricity. Thus, according to this embodiment, it is possible to realize a controller 23 that can guide the electricity demand of the consumers 20, etc. By guiding the electricity demand of the consumers 20, etc., it is possible to avoid the occurrence of an imbalance.

[0101] The energy resource management system further includes a control unit 23c that formulates a first control command for the energy resource 21 based on the electricity unit price and outputs the formulated first control command to the energy resource 21.

[0102] This allows the controller 23 to automatically control the energy resource 21 according to the electricity unit price calculated by the electricity unit price determination device 10, i.e., the electricity unit price according to the difference in the amount of electricity sold. For example, when a high electricity unit price is acquired, the controller 23 can control the energy resource 21 to reduce power consumption or discharge power, and when a low electricity unit price is acquired, the controller 23 can control the energy resource 21 to increase power consumption or store power. Thus, the controller 23 can control the energy resource 21 so that an imbalance does not occur even when a user is absent. Note that having the electricity unit price determination device 10 cause the controller 23 to control the energy resource 21 based on the electricity unit price is included in guiding the power demand of the consumer 20, etc.

[0103] As described above, the electricity rate unit price determination method according to this embodiment is a method for determining the price of electricity sold by an electricity retailer to consumers 20, etc. The electricity rate unit price determination method includes the steps of: acquiring the trading price of electricity based on an energy sales amount plan between the electricity retailer and at least one of a wholesale energy trading market and a power generation company (S101); calculating an imbalance price prediction value based on the market price in the wholesale energy trading market (S105); calculating an energy sales amount prediction value based on an actual value of energy sales amount (S106); calculating an energy sales amount difference, which is the difference between the energy sales amount plan and the predicted value of energy sales amount, and calculating an electricity rate unit price based on the energy sales amount difference, the trading price, and the imbalance price prediction value (S107); and notifying consumers 20 of the electricity rate unit price (S108).

[0104] This provides the same effects as the electricity rate unit price determination device 10 described above.

[0105] (Embodiment 2) The electricity rate unit price determination device according to this embodiment will be described below with reference to Fig. 6. The following description will focus on differences from the first embodiment, and the same reference numerals will be used to designate components that are substantially the same as those in the first embodiment, and redundant descriptions will be omitted or simplified.

[0106] [2-1. Configuration of the electricity rate unit price determination device] The configuration of the electricity rate unit price determination device according to this embodiment will be described with reference to Fig. 6. Fig. 6 is a block diagram showing the functional configuration of an electricity rate unit price determination device 110 according to this embodiment. The electricity rate unit price determination device 110 according to this embodiment differs from the electricity rate unit price determination device 10 according to the first embodiment in that it includes a controllable amount acquisition unit 16 and calculates the electricity rate unit price using the controllable amount of the energy resource as well.

[0107] Furthermore, in this embodiment, a case will be described in which the electricity rate unit price determination device 110 is capable of controlling energy resources owned by at least one of the consumers 20, etc. The at least one consumer is a controlled consumer that has energy resources that can be directly controlled by the electricity rate unit price determination device 110. Below, an example will be described in which the controlled consumer is the consumer 20. In this case, the energy resource 21 of the consumer 20 is configured to be able to acquire a control command (message) from the electricity rate unit price determination device 110.

[0108] As shown in FIG. 6, the electricity unit price determination device 110 includes a controllable amount acquisition unit 16 in addition to the electricity unit price determination device 10 according to the first embodiment.

[0109] The controllable amount acquiring unit 16 acquires the controllable amount of the energy resource 21 of the consumer 20, which is a consumer to be controlled. The controllable amount is the amount of power that the electricity rate unit price determination device 110 can control the generation or consumption of power from the energy resource 21. If the energy resource 21 has a power storage function, the controllable amount may be the amount of power that can be controlled for charging or discharging. The upper limit of the controllable amount is set in advance, for example, in a contract between the electricity retailer and the consumer 20. The controllable amount acquiring unit 16 may acquire the upper limit of the controllable amount from, for example, an external system 40. For example, the controllable amount acquiring unit 16 may acquire the upper limit of the controllable amount of the energy resource 21 of the consumer 20 from a server device that manages the upper limit of the controllable amount. The upper limit of the controllable amount may be set every 30 minutes.

