Patent Description:
Nowadays, in order to maintain the power demand and supply balance of a power grid, there is known a technique that suppresses the power flow rate from a power grid to a facility or a reverse amount flow from the facility to the power grid (e.g. Patent Literatures <NUM> and <NUM>). Specifically, a control message is sent from a power management server to a local control apparatus, and hence the power flow rate or the reverse power flow rate is suppressed. Furthermore, Patent Literature <NUM> discloses a DR service platform and a DR service providing method, while Patent Literature <NUM> discloses a request control device, a request control method, and a computer program product.

A power management method according to a first aspect is specified in independent claim <NUM>. Advantageous modifications thereof are specified in the appended dependent claims.

A local control apparatus according to a second aspect is specified in yet a further independent claim.

A power management system according to a third aspect is specified in yet a further independent claim.

The control message described in Background Art includes information elements that specify specific control content, such as an information element that specifies the suppression amount of a power flow to be suppressed and an information element that specifies the amount of a reverse power flow to be suppressed.

However, the control message includes no information element that specifies information (a use type) for identifying the use of the control message, and hence there is no material for the local control apparatus to determine whether to execute the control message.

Here, the use type of the control message is information that indicates purposes (control relating to the power flow rate, control relating to the reverse power flow rate, and control relating to a virtual power plant (VPP), for example) implemented by control based on the control message or an issuer that plans control based on the control message (a user or a power company, for example), for example.

Therefore, the present disclosure is to provide a power management method, a power management server, a local control apparatus, and a power management system that can appropriately control the control content specified by a control message.

In the following, an embodiment will be described with reference to the drawings. Note that in the following description of the drawings, the same or similar parts are designated with the same or similar reference signs.

However, note that the drawings are schematic, and the ratio of dimensions, for example, are sometimes different from the actual dimensions. Therefore, determination has to be made on specific dimensions, for example, taking into account of the following description. The drawings of course include parts with the different relationship or the different ratio between dimensions.

In the following, a power management system according to an embodiment will be described.

As shown in <FIG>, a power management system <NUM> has a power management server <NUM>, a facility <NUM>, and a user terminal <NUM>. In <FIG>, as an example of the facility <NUM>, facilities 300A to 300C are shown.

Each of the facilities <NUM> is connected to a power grid <NUM>. In the following, a flow of power from the power grid <NUM> to the facility <NUM> is referred to as a power flow, and a flow of power from the facility <NUM> to the power grid <NUM> is referred to as a reverse power flow.

The power management server <NUM> and the facility <NUM> are connected to a network <NUM>. The network <NUM> only has to provide circuits between the power management server <NUM> and the facility <NUM>. The network <NUM> is the Internet, for example. The network <NUM> may provide a dedicated circuit, such as a virtual private network (VPN).

The power management server <NUM> is a server managed by companies, such as a power company, power distribution company, or retail company.

The power management server <NUM> sends, to a local control apparatus <NUM> provided on the facility <NUM>, a control message that instructs control of an equipment (a load <NUM> or a distributed power supply <NUM>) provided on the facility <NUM> (step A). The instruction that controls the equipment may be an instruction that requests a report of information on the equipment or may be an instruction that requests the setting of the operating state of the equipment.

The instruction that requests a report of information on the equipment is performed is performed by specifying the information element indicating information on one or more equipments to which a report is requested by the power management server <NUM>. Examples of such an information element include the use amount of power of one or more loads <NUM> (Wh), the history of the use amount of power of one or more loads <NUM> (Wh), the generated energy of the distributed power supply <NUM> (W), the charge remaining amount of a rechargeable battery that is an example of the distributed power supply <NUM> (Wh), the charging and discharging power of the rechargeable battery (W), the amount of charging and discharging power of the rechargeable battery (Wh), the history of the amount of charging and discharging power of the rechargeable battery (Wh), the possible quantity of charging and discharging the rechargeable battery (Wh), the possible quantity of suppressing the power flow rate (W), the possible quantity of suppressing the reverse power flow rate (W), alive information indicating whether the equipment is operated, and the operating state of a power conditioning system (PCS) configuring the distributed power supply <NUM>.

