Abstract:
A computer-assisted method of facilitating a transaction between an energy consumer-client desiring an energy contract and an energy supplier. The method includes posting a buy order where the supplier can access the buy order via a computer network and receiving a bid from the supplier via the network. The method also includes accepting the bid via the network when a precondition is met.

Description:
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS 
     (Not Applicable) 
     STATEMENT REGARDING FEDERALLY SPONSORED RESEARCH 
     (Not Applicable) 
     BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
     1. Field of the Invention 
     The present invention is directed generally to an energy network commerce system and, more particularly, to an energy network commerce system that facilitates the management of energy transactions. 
     2. Description of the Background 
     With the deregulation of the various sectors of the energy industry, retail energy consumers are faced with a myriad of choices when it comes to selecting an energy provider. Consumers must wade through voluminous and oftentimes confusing and conflicting data to try and find the most cost effective provider that will meet their demands. Also, energy providers must be able to reach all consumers who may need their products to communicate rate and availability data. This requirement necessitates the need for sales and marketing overhead, which raises the price of the energy being supplied. 
     FIG. 22 illustrates a process from the relevant art which is designed to facilitate the energy transactional process. A database  10  stores information relevant to the energy consumption of customers, such as contact information and consumption and billing information for the geographic sites and accounts of each customer. An agent, which is responsible for managing individual customers, can update the database at step  12 . At step  14 , the agent identifies customers to purchase for based on the customers that need contracts. At step  16 , the agent (or alternatively the customer) posts a buy order for customers needing contracts via facsimile to energy suppliers. At step  18 , suppliers submit bids on the buy orders to fulfill the customer&#39;s energy requirements. At step  20 , a buyer selects a bid which meets the customer&#39;s requirements, thus forming a contract between the supplier and the customer. At steps  22  and  24 , the buyer notifies the agent and the supplier, respectively, of the executed contract via the telephone, email, or electronically. 
     The only computer activity in the process illustrated in FIG. 22 concerns the update/query of the database  10 . The process of FIG. 22 is thus a single user (i.e. the agent) environment that is not networked. The process of FIG. 22 relies on facsimile machines and telephones, which tend to be inherently unreliable modes of communication when compared with computerized processes. Thus, agents which post bids using the process of FIG. 22 may not reach all eligible suppliers. Furthermore, it is difficult to track communications between parties and thus miscommunications may result. 
     Thus, there is a need for a computer network system which can facilitate the agreement process between energy consumers and energy suppliers in which energy volumes are aggregated for one or more consumers for bulk purchasing and each consumer gets its own account-specific transaction. There is a further need for an energy network system which can match a consumer&#39;s energy needs with a cost-effective energy supplier in real time with little involvement by the consumer or the supplier. There is also a need for an energy network system which avoids repeated price disclosures by energy suppliers. There is also a need for an energy network system which can manage all data related to the energy contracting process and can allow differing levels of access to the data by various parties. There is also a need for an energy network system that allows for client information management and for purchasing and contract tracking. There is a further need for an energy network system that allows for contract management and electronically implements a “post and bid”, or reverse auction process in real time. 
     SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
     The present invention is directed to a computer-assisted method of facilitating a transaction between an energy consumer-client desiring an energy contract and an energy supplier. The method includes posting a buy order where the supplier can access the buy order via a computer network and receiving a bid from the supplier via the network. The method also includes accepting the bid via the network when a precondition is met. 
     The present invention has the advantage that it can facilitate the agreement process between energy consumers and energy suppliers in which energy volumes are aggregated for one or more consumers for bulk purchasing and each consumer gets its own account-specific transaction. The present invention has the further advantage that it can match a consumer&#39;s energy needs with a cost-effective energy supplier in real time with little involvement by the consumer or the supplier. The present invention also has the advantage that it avoids repeated price disclosures by energy suppliers. The present invention also has the advantage that it can manage all data related to the energy contracting process and can allow differing levels of access to the data by various parties. The present invention also has the advantage that it allows for client information management and for purchasing and contract tracking. The present invention has the further advantage that it allows for contract management and electronically implements a “post and bid”, or reverse auction process in real time. The present invention also has the advantage that it allows for a contract to be formed for a future energy need and does not limit contract formation to the time that the contracted-for product is required. The present invention has the further advantage of reducing costs for energy consumers compared with traditional systems and methods of energy consumer-supplier contract formation. 
    
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWING 
     For the present invention to be clearly understood and readily practiced, the present invention will be described in conjunction with the following figures, wherein: 
     FIG. 1 is a diagram illustrating an energy network commerce system of the present invention; 
     FIGS. 2-20 illustrate examples of screen printouts of screens generated by the various modules of the system of FIG. 1; 
     FIG. 21 is a diagram illustrating a typical flow through the network commerce system of FIG. 1; and 
     FIG. 22 is a diagram of an energy contracting process from the relevant art. 