[0110] Furthermore, the controllable amount acquiring unit 16 may acquire the amount of charge / discharge possible for every 30 minutes of the energy resource 21 on the day as the controllable amount. The amount of charge / discharge possible for the energy resource 21 is calculated based on the charged amount or available capacity. The amount of charge / discharge possible for the energy resource 21 may be calculated by any existing calculation method. Furthermore, when the energy resource 21 is a heat pump water heater, the controllable amount acquiring unit 16 calculates the controllable amount based on the amount of hot water discharged or the amount of hot water stored.

[0111] The controllable amount obtaining unit 16 may obtain the controllable amount, for example, before the processing of step S107 shown in Fig. 5 of the first embodiment is performed. The controllable amount obtaining unit 16 outputs the obtained controllable amount to the electricity unit price calculation unit 14.

[0112] Note that the controllable amount acquisition unit 16 is not limited to acquiring the controllable amount from outside, but may acquire the controllable amount by calculating the controllable amount based on the catalog value (maximum capacity) of the energy resource 21 and a predicted value of the state of the energy resource 21 on that day (e.g., available capacity).

[0113] The electricity rate unit price calculation unit 14 calculates the electricity rate unit price based on the transaction price, the imbalance price prediction value, the electric power sales amount prediction value, and the controllable amount acquired by the controllable amount acquisition unit 16. The electricity rate unit price calculation unit 14 calculates the electricity rate unit price according to a second difference between the electric power sales amount difference (first difference) and the controllable amount. The second difference is an imbalance that occurs even when the electricity rate unit price determination device 110 controls the energy resource 21.

[0114] When the plan is greater than the forecast, the electricity rate unit price calculation unit 14 calculates the second difference by subtracting the storable amount of electricity included in the controllable amount (e.g., available capacity, amount of water that can be heated) from the electric power sales difference. Also, when the forecast is greater than the plan, the electricity rate unit price calculation unit 14 calculates the second difference by subtracting the supplyable amount of electricity included in the controllable amount (e.g., amount of electricity stored, amount of electricity generated) from the electric power sales difference. Then, the electricity rate unit price calculation unit 14 calculates the electricity unit price using the second difference instead of the electric power sales difference of the first embodiment.

[0115] Furthermore, the electricity rate unit price calculation unit 14 may calculate the electricity rate unit price according to the magnitude of the controllable amount. For example, the electricity rate unit price of the consumer 20 that is a controlled consumer may be calculated to be lower than the electricity rate unit price of the consumer 30 that is a non-controlled consumer. Furthermore, an incentive may be paid for the controllable amount separately from the electricity rate unit price.

[0116] The controllable amount may be a controllable amount when a device external to the consumer 20 other than the electricity unit price determination device 110 controls the energy resource 21 of the consumer 20. In other words, the electricity unit price determination device 110 does not need to have a configuration for generating a control command for controlling the energy resource 21.

[0117] [2-2. Effects, etc.] As described above, the consumer 20 according to this embodiment has an energy resource 21 that can be controlled by the electricity unit price determination device 110. The electricity unit price determination device 110 according to this embodiment further includes a controllable amount acquisition unit 16 that acquires the controllable amount of the energy resource 21, and the electricity unit price calculation unit 14 further calculates the electricity unit price based on the controllable amount.

[0118] This allows the electricity rate determination device 110 to calculate an electricity rate that can suppress the occurrence of imbalances based also on the controllable amount of the directly controllable energy resource 21. The electricity rate determination device 110 can, for example, set electricity rate units in even greater detail. Thus, the electricity rate determination device 110 can further suppress the occurrence of imbalances.

[0119] (Embodiment 3) The electricity rate unit price determination device according to this embodiment will be described below with reference to Figures 7 to 9. The following description will focus on the differences from embodiment 2, and the same reference numerals will be used to designate components that are substantially the same as those in embodiment 2, and duplicated descriptions will be omitted or simplified.

