A method for providing comprehensive electrical usage and demand data is disclosed. An electric meter (20), central data
server (28), and customer's computer (38) comprise an Internet-based
energy information system according to certain of the prior art. It is assumed that either or both of the networks (24, 36) of this
system are intermittently connected, as in a dial-up connection, or are expensive to connect continuously, thereby precluding the presentation of real-
time data. The present invention provides continuous, real-
time data to a utility customer's computer through a direct, low-latency network (102) to the meter. All data are presented in the form of web pages, and the posted pages (30) and the locally generated pages ( ) are hyperlinked to one another, so that the customer has seamless access to comprehensive usage and demand data thereby, enabling proactive management of energy utilization. Further disclosed is a pulse
transponder / logger that implements the
system at
a site with a pulse-output electric meter. Finally disclosed are algorithms to determine electrical demand trends from pulse streams.