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION 
     It is to be understood that the figures and descriptions of the present invention have been simplified to illustrate elements that are relevant for a clear understanding of the present invention, while eliminating, for purposes of clarity, other elements found in a typical computer network. For example, specific operating system details and modules are not shown. Also, specific network items such as network routers are not shown. Those of ordinary skill in the art will recognize that other elements are desirable and/or required to produce an operational system incorporating the present invention. However, because such elements are well known in the art, and because they do not facilitate a better understanding of the present invention, a discussion of such elements is not provided herein. 
     For clarity, the roles and identities of the parties discussed herein are detailed. A system administrator is responsible for maintaining the overall integrity of the system and may set and record the commission rates due other-parties. Alternatively, the system administrator may be responsible for maintaining the overall integrity of the system and a third party system owner may set and record the commission rates due other parties and manage the business aspects of the system such as ensurinig that agreements are in place to govern the relationships between the parties. 
     A client is the party who is the consumer of the energy product and for whom energy is being bought from a supplier who can be, for example, an energy producer, supplier, broker, or distributor. A client may have multiple geographic locations and each location for each client may have multiple accounts (e.g. gas and electricity). The term “client” is used herein to distinguish the client from the buyer and also to indicate that the client is a client of the owner of the energy network commerce system of the present invention. 
     A buyer contracts with energy suppliers to become eligible suppliers, starts the bidding process, executes the winning bid, and facilitates contact between the client and the supplier after a contract is executed. An agent solicits new clients for entry into the system and manages the database entries relevant to that client. The agent also determines which clients have contracts which are set to expire in the near future (e.g. 90 days). Alternatively, the functions of the agent could be performed by the buyer, the client, or the system administrator. 
     Certain of the parties described herein may be the same entities (e.g. the buyer and the agent or the buyer and the administrator), but they may be treated by the system of the present invention as disparate parties for purposes of privileged access to the data in the database which stores the information necessary for energy transactions to be completed using the system and methods of the present invention. 
     FIG. 1 is a diagram illustrating an energy network commerce system  30  of the present invention. The system  30  includes a host network  32  which is connected, via a communications link  34  to an Internet service provider (ISP)  36 . The communications link  34  can be, for example, a fractional T1 line. The ISP  36  is connected to the Internet  40  via a communications link  38  which can be, for example, a T3 line. The details of the interconnections between the communications links  34  and  38  and the ISP  36  are not essential for an understanding of the present invention and any such arrangement commonly used may be employed to achieve the desired result of connecting the host network  32  to the Internet  40 . The network  32  includes a server  42  which is connected through a communications link  44  to a firewall  46 . The communications link  44  can be, for example, a local area network. The firewall  46  can be any type of firewall suitable such as, for example, a packet filter, an applications gateway, a circuit-level gateway, or a proxy server. The server  42  hardware platform can be any type of server platform suitable such as, for example, a DEC Alpha server manufactured by Digital Equipment Corporation or a network server incorporating Intel microprocessor technology. The server  42  operating system software can be, for example, Microsoft Windows NT 4.0 Server. At least one computer  48  is connected to the communications link  44  such that a system administrator can access the server  42 . 
     The server  42  includes a collection of modules  50  resident on a Web server which can be any type of Web server suitable such as, for example, Microsoft Internet Information Server 3.0 or Netscape Enterprise Server Pro 3.0. The collection of modules  50  includes modules  52 ,  54 ,  56 ,  58 ,  60 ,  62 ,  64 ,  66 ,  68 ,  70 , and  72 , which are the software portion of the system  30  that facilitates the formation of contracts between energy buyers and energy suppliers. The modules in the collection of modules  50  may be implemented in any suitable computer language such as, for example, C++ or Java using, for example, object-oriented techniques. 
     The modules in the collection of modules  50  have the ability to access a database  74  to complete the respective tasks of each module. The database  74  can be any type of suitable database such as, for example, Microsoft SQL Server 6.5. The modules in the collection of modules  50  interact with the database  74  through a back-end module (not shown), which handles database queries and can call any database stored procedures. The back-end module may be implemented in any suitable language such as, for example, VBScript or JavaScript. Certain of the data stored in the database can be encrypted for added security using any suitable encryption method such as, for example, full 128-bit DES encryption. 
     An agent module  52  is used to facilitate the management of information concerning the authorized agents that have access to and may use the system  30 . For example, agent information such as the agent name, responsible geographical area (e.g. a county in a state), and commission structure can be stored in the database  74 . This information can be created, viewed or updated using the agent module  52 . FIG. 2 illustrates a screen printout of a screen presented by the agent module  52  which allows for agent information to be entered. 