[0120] [3-1. Configuration of the electricity rate unit price determination device] First, the configuration of the electricity unit price determination device according to this embodiment will be described with reference to Fig. 7. Fig. 7 is a block diagram showing the functional configuration of an electricity unit price determination device 210 according to this embodiment. The electricity unit price determination device 210 according to this embodiment differs from the electricity unit price determination device 110 according to embodiment 2 in that it includes a control unit 17 and generates control commands for controlling energy resources.

[0121] Furthermore, in this embodiment, a case will be described in which the electricity rate unit price determination device 210 can directly control the energy resources owned by at least one of the consumers 20, etc., but cannot directly control the energy resources owned by consumers other than the at least one consumer. The at least one consumer is a controlled consumer that has an energy resource that can be directly controlled by the electricity rate unit price determination device 210, and the consumers other than the at least one consumer are non-controlled consumers that do not have an energy resource that can be directly controlled by the electricity rate unit price determination device 210.

[0122] As shown in FIG. 7, the electricity unit price determination device 210 includes a control unit 17 in addition to the electricity unit price determination device 110 according to the second embodiment.

[0123] In the following, an example will be described in which the controlled consumer is consumer 20 and the non-controlled consumer is consumer 30. In this case, the energy resource 21 of consumer 20 is configured to be able to acquire a control command from the electricity rate unit price determination device 210, and the energy resource 31 of consumer 30 is configured to be unable to acquire a control command from the electricity rate unit price determination device 210. In addition, in this embodiment, the controllable amount acquisition unit 16 also outputs the controllable amount to the control unit 17.

[0124] The control unit 17 formulates a control command for controlling the energy resource 21 of the consumer 20 based on the controllable amount acquired from the controllable amount acquisition unit 16. For example, the control unit 17 formulates the control command based on the smaller of the difference in the amount of electricity sold and the controllable amount in order to suppress the imbalance. For example, the control unit 17 may formulate a control command for causing the energy resource 21 to store or discharge a predetermined amount of electricity, or may formulate a control command for shifting the time period during which electricity is stored or discharged. The control unit 17 formulates a control command every 30 minutes. The control unit 17 is an example of a first control unit.

[0125] For example, when there are multiple controlled-target consumers, the control unit 17 formulates a control command for each of the multiple controlled-target consumers.

[0126] The notification unit 15 outputs a control command in addition to the electricity unit price to the controller 23 of the consumer 20 .

[0127] [3-2. Operation of the Power Demand Guidance System] Next, the operation of the electricity demand guidance system including the electricity rate unit price determination device 210 configured as described above will be described with reference to Fig. 8 and Fig. 9. Fig. 8 is a sequence diagram showing a first example of the operation (electricity rate unit price determination method) of the electricity demand guidance system according to this embodiment. Note that Fig. 8 shows the processing after the electricity rate unit price determination device 210 calculates the electricity unit price.

[0128] 8, the notification unit 15 of the electricity rate unit price determination device 210 outputs the electricity rate unit price to each of the consumer 20 that is a controlled consumer and the consumer 30 that is a non-controlled consumer (S21 and S22). The notification unit 15 outputs a common electricity rate unit price to each of the controllers 23 and 33.

[0129] Next, the notification unit 15 outputs the control command formulated by the control unit 17 to the controller 23 (S23). The notification unit 15 outputs, for example, 30-minute control commands for 24 hours to the controller 23 the previous day, but may output at least some of the control commands to the controller 23 on the current day. The notification unit 15 may, for example, notify the controllers 23 and 33 of the electricity unit price before outputting the control command. In other words, the notification unit 15 may output the control command to the controller 23 after notifying the controller 23 of the electricity unit price.

[0130] The receiver 23a of the controller 23 receives a control command for controlling the energy resource 21 of the customer 20 within the previous day.

[0131] The processing up to step S23 is performed, for example, on the previous day. This allows the electricity unit price to be notified to the consumer 20, etc. on the previous day, allowing the consumer 20, etc. to consider the electricity usage for that day. Note that the processing up to step S23 is not limited to being performed on the previous day.