The instruction that requests the setting of the operating state of the equipment is performed by specifying the information element indicating the operating state of one or more equipments to which settings to the equipment are requested. Examples of such an information element include an increase or decrease in power used by one or more loads <NUM> (Wh), an increase or decrease in generated energy by the distributed power supply <NUM> (Wh), an increase or decrease in discharge power by the rechargeable battery (Wh), and an increase or decrease in charge power in the rechargeable battery (Wh).

The power management server <NUM> may send a power flow control message that requests control of the power flow (e.g. DR, Demand Response) as the instruction that requests the setting of the operating state of the equipment, or may send a reverse power flow control message that requests control of the reverse power flow. The power management server <NUM> may send a power supply control message that controls the operating state of the distributed power supply <NUM> as the instruction that requests the setting of the operating state of the equipment. The degree of control of the power flow or the reverse power flow may be expressed by the absolute value (e.g. xx kW), or may be expressed by the relative value (e.g. xx %). Alternatively, the degree of control of the power flow or the reverse power flow may be expressed by two or more levels. The degree of control of the power flow or the reverse power flow may be expressed by the power rate (RTP, Real Time Pricing) determined by the present power demand and the supply balance, or may be expressed by the power rate (TOU, Time Of Use) determined by the past power demand and the supply balance.

In the embodiment, as the power management server <NUM>, a power management server 200A and a power management server 200B are shown as an example. The power management servers 200A and 200B implement a function that issues a power flow control message (in the following, a power flow control function), a function that issues a reverse power flow control message (in the following, a reverse power flow control function), and a function that issues a power supply control message (in the following, a VPP control function). The power management servers 200A and 200B may implement a function (a relay control function) that relays a control message sent from the user terminal <NUM>, described later, to the local control apparatus <NUM>. The power flow control function, the reverse power flow control function, the VPP control function, and the relay control function only have to be virtually implemented. Therefore, these functions may be physically implemented by one power management server <NUM>, for example, or may be physically implemented by two or more power management servers <NUM>.

The facility <NUM> has the load <NUM>, the distributed power supply <NUM>, and the local control apparatus <NUM>. The load <NUM> is an equipment that consumes power. The load <NUM> may be an air-conditioning equipment, or a lighting equipment, for example. The distributed power supply <NUM> is an equipment having at least any one of the function that outputs power and the function that accumulates power. The distributed power supply <NUM> may be a solar cell or a fuel cell or a rechargeable battery, for example. The distributed power supply <NUM> may be a power supply used for a virtual power plant (VPP). The local control apparatus <NUM> is a device that manages the power of the facility <NUM> (EMS, Energy Management System). The local control apparatus <NUM> may control the operating state of the load <NUM>, or may control the operating state of the distributed power supply <NUM> provided on the facility <NUM>.

In the embodiment, the communication between the power management server <NUM> and the local control apparatus <NUM> is performed in conformance to a first protocol. On the other hand, the communication between the local control apparatus <NUM> and the equipment (the load <NUM> or the distributed power supply <NUM>) is performed in conformance to a second protocol different from the first protocol. Examples of the first protocol that can be used include a protocol in conformance to Open Automated Demand Response (ADR) or a unique and dedicated protocol. Examples of the second protocol that can be used include a protocol in conformance to ECHONET Lite, SEP (Smart Energy Profile) <NUM>, KNX, or a unique and dedicated protocol. Note that the first protocol and the second protocol only have to be different from each other. For example, even though both protocols are a unique and dedicated protocols, the protocols only have to be protocols created in conformance to different rules.

The user terminal <NUM> is a terminal owned by a user related to the facility <NUM>. The user terminal <NUM> is a personal computer, smartphone or tablet terminal, for example. The user related to the facility <NUM> is not limited specifically. However, the user may be the administrator of the facility <NUM> or may be the user of the facility <NUM>. Similarly to the power management server <NUM>, the user terminal <NUM> sends a control message that instructs control of the equipment (the load <NUM> or the distributed power supply <NUM>) provided on the facility <NUM>. The types of control messages sent by the user terminal <NUM> may be the same as the types of control messages sent by the power management server <NUM>, or may be different from the types of control messages sent by the power management server <NUM>.