     A client module  54  allows for the updating, creating, and viewing of data in the database  74  related to energy clients of the system  30 . The database  74  stores information about each client such as the client name and the location and number of each utility account of the client. FIG. 3 illustrates a screen printout of a screen presented by the client module  54  which allows for client information to be entered. FIG. 4 illustrates a screen printout of a screen that appears after the “Locations” option is selected from the screen of FIG.  3 . 
     An accounts module  56  allows for the updating, creating, and viewing of data in the database  74  related to the account information of each client in the database  74 . The data includes, for example, the local distribution company or companies (LDC) of the client, rate classes, and levels of commitment. FIG. 5 illustrates a screen printout of a screen presented by the accounts module  56  which allows for account information to be managed. 
     A contracts module  58  allows for the updating, creating, and viewing of data in the database  74  related to all the contracts for each client. The data can include, for example, the contract start date, the contract duration, and the contract status (i.e. historical, current, or future). FIG. 6 illustrates a screen printout of a screen presented by the contracts module  58  which lists all the contracts for each account. FIG. 7 illustrates a screen printout that results when a contract ID is selected on the screen of FIG.  6 . 
     A cost &amp; consumption module  60  allows for the updating, creating, and viewing of data in the database  74  related to the cost and consumption for each account of each client. The data can include, for example, price at the delivery point, supplier base cost and total charges. The cost and consumption data allows for the tracking of consumption for a period of time of interest such as a 12-month period. FIG. 8 shows a screen printout of a cost review, FIG. 9 shows a screen printout of a consumption review, and FIG. 10 shows a screen, printout of a load shape as generated by the cost &amp; consumption module  60 . FIG. 11 shows a screen printout of a screen presented by the cost &amp; consumption module  60  which allows for the entry of cost and consumption information. 
     An account attribute module  62  allows for the updating, creating, and viewing of data in the database  74  related to the attributes of, for example, pipelines, geographic zones, electric substations, and transmission wires. FIG. 12 illustrates a screen printout of a screen generated by the account attribute module  62  which allows a pipeline to be added to or deleted from the database  74 . 
     An LDC module  64  allows for the updating, creating, and viewing of data in the database  74  related to local distribution companies. The data can include, for example, the LDC name, address, and rate class. FIG. 13 illustrates a screen printout of a screen generated by the LDC module  64  which allows the user to view or update information about an LDC. 
     An energy supplier module  66  allows for the updating, creating, and viewing of data in the database  74  related to each energy supplier. The data can include, for example, the supplier name, address, and an identification number. FIG. 14 illustrates a screen printout of a screen generated by the energy supplier module  66  which allows the user to view and update the information relating to energy suppliers in the system. 
     A buyer post module  68  allows buyers to pool clients with the same LDC that have similar contract needs into groups. The formation of groups with like needs facilitates the bidding process by energy suppliers and allows for bulk pricing. Buy orders are created for each group and are posted to so that energy suppliers may bid online to fill the buy orders. The buy order includes such information as the LDC name, the open date and close date/time for the bidding period, and the commission plan and rate being requested. Using the buyer post module  68 , the buyer can monitor bids as they are submitted by suppliers and can select a bid to be the “winning bid”, i.e. the bid that best fits the requirements of the buy order. The buyer post module  68  facilitates the selection of the best contract by the buyer by highlighting the best bid as determined by calculating the total cost summation of all the contracts in a group using the prices supplied in the bid. Also, the buyer post module  68  ranks the bids based on a “high-low” delta, which is computed by subtracting the lowest priced contract from the highest priced contract. A low delta indicates that for all contracts in a group, one contract has not received a significantly better price than another. FIG. 15 illustrates a screen printout of a screen generated by the buyer post module  68  which allows the user to view, update, and create buy orders to be posted. FIG. 16 illustrates a screen printout of a screen generated by the buyer post module  68  which allows the user to view a supplier&#39;s bid in detail. FIG. 17 illustrates a screen printout of a screen generated by the buyer post module  68  which allows the buyer to monitor bids and FIG. 18 illustrates a screen printout of a screen generated by the buyer post module  68  which allows the buyer to select the best supplier bid. 
     A reports module  70  generates relevant reports for each of the modules as requested by a user of the system  30 . The reports can include, for example, reports of expired and about to expire contracts for clients in the database  74 , an energy delivery activity report for a particular LDC, a client listing report, or a commission report. The reports can also include reports generated for a client such as, for example, cost and consumption reports. 