[0132] Note that, for example, when the absolute value of the first difference or the second difference is within a predetermined range, control unit 17 does not need to formulate a control command. Furthermore, for example, when the first difference or the second difference is greater than the upper limit value of the predetermined range, control unit 17 may formulate a control command to increase the demand for energy resource 21 compared to when the absolute value of the first difference or the second difference is within the predetermined range, and may formulate a control command to decrease the demand for energy resource 21 compared to when the absolute value of the first difference or the second difference is smaller than the lower limit value of the predetermined range.

[0133] Next, the control unit 23c of the controller 23 formulates a control command for the energy resource 21 based on the control command from the electricity rate unit price determination device 210 and outputs the formulated control command to the energy resource 21 (S24). The control unit 23c formulates a control command (third control command) to be output to the energy resource 21, for example, based on a control command (first control command) formulated by the control unit 23c based on the electricity rate from the electricity rate unit price determination device 210 and a control command (second control command) from the electricity rate unit price determination device 210 (an example of an external device). The control unit 23c may formulate the third control command that satisfies the contents of the first control command and the second control command, or may formulate the third control command by selecting either the first control command or the second control command for each time period (for example, every 30 minutes). Furthermore, the control unit 23c may formulate the third control command by prioritizing the second control command out of the first control command and the second control command. For example, the control unit 23c may formulate a third control command to execute the second control command during a time period in which both the first control command and the second control command exist.

[0134] The control unit 33c of the controller 33 formulates a control command for the energy resource 31 based on the electricity unit price from the electricity unit price determination device 210, and outputs the formulated control command to the energy resource 31 (S25).

[0135] The display unit 23b of the controller 23 may display at least one of the control command received in step S23 and the control command transmitted in step S24. The display unit 33b of the controller 33 may also display the control command transmitted in step S25.

[0136] As a result, the electricity rate unit price determination device 210 can indirectly induce electricity demand at each of the controlled consumers and the non-controlled consumers, even if the consumers 20, etc. include controlled consumers and non-controlled consumers.

[0137] In addition, a system and concept known as a "Virtual Power Plant (VPP)" has been proposed, which uses advanced energy management technology that utilizes IoT (Internet of Things) to aggregate the energy resources of one or more consumers and perform remote, integrated control to adjust the balance of power supply and demand, functioning as if it were a single power plant.

[0138] In an energy control system using such a VPP mechanism, an aggregator (a specified wholesale power supplier) is provided to perform integrated control of energy resources of consumers, etc. The aggregator outputs control commands to operate the energy resources of the consumers under control conditions according to the electricity service in which the consumers participate, thereby operating the energy resources under desired control conditions.

[0139] The consumer 20 etc. in this embodiment may be a consumer included in an energy control system that uses such a VPP mechanism. In this case, the above-mentioned aggregator is interposed between the consumer 20 etc. and the electricity rate unit price determination device 210. The operation of the electricity demand guidance system in this case will be described with reference to FIG. 9. FIG. 9 is a sequence diagram showing a second example of the operation (electricity rate unit price determination method) of the electricity demand guidance system according to this embodiment. Note that FIG. 9 omits the process of calculating the electricity rate unit price by the electricity rate unit price determination device 210. Furthermore, the server device managed by the aggregator 60 is included in the external system 40, for example.

[0140] As shown in Fig. 9, the aggregator 60 outputs the controllable amount to the electricity rate unit price determination device 210 (S31). The controllable amount includes, for example, the amount of controllable power for 24 hours, every 30 minutes of the current day. The timing at which the aggregator 60 outputs the controllable amount is not particularly limited, and the aggregator 60 may output the controllable amount periodically or may output the amount based on a request from the electricity rate unit price determination device 210. This allows the electricity rate unit price determination device 210 to calculate an electricity rate according to the state of the energy resource 21.

[0141] The electricity unit price determination device 210 calculates the electricity unit price using the controllable amount, and outputs the calculated electricity unit price to the controllers 23 and 33 (S21 and S22).

[0142] Next, the notification unit 15 of the electricity rate unit price determination device 210 outputs the control command formulated by the control unit 17 to the aggregator 60 (S32). The notification unit 15, for example, outputs control commands for 24 hours, for every 30 minutes of the current day, to the aggregator 60 on the previous day, but may also output control commands for at least some time periods to the aggregator 60 on the current day. The notification unit 15 may, for example, notify the controllers 23 and 33 of the electricity rate unit price before outputting the control command to the aggregator 60. In other words, the notification unit 15 may output the control command to the aggregator 60 after notifying the controller 23 and 33 of the electricity rate unit price.