In the following, according to the embodiment the power management server will be described. As shown in <FIG>, the power management server <NUM> has a manager <NUM>, a communicator <NUM>, and a controller <NUM>. The power management server <NUM> is an example of Virtual Top Node (VTN).

The manager <NUM> configured of a storage medium, such as a non-volatile memory or/and a hard disk drive (HDD), and manages data related to the facility <NUM>. Examples of the data related to the facility <NUM> include types of the equipment (the load <NUM> or the distributed power supply <NUM>) provided on the facility <NUM> and the specification of the equipment (the load <NUM> or the distributed power supply <NUM>) provided on the facility <NUM>. The specification may be the rated power consumption of the load <NUM> and the rated output power of the distributed power supply <NUM>, for example.

The communicator <NUM> is configured of communication modules, and communicates with the local control apparatus <NUM> via the network <NUM>. As described above, the communicator <NUM> communicates in conformance to the first protocol. For example, the communicator <NUM> sends a first message to the local control apparatus <NUM> in conformance to the first protocol. The communicator <NUM> receives a first message response from the local control apparatus <NUM> in conformance to the first protocol.

The controller <NUM> is configured of a memory and a central processing unit (CPU), for example, and controls the configurations provided on the power management server <NUM>. The controller <NUM> instructs the local control apparatus <NUM> provided on the facility <NUM> to control the equipment (the load <NUM> or the distributed power supply <NUM>) provided on the facility <NUM>, for example.

Here, the controller <NUM>, has, for example, a power flow controller <NUM> that implements the power flow control function, a reverse power flow controller <NUM> that implements the reverse power flow control function, a VPP controller <NUM> that implements the VPP control function, and a relay controller <NUM> that implements the relay control function. Here, the case is shown as an example in which one power management server <NUM> physically has the power flow controller <NUM>, the reverse power flow controller <NUM>, the VPP controller <NUM>, and the relay controller <NUM>. However, the embodiment is not limited to this. As described above, since the power flow control function, the reverse power flow control function, the VPP control function, and the relay control function only have to be virtually implemented, the power flow controller <NUM>, the reverse power flow controller <NUM>, the VPP controller <NUM>, and the relay controller <NUM> may be provided on two or more power management servers <NUM>.

Under such a premise, the power flow controller <NUM>, the reverse power flow controller <NUM>, the VPP controller <NUM>, and the relay controller <NUM> use source identification information different from each other as source identification information that identifies the source of the control message. That is, the source identification information is associated with the use type that identifies the use of the control message. The source identification information may be a global IP address in conformance to IPv4 or IPv6, for example.

Here, the use type indicates at least any of a purpose implemented by control based on the control message and an issuer that plans control based on the control message. For example, the use type indicates at least any one of control of the power flow rate to the power grid <NUM> to the facility <NUM> (power flow control), control of the reverse power flow rate to the facility <NUM> to the power grid <NUM> (reverse power flow control), control of the distributed power supply <NUM> provided on the facility <NUM> (VPP control), and, control from the user related to the facility <NUM> (relay control).

In the embodiment, in the first protocol, the information element that specifies the use type may not be defined. That is, the message format in conformance to the first protocol may include the information element that specifies the control content to the local control apparatus <NUM>, without including the information element that specifies the use type.

For example, the power flow control may be control according to a demand response that instructs the suppression of the power flow rate (the energy saving control of the load <NUM> and the output increase control of the distributed power supply <NUM>, for example). The reverse power flow control may be the suppression control of the output of the solar cell that is one of the distributed power supply <NUM>. The VPP control may be the charge control or discharge control of the rechargeable battery that is one of the distributed power supply <NUM>, or may be the starting time of the fuel cell (e.g. PEFC) that is one of the distributed power supply <NUM> and boiling control of a heat pump installed together with the PEFC. The relays control is control that relays messages that instruct the control of the load <NUM> optionally control by the user (turning on and off the power supply of an air conditioner, changing the set temperature of the air conditioner, setting boiling of the heat pump, for example).