     A supplier bid module  72  allows energy suppliers to bid on buy orders which are posted by buyers using the buyer post module  68 . When a supplier invokes the supplier bid module  72 , the supplier can view all open buy orders for each LDC. The supplier can view the information needed to submit a bid, but the supplier bid module  72  does not reveal the identity of the clients for whom the buy orders have been posted. The supplier bid module  72  also displays a graphical load shape detailing the usage pattern of the clients in the buy order, the number of clients in the buy order, the average and total usage of the clients, and the close date and time of the buy order. The supplier bid module  72  allows suppliers to submit as many bids as desired, and only the latest bid is considered to be valid. Thus, suppliers may submit a bid and update it based on changes in market conditions, etc. FIG. 19 illustrates a screen printout of a screen generated by the supplier bid module  72  to allow the user to view information on each client group with posted buy orders. FIG. 20 illustrates a screen printout of a screen generated by the supplier bid module  72  which allows an energy supplier to bid on a buy order. 
     Users  76 ,  78 , and  80  can access the host network  32  via the Internet through Internet service providers  82 ,  84 , and  86 . The users  76 ,  78 , and  80  may access the network  32  using any type of computer suitable such as, for example, an IBM compatible PC, an Apple Macintosh, a workstation, a personal decision aid (PDA), or an application specific integrated circuit (ASIC). The users  76 ,  78 , and  80  are connected to the internet service providers  82 ,  84 , and  86  via communication links  88 ,  90 , and  92  which can be any type of communication link suitable such as, for example, conventional telephone lines. The users  76 ,  78 , and  80  may be any party that is authorized to access the network  32  such as a client, an agent, a buyer, or a supplier. 
     Access to the network  32  is obtainable only by those users with valid userids and passwords. Each userid is associated with a type of user that has privileges to access and update only certain data. Depending on the type of user accessing the network  32 , the user may not have access to each module in the collection of modules  50 . For example, a user identified as a supplier would only have access to the supplier bid module  72 . Also, depending on the type of user accessing a module, all of the data and functions of the accessed module may not be available to the user. For example, only a system administrator user is able to create or update the information pertaining to an agent using the agent module  52 . 
     The users  76 ,  78 , and  80  can interface with the network  32  using any type of Internet browser such as, for example, Microsoft Internet Explorer or Netscape Navigator. The pages presented to the users  76 ,  78 , and  80  can be presented using any type of suitable technology such as, for example, HTML, Java, or ActiveX. The collection of modules  50  includes software code which validates input fields on HTML forms that are presented to the user by the collection of modules  50 . The software can be implemented in any suitable language such as, for example, VBScript or JavaScript. 
     FIG. 21 is a diagram illustrating a typical flow through the network commerce system  10  of FIG.  1 . As illustrated at  94 , the agent is responsible for updating and creating the client information stored in the database  74 . At step  96 , the agent queries the database  74  for information about which clients in the database  74  have accounts which require energy supplier contracts and a list of clients requiring contracts  98  is generated. At step  100 , the buyer generates a buy order  102  for each client group based on the historical data for the accounts for which the buy order is being generated. The buy order  102  is created with all the information necessary to complete the contracting process except the name of the supplier and the final contract price. The buy order  102  can be nonspecific as to the acceptable terms on which the buyer will contract with a supplier or the buy order  102  can specify a particular target price so that the first supplier to bid at that price will win the bid. Also, the buy order  102  does not have to disclose such a target price. The buy order  102  may be left open for a limited period of time (e.g. days), may be open for a long period of time (e.g. months), or may close at a specific hour. 
     At step  104 , the buyer posts the buy order  102  and suppliers, at step  106 , access the buy orders in the system and compete to fill the buy order  102 . The buy order  102  may be posted at any time before the client (or group of clients) requires a contract. During the competition at step  106 , the suppliers do not know the identity of the client. Suppliers are only able to find out the information needed to compete to fill the buy order  102  such as, for example, the delivery point, the load shape, and the terms and conditions under which a contract will be formed. At step  108 , the buyer executes the best contract for the client based on step  106 . The execution of the contract by the buyer creates a contract between the client and the supplier. The supplier only learns the client&#39;s identity when the contract is executed. 
     The client will typically pay for the energy product on a monthly or quarterly basis as the energy is consumed. Other methods of payment such as, for example, a direct bank debit, the charging of a credit card, or the transfer of electronic money may be used upon execution of the contract if the terms of the bid and subsequent contract warrant. 
     Following the execution of the contract, a confirmation may be sent to the agent and the supplier automatically. The confirmation can be digitally signed before sending so that the receivers will be able to verify the authenticity of the confirmation. 
     While the present invention has been described in conjunction with preferred embodiments thereof, many modifications and variations will be apparent to those of ordinary skill in the art. For example, although the energy network commerce system has been described hereinabove as being implemented using the Internet, the teachings of the present invention may be used to implement the system on any type of network such as, for example, an intranet or a local area network. Also, although the present invention has been described as being applied to the energy industry, the system and methods of the present invention are applicable to any type of commerce industry which utilizes a contracting process. The foregoing description and the following claims are intended to cover all such modifications and variations.