[0143] Next, the aggregator 60 outputs a control command based on the control command from the electricity rate unit price determination device 210 to the controller 23 (S33). The aggregator 60 may transfer the control command from the electricity rate unit price determination device 210 to the controller 23, or may newly formulate a control command that adds power services such as peak cutting and demand response (DR) to the control command from the electricity rate unit price determination device 210, and output the newly formulated control command to the controller 23.

[0144] The processes of steps S31, S21, S22, S32 and S33 are performed, for example, on the previous day, but are not limited to this.

[0145] Next, the control unit 23c of the controller 23 formulates a control command for the energy resource 21 based on the control command from the aggregator 60 and outputs the formulated control command to the energy resource 21 (S34). The control unit 23c formulates a control command (third control command) to be output to the energy resource 21, for example, based on a control command (first control command) formulated by the control unit 23c based on the electricity unit price from the electricity rate unit price determination device 210 and a control command (fourth control command) from the aggregator 60. The control unit 23c may formulate the third control command that satisfies the contents of the first control command and the fourth control command, or may formulate the third control command by selecting either the first control command or the fourth control command for each time period (for example, every 30 minutes). Furthermore, the control unit 23c may formulate the third control command by prioritizing the fourth control command out of the first control command and the fourth control command. For example, the control unit 23c may formulate a third control command so as to execute the fourth control command during a time period in which both the first control command and the fourth control command exist.

[0146] In addition, since the consumer 30 is a consumer that is not subject to control and cannot be controlled by the aggregator 60, the control unit 33c of the controller 33 formulates a control command for the energy resource 31 based on the electricity rate unit price from the electricity rate unit price determination device 210, and outputs the formulated control command to the energy resource 31 (S25).

[0147] Steps S34 and S25 are performed on the day, for example, but may also be performed the day before.

[0148] The display unit 23b of the controller 23 may display at least one of the control command received in step S33 and the control command transmitted in step S34.

[0149] 8 and 9, the notification unit 15 may notify at least one of the aggregator 60 and the consumer 20 of the control command formulated by the control unit 17. Furthermore, the energy resource 21 is controlled based on the control command from the electricity rate unit price determination device 210 or the aggregator 60, so that the consumer 20 can obtain, for example, an incentive.

[0150] [3-3. Effects, etc.] As described above, the electricity unit price determination device 210 according to this embodiment further includes the control unit 17 that formulates a control command for controlling the energy resource 21. The notification unit 15 then notifies at least one of the aggregator 60 that manages the energy resource 21 and the consumer 20 of the control command.

[0151] As a result, the electricity rate determination device 210 has a configuration capable of controlling the energy resource 21, and can therefore directly control the energy resource 21 in accordance with the controllable amount and the difference in the amount of electric power sold. In other words, the electricity rate determination device 210 can directly control the energy resource 21 in order to suppress the occurrence of an imbalance. Therefore, the electricity rate determination device 210 can further suppress the occurrence of an imbalance.

[0152] Furthermore, the notification unit 15 notifies at least one of the aggregator 60 and the consumer 20 of the control command after notifying the electricity unit price.

[0153] As a result, the electricity rate unit price determination device 210 can notify users such as consumers 20 of the electricity rate unit price early because the notification unit 15 notifies the electricity rate unit price in advance. For example, it is possible to notify users of the electricity rate unit price before control based on the control command formulated by the control unit 17 is started.

[0154] As described above, the consumer 20 according to this embodiment has an energy resource 21 that can be controlled from the electricity unit price determination device 210 (an example of an external device). The receiver 23a (an example of an acquirer) of the controller 23 according to this embodiment further acquires a second control command for controlling the energy resource 21 from the electricity unit price determination device 210, and the controller 23c further formulates a first control command based on the second control command.