Here, in the case in which the power flow control is the energy saving control of the air conditioner and the VPP control is the charge control of the rechargeable battery, the case is considered in which these types of control simultaneously occur. In this case, energy saving control conflicts with charge control. However, the local control apparatus <NUM> fails to determine whether to perform which control unless otherwise the use of the control message is known. In the embodiment, the local control apparatus <NUM> can grasp the use of the control message from the source identification information. Thus, the power grid <NUM> can be stabilized by performing energy saving control without performing charge control, for example.

Alternatively, in the case in which the reverse power flow control is the forward scheduling control of the boiling time of the heat pump and the VPP control is the discharge control of the rechargeable battery, the case in which these types of control simultaneously occur is considered. In this case, the forward scheduling control of boiling time conflicts with discharge control. However, the local control apparatus <NUM> fails to determine whether to perform which control unless otherwise the use of the control message is known. In the embodiment, the local control apparatus <NUM> can grasp the use of the control message from the source identification information. Thus, the power grid <NUM> can be stabilized by performing the forward scheduling control of the boiling time of the heat pump without performing discharge control, for example.

Alternatively, in the case in which the reverse power flow control is the suppression control of the output of the solar cell and the VPP control is the discharge control of the rechargeable battery, the case in which these types of control simultaneously occur is considered. In this case, the output suppression control conflicts with the discharge control. However, the local control apparatus <NUM> fails to determine whether to perform which control unless otherwise the use of the control message is known. In the embodiment, the local control apparatus <NUM> can grasp the use of the control message from the source identification information. Thus, the power grid <NUM> can be stabilized by performing the output suppression control without performing the discharge control, for example.

Note that also in the case in which the output suppression control does not conflict with the discharge control, the local control apparatus <NUM> can grasp the use of the control message from the source identification information, and hence the local control apparatus <NUM> can determine whether to perform which control.

For example, in the case in which the power flow control is the energy saving control of the air conditioner and the VPP control is the discharge control of the rechargeable battery, the case in which these types of control simultaneously occur is considered. In this case, energy saving control does not conflict with discharge control. However, the local control apparatus <NUM> fails to determine whether to perform which control in priority unless otherwise the use of the control message is known. In the embodiment, the local control apparatus <NUM> can grasp the use of the control message from the source identification information. Thus, a greater incentive can be obtained by performing energy saving control, for example, without performing discharge control depending on the level of incentives.

In the following, according to the embodiment the local control apparatus will be described. As shown in <FIG>, the local control apparatus <NUM> has a first communicator <NUM>, a second communicator <NUM>, and a controller <NUM>. The local control apparatus <NUM> is an example of Vertual End Node (VEN).

The first communicator <NUM> is configured of communication modules, and communicates with the power management server <NUM> via the network <NUM>. As described above, the first communicator <NUM> communicates in conformance to the first protocol. For example, the first communicator <NUM> receives the first message from the power management server <NUM> in conformance to the first protocol. The first communicator <NUM> sends the first message response to the power management server <NUM> in conformance to the first protocol.

The second communicator <NUM> is configured of communication modules, and communicates with the equipment (the load <NUM> or the distributed power supply <NUM>). As described above, the second communicator <NUM> communicates in conformance to the second protocol. For example, the second communicator <NUM> sends the second message to the equipment in conformance to the second protocol. The second communicator <NUM> receives a second message response from the equipment in conformance to the second protocol.

The controller <NUM> is configured of a memory and a CPU, for example, and controls the configurations provided on the local control apparatus <NUM>. Specifically, in order to manage the power of the facility <NUM>, the controller <NUM> instructs the equipment to report information on the equipment by sending the second message and by receiving the second message response. In order to control the power of the facility <NUM>, the controller <NUM> instructs the equipment to set the operating state of the equipment by sending the second message.