[0155] As a result, the control unit 23c can formulate control commands for the energy resource 21 based on the control commands formulated from the electricity rate unit price and the control commands formulated by the electricity rate unit price determination device 210, and can therefore formulate control commands that can better suppress the occurrence of imbalances.

[0156] (Other embodiments) While the electricity rate unit price determination device and the like according to one or more aspects have been described above based on the respective embodiments, the present invention is not limited to these embodiments. As long as they do not deviate from the spirit of the present invention, various modifications conceivable by those skilled in the art to the present embodiments and configurations constructed by combining components of different embodiments may also be included in the present invention.

[0157] For example, in each of the above embodiments, an example has been described in which the controller has a display unit and displays the electricity rate unit price, but the controller may output the electricity rate unit price to a mobile terminal carried by a user of the consumer and display it on the display unit of the mobile terminal. The mobile terminal may be, for example, a smartphone, a tablet terminal, or the like, but is not limited to these.

[0158] Furthermore, in each of the above embodiments, an example has been described in which the electricity rate unit price calculation unit calculates the electricity rate unit price using (Equation 1) and (Equation 2), but (Equation 1) and (Equation 2) are examples and the use of these calculation formulas is not limited.

[0159] Furthermore, the control unit in each of the above embodiments may generate proposal information for guiding power supply and demand to consumers based on the controllable amount, instead of or in addition to the control command. The proposal information is information for controlling an energy resource. The control unit may generate proposal information including, for example, charging an energy resource by a predetermined amount in a certain time period, or discharging an energy resource by a predetermined amount in a certain time period. The notification unit may notify the consumer of an electricity unit price based on the controllable amount in association with the proposal information based on the controllable amount. The display unit of the controller may then display the electricity unit price and the proposal information side by side.

[0160] In addition, in the above-described embodiments, when the first difference between the sales plan and the predicted actual value is outside a predetermined range, the electricity rate calculation unit calculates the electricity rate based on a reference electricity rate corresponding to the transaction price, i.e., calculates the electricity rate in conjunction with the transaction price. However, the present invention is not limited to calculating the electricity rate in conjunction with the transaction price. When the first difference is outside the predetermined range, the electricity rate calculation unit may calculate the electricity rate by, for example, performing a predetermined calculation on the imbalance price prediction value. The predetermined calculation may be, for example, adding a predetermined amount corresponding to a wheeling fee, revenue, etc. In this way, when the first difference is within a predetermined range, the electricity rate calculation unit may calculate the electricity rate in conjunction with the transaction price, and when the first difference is outside the predetermined range, may calculate the electricity rate without being linked to the transaction price. Furthermore, the transaction price may be not only the spot market price and the bilateral contract price, but also the price in the hourly market.

[0161] Furthermore, the electric power sales amount prediction unit in each of the above embodiments may predict the electric power sales amount using, for example, a machine learning model. For example, the electric power sales amount prediction unit may predict a future electric power sales amount prediction value using a machine learning model that has been trained in advance using actual electric power sales amounts for a certain period of time in the past and meteorological information.

[0162] Furthermore, the consumer in each of the above embodiments only needs to have at least one of an energy resource and a load. The number of energy resources and loads that the consumer has is not particularly limited, and may be plural.

[0163] Furthermore, although the above embodiments have been described with reference to examples in which the consumer has a controller, the present invention is not limited to this and the consumer may not have a controller. The function of the controller may be, for example, possessed by the electricity rate unit price determination device. In this case, the electricity rate unit price determination device may directly output a control command to the controller.

[0164] Furthermore, the predicted value of the market price in the wholesale electricity trading market acquired by the imbalance price prediction unit in each of the above embodiments may be, for example, a price predicted based on the actual transaction price in market transactions in the wholesale electricity trading market. The predicted value of the market price in the wholesale electricity trading market may be, for example, a price calculated based on the transaction price acquired by the transaction price acquisition unit 11. The predicted value of the market price in the wholesale electricity trading market may be, for example, the average, median, mode, maximum, or minimum of past transaction actual prices. The predicted value of the market price in the wholesale electricity trading market may be, for example, a price predicted based on the past transaction actual prices and weather information. The imbalance price prediction unit may predict the predicted value of the market price in the wholesale electricity trading market based at least on the past transaction actual prices. In this case, the imbalance price prediction unit acquires the past transaction actual prices of the market price in the wholesale electricity trading market from an external source.