In the embodiment, the controller <NUM> instructs the second communicator <NUM> to send the second message including the information element of the second protocol corresponding to the information element of the first protocol, according to the control content to the equipment instructed by the first message.

In this case, the first message response including the information element fitting the first protocol has to be sent to the power management server <NUM>. Therefore, the controller <NUM> converts the information element included in the second message response into the information element fitting the first protocol. The conversion of the information element may be automatically performed at the local control apparatus <NUM>, or may be performed through user manipulation and approval. The controller <NUM> instructs the first communicator <NUM> to send a first message response including the converted information element.

Here, sending the second message and receiving the second message response may be performed before the reception of the first message. In this case, the controller <NUM> instructs the first communicator <NUM> to send the first message response based on the information on the equipment managed at the controller <NUM> before the reception of the first message. The information on the equipment managed at the controller <NUM> is information on the equipment obtained from the information element included in the second message response received from the equipment before the reception of the first message.

Alternatively, sending the second message and receiving the second message response may be performed after the reception of the first message. In this case, the controller <NUM> selects the information element fitting to the second protocol based on the information element specified by the first message. The controller <NUM> instructs the second communicator <NUM> to send the second message including the selected information element. The controller <NUM> instructs the first communicator <NUM> to send the first message response based on the information on the equipment managed at the controller <NUM> after the reception of the second message response. The information on the equipment managed at the controller <NUM> is information on the equipment obtained from the information element included in the second message response received from the equipment after the reception of the first message.

The case is assumed in which the information element fitting the first protocol has no one to one correspondence with the information element included in the second message response. For example, the case is considered in which the unit of the information element fitting the first protocol is different from the unit of the information element included in the second message response. Alternatively, the case is considered in which the information element fitting the first protocol is only expressed by two or more information elements included in the second message response. In this case, the controller <NUM> computes the information element fitting the first protocol based on the information element included in the second message response. For example, the controller <NUM> may compute the information element expressed by alternating current power based on the information element expressed by direct current power. The controller <NUM> may compute the information element expressed by the power amount per unit time based on the information element expressed by instantaneous power. The controller <NUM> may compute one information element based on two or more information elements.

(<NUM>) Case in which the control content to the equipment instructed by the first message is the setting of the operating state of the equipment
In this case, the local control apparatus <NUM> selects one or more information elements corresponding to the information element specified by the first message from information elements that the equipment can follow in conformance to the second protocol. The local control apparatus <NUM> sends a message including the selected information element as a second message to the equipment.

In the embodiment, the controller <NUM> performs, on the basis of source identification information, control based on the control message (step B). For example, the controller <NUM> manages information that associates priority level information indicating the priority level to execute the control message with source identification information (step C). These pieces of information are pieces of information shown in <FIG>, for example.

As shown in <FIG>, the controller <NUM> manages information that associates source identification information with the use type and the priority level information. However, the use type may be implicitly associated with the source identification information. In this case, the controller <NUM> does not necessarily manage the information that associates the source identification information with the use type.

The controller <NUM> performs, on the basis of the priority level information, control based on the control message. For example, in the case in which the purpose of control implemented by the control message is the reverse power flow control, the controller <NUM> may perform control based on the control message regardless of the power management state of the facility <NUM>. Similarly, in the case in which the issuer that plans control implemented by the control message is a user, the controller <NUM> may perform control based on the control message regardless of the power management state of the facility <NUM>. On the other hand, in the case in which the purpose of control implemented by the control message is the power flow control or the VPP control, the controller <NUM> determines whether to perform control based on the control message on the basis of the power management state of the facility <NUM> and incentives in association with the execution of the power flow control or the VPP control. The power management state is the operating state of the load <NUM> and the power generating state (or the power storing state) of the distributed power supply <NUM>.

In the embodiment, in the case in which control based on the control message is not performed, the controller <NUM> notifies the power management server <NUM> that control based on the control message is not performed. For example, the notification that control based on the control message is not performed is performed by the message (the first message response) in conformance to the first protocol. That is, the controller <NUM> instructs the first communicator <NUM> to send the first message response including the information element indicating that control based on the control message is not performed.

The timing of notifying that control based on the control message is not performed may be the timing of determining that control based on the control message is not performed, or may be the timing designated as the timing of performing control based on the control message. For example, the timing of performing is designated by the control message. For the control message, the absolute time instant may be designated as the timing of performing, or relative time instant to sending time (or reception time) of the control message may be designated as the timing of performing.

In the following, the power management method according to the embodiment will be described. In the following, the case is shown as an example in which the first protocol is a protocol in conformance to Open ADR2. <NUM> and the second protocol is a protocol in conformance to ECHONET Lite. The sequence relating to the case will be described in which the control content to the equipment instructed by the first message is the setting of the operating state of the equipment.

First, the case in which control based on the control message is performed will be described with reference to <FIG>.

As shown in <FIG>, in step S11, the power management server <NUM> sends oadrDistributeEvent to the local control apparatus <NUM> in conformance to the first protocol. oadrDistributeEvent is an example of the control message that instructs the setting of the operating state of the equipment.

In step S12, the local control apparatus <NUM> determines whether to perform on the basis of source identification information, control based on oadrDistributeEvent. For example, the local control apparatus <NUM> determines whether to perform on the basis of the priority level information, control based on oadrDistributeEvent (see <FIG>).

In step S13, the local control apparatus <NUM> selects one or more local information elements that implement control instructed by oadrDistributeEvent from local information elements that the target equipment can cope with in conformance to the second protocol. The local control apparatus <NUM> sends a SET command the selected local information element to an equipment <NUM>. The equipment <NUM> is the load <NUM> or the distributed power supply <NUM> provided on the facility <NUM>.

In step S14, the local control apparatus <NUM> sends a SET response command for the SET command to the equipment <NUM>.

In step S15, the local control apparatus <NUM> sends oadrCreatedEvent including the information element indicating that control based on oadrDistributeEvent is performed to the power management server <NUM>. OadrCreatedEvent is the response to oadrDistributeEvent. OadrCreatedEvent may be sent before step S13.

Secondly, the case in which control based on the control message is not performed will be described with reference to <FIG>. Processes in step S11 and step S12 are the same as the processes in <FIG>, and the description is omitted.

As shown in <FIG>, in step S17, the local control apparatus <NUM> sends oadrCreatedEvent including the information element indicating that control based on oadrDistributeEvent is not performed to the power management server <NUM>. The timing of sending oadrCreatedEvent may be the timing of determining that control based on oadrDistributeEvent is not performed, or may be the timing designated as the timing of performing control based on oadrDistributeEvent.

In the following, Modification <NUM> of the embodiment will be described. In the following, the differences from the embodiment will be mainly described.

In the embodiment, the case is described in which one control message is sent from the power management server <NUM> to the local control apparatus <NUM>. In contrast to this, in Modification <NUM>, the case will be described in which two or more control messages are sent from the power management server <NUM> to the local control apparatus <NUM>.

For example, the case is considered in which the power management server <NUM> sends two control messages having different pieces of source identification information to the local control apparatus <NUM>. In this case, when two control based on the two control messages contend with each other, the local control apparatus <NUM> performs the control based on the control message having a higher priority level. On the other hand, when the two control based on the two control messages do not contend with each other, the local control apparatus <NUM> may perform both of the two control based on the two control messages.

The case can also be considered in which the power management server <NUM> sends two control messages having the same source identification information to the local control apparatus <NUM>. In this case, the local control apparatus <NUM> performs control based on the latest control message.

As shown in <FIG>, in step S21, the power management server <NUM> sends oadrDistributeEvent(A) in conformance to the first protocol to the local control apparatus <NUM>. oadrDistributeEvent(A) is an example of a control message having a low priority level, for example.

In step S22, the power management server <NUM> sends oadrDistributeEvent(B) in conformance to the first protocol to the local control apparatus <NUM>. oadrDistributeEvent(B) is an example of a control message having a higher priority level, for example.