[0165] Furthermore, the market price in the wholesale electricity trading market acquired by the imbalance price prediction unit in each of the above embodiments may be a track record value of the market price in the wholesale electricity trading market.

[0166] Furthermore, the communication standard used for communication between the devices in each of the above embodiments is not particularly limited, and any existing communication standard may be used.

[0167] In each of the above embodiments, each component may be configured with dedicated hardware, or may be realized by executing a software program suitable for each component. Each component may be realized by a program execution unit such as a CPU or processor reading and executing a software program recorded on a recording medium such as a hard disk or semiconductor memory.

[0168] The order in which the steps in the flowchart are executed is merely an example for specifically explaining the present invention, and an order other than the above may be used. Also, some of the steps may be executed simultaneously (in parallel) with other steps, or some of the steps may not be executed.

[0169] Furthermore, these general or specific aspects may be realized as a system, a method, an integrated circuit, a computer program, or a non-transitory recording medium such as a computer-readable CD-ROM, or may be realized as any combination of the system, method, integrated circuit, computer program, or recording medium. The program may be pre-stored in the recording medium, or may be supplied to the recording medium via a wide area communication network including the Internet.

[0170] The division of functional blocks in the block diagram is an example, and multiple functional blocks may be realized as a single functional block, one functional block may be divided into multiple blocks, or some functions may be moved to another functional block.Furthermore, the functions of multiple functional blocks having similar functions may be processed in parallel or time-shared by a single piece of hardware or software.

[0171] Furthermore, the electricity rate unit price determination device according to each of the above embodiments may be realized as a single device or may be realized by multiple devices. When the electricity rate unit price determination device is realized by multiple devices, the components of the electricity rate unit price determination device may be allocated in any manner among the multiple devices. When the electricity rate unit price determination device is realized by multiple devices, the communication method between the multiple devices is not particularly limited and may be wireless communication or wired communication. Furthermore, wireless communication and wired communication may be combined between the devices.

[0172] Furthermore, each component described in each of the above embodiments may be implemented as software or, typically, as an LSI, which is an integrated circuit. These components may be individually integrated into a single chip, or some or all of them may be integrated into a single chip. While the term "LSI" is used here, it may also be referred to as an IC, system LSI, super LSI, or ultra LSI depending on the level of integration. Furthermore, the integration method is not limited to LSI; it may also be implemented using a dedicated circuit (e.g., a general-purpose circuit that executes a dedicated program) or a general-purpose processor. It is also possible to use a field programmable gate array (FPGA), which can be programmed after LSI fabrication, or a reconfigurable processor, which allows the connection or settings of circuit cells within an LSI to be reconfigured. Furthermore, if an integrated circuit technology that can replace LSI emerges due to advances in semiconductor technology or a derivative technology, that technology may naturally be used to integrate the components.

[0173] A system LSI is an ultra-multifunctional LSI manufactured by integrating multiple processing units on a single chip, and is specifically a computer system consisting of a microprocessor, ROM (Read Only Memory), RAM (Random Access Memory), etc. Computer programs are stored in the ROM. The system LSI achieves its functions when the microprocessor operates in accordance with the computer program.

[0174] Another aspect of the present invention may be a computer program that causes a computer to execute each of the characteristic steps included in each of the methods shown in any of FIGS.

[0175] Furthermore, for example, the program may be a program to be executed by a computer. Another aspect of the present invention may be a computer-readable non-transitory recording medium on which such a program is recorded. For example, such a program may be recorded on a recording medium and distributed or circulated. For example, the distributed program may be installed in a device having another processor, and the program may be executed by the processor, thereby causing the device to perform each of the above processes. [Explanation of symbols]

[0176] 10, 110, 210 Electricity rate unit price determination device 11 Transaction Price Acquisition Department 12 Imbalance Price Forecasting Department 13 Electricity Sales Forecasting Department 14 Electricity unit price calculation section 15 Notification Department 16 Controllable quantity acquisition unit 17 Control section (first control section) 20, 30 Consumer 21, 31 Energy Resources 23, 33 Controller 23a Receiving unit (acquiring unit) 23b Display section (second presentation section) 23c control section (second control section) 60 Aggregators