In step S23, the local control apparatus <NUM> determines whether to perform on the basis of source identification information, control based on oadrDistributeEvent(A) and oadrDistributeEvent(B). For example, the local control apparatus <NUM> determines whether to perform on the basis of the priority level information associated with the source identification information (see <FIG>), control based on oadrDistributeEvent(A) and oadrDistributeEvent(B).

Here, the local control apparatus <NUM> determines that control based on oadrDistributeEvent(B) is performed without performing control based on oadrDistributeEvent(A) because the priority level of oadrDistributeEvent(A) is lower than the priority level information of oadrDistributeEvent(B).

In step S24, the local control apparatus <NUM> sends oadrCreatedEvent(A) including the information element indicating that control based on oadrDistributeEvent(A) is not performed to the power management server <NUM>. OadrCreatedEvent(A) is the response to oadrDistributeEvent(A). The timing of sending oadrCreatedEvent(A) may be the timing of determining that control based on oadrDistributeEvent(A) is not performed, or may be the timing designated as the timing of performing control based on oadrDistributeEvent(A). Note that the timing of determining that control based on oadrDistributeEvent(A) is not performed may be the timing at which oadrDistributeEvent(B) having a priority level higher than the priority level of oadrDistributeEvent(A) is received.

In step S25, the local control apparatus <NUM> selects one or more local information elements that implement control instructed by oadrDistributeEvent(B) from the local information elements that the target equipment can cope with in conformance to the second protocol. The local control apparatus <NUM> sends a SET command (B) including the selected local information element to the equipment <NUM>.

In step S26, the equipment <NUM> sends a SET response command (B) to the SET command (B) to the local control apparatus <NUM>.

In step S27, the local control apparatus <NUM> sends oadrCreatedEvent(B) including the information element indicating that control based on oadrDistributeEvent(B) is performed to the power management server <NUM>. OadrCreatedEvent(B) is an response to oadrDistributeEvent(B). OadrCreatedEvent(B) may be sent before step S25.

In the embodiment, the case is shown as an example in which the first protocol is a protocol in conformance to Open ADR2. <NUM> and the second protocol is a protocol in conformance to ECHONET Lite. However, the embodiment is not limited to this. The first protocol only has to be a protocol standardized as a protocol for use in the communication between the power management server <NUM> and the local control apparatus <NUM>. The second protocol only has to be a protocol standardized as a protocol for use in the facility <NUM>.

In the embodiment, the case is mainly described in which the control content to the equipment instructed by the first message is the setting of the operating state of the equipment. However, the embodiment is not limited to this. The control content to the equipment instructed by the first message may be the report of information on the equipment.

In the embodiment, the case is shown as an example in which the information element that specifies the use type is not defined by the first protocol. However, the embodiment is not limited to this. For example, the information element that specifies the source identification information associated with the use type may be newly defined by the first protocol, or the information element that specifies the use type may be newly defined by the first protocol.

Although not specifically described in the embodiment, the local control apparatus <NUM> provided on the facility <NUM> does not necessarily have to be provided in the facility <NUM>. For example, a part of the function of the local control apparatus <NUM> may be offered from a cloud server provided on the Internet. That is, it may be considered that the local control apparatus <NUM> includes the cloud server. Alternatively, it may be considered that the cloud server is the power management server <NUM> having the foregoing relay controller <NUM>.

Claim 1:
A power management method comprising:
sending a control message from one or more power management servers (<NUM>), configured to manage a facility connected to a power grid (<NUM>), to a local control apparatus (<NUM>) provided on the facility;
characterized by
determining, by the local control apparatus, whether to perform controls,
performing the controls, by the local control apparatus, based on the control message and a source identification information that identifies a source of the control message in response to determining to perform the controls, wherein
the source identification information is associated with a use type that identifies use of the control message,
the use type includes an issuer that plans for the performing the controls based on the control message,
wherein the issuer is a user related to the facility or a power company managing the power management servers, and
the determining includes determining, based on at least the issuer included in the use type, whether to perform the controls.