Claims

1. An electricity rate unit price determination device that determines the price of electricity sold by an electricity retailer to a consumer, a trading price acquisition unit that acquires a trading price of electricity based on an energy sales plan between the utility and at least one of a wholesale electricity trading market and a power generation utility; an imbalance price prediction unit that calculates an imbalance price prediction value based on the market price in the wholesale electricity trading market; an electric power sales amount prediction unit that calculates an electric power sales amount prediction value based on an actual electric power sales amount value; an electricity rate unit price calculation unit that calculates an electricity sales amount difference, which is the difference between the electricity sales amount plan and the electricity sales amount forecast value, and calculates an electricity rate unit price based on the electricity sales amount difference, the transaction price, and the imbalance price forecast value; a notification unit that notifies the consumer of the electricity unit price, The electricity rate unit price calculation unit The electricity unit price when the difference in the amount of sold electricity falls within a predetermined range is set as a standard electricity unit price, If the difference in the amount of sold electricity is greater than the upper limit of the predetermined range, a first amount is calculated, the first amount increasing as the imbalance price prediction value increases, and the electricity unit price is calculated by subtracting the first amount from the standard electricity unit price; If the difference in the amount of electric power sold is smaller than the lower limit of the predetermined range, a second amount is calculated, which increases as the imbalance price prediction value increases, and the electric power unit price is calculated by adding the second amount to the standard electric power unit price. Electricity unit price determination device.

2. The customer has an energy resource that can be controlled by the electricity rate unit price determination device, The electricity rate unit price determination device further includes a controllable amount acquisition unit that acquires the controllable amount of the energy resource, The electricity rate unit price calculation unit further calculates the electricity rate unit price based on the controllable amount. The electricity rate unit price determination device according to claim 1.

3. Further, a first control unit is provided that formulates a control command for controlling the energy resource, The notification unit notifies the control command to at least one of an aggregator that manages the energy resource and the consumer. The electricity rate unit price determination device according to claim 2.

4. The notification unit notifies the at least one of the control commands after notifying the electricity unit price. The electricity rate unit price determination device according to claim 3.

5. moreover, a first presentation unit that presents the electricity unit price calculated by the electricity unit price calculation unit; a reception unit that receives an input of the updated value of the electricity rate unit price, The notification unit notifies the customer of the updated value of the electricity unit price input to the reception unit. The electricity rate unit price determination device according to any one of claims 1 to 4.

6. The imbalance price prediction unit further calculates the imbalance price prediction value based on at least one of the actual imbalance price value and the weather information. The electricity rate unit price determination device according to any one of claims 1 to 5.

7. An electricity rate unit price determination method executed by an electricity rate unit price determination device that determines the price of electricity sold by an electricity retailer to a consumer, comprising: acquiring a trading price of electricity based on an energy sales plan between the utility and at least one of a wholesale electricity trading market and a power generation utility; calculating an imbalance price prediction value based on the market price in the wholesale electricity trading market; Calculating a predicted value of the amount of electricity sold based on the actual value of the amount of electricity sold; calculating a difference in the amount of electric power sold, which is the difference between the electric power sales plan and the predicted value of the amount of electric power sold, and calculating an electricity rate unit price based on the difference in the amount of electric power sold, the transaction price, and the predicted value of the imbalance price; notifying the consumer of the electricity unit price; In the step of calculating the electricity rate, The electricity unit price when the difference in the amount of sold electricity falls within a predetermined range is set as a standard electricity unit price, If the difference in the amount of sold electricity is greater than the upper limit of the predetermined range, a first amount is calculated, the first amount increasing as the imbalance price prediction value increases, and the electricity unit price is calculated by subtracting the first amount from the standard electricity unit price; If the difference in the amount of electric power sold is smaller than the lower limit of the predetermined range, a second amount is calculated, which increases as the imbalance price prediction value increases, and the electric power unit price is calculated by adding the second amount to the standard electric power unit price. Method for determining electricity unit prices.

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