Patent ID: 8571721

Claim:
A system, comprising: a converter that converts power information into metadata and sends the metadata over a power transmission line with electricity transmitted over the power transmission line to a plurality of different recipient customers of the electricity, wherein the power information describes an offer duration time period that a maximum amount of the electricity is available for a current rate cost of the electricity that is charged by a provider offering the electricity; and a plurality of signal decoders that are each accessible by the recipient customers and that collect the metadata from the power transmission line, decode the collected metadata into the power information, and offer the electricity to each of the recipient customers of the electricity by: offering a first tier plurality of the recipient customers the maximum amount of the available electricity at the current rate cost for a first time period that is less than and during the offer duration time period; in response to determining that a remainder amount of the maximum amount of the available electricity is not taken by the first tier customers and is still available after expiration of the first time period, offering a different, second tier plurality of the recipient customers the remainder amount of the available electricity at the current rate cost for another, second time period that is during the offer duration time period and is less than a total amount of time remaining in the offer duration time period after the expiration of the first time period; and in response to determining that another remainder amount of the maximum amount of the available electricity is not taken by the first or second tier customers and is still available after expiration of the second time period, offering the another remainder amount of the available electricity at the current rate cost to a remainder of the plurality of the recipient customers that are not within the first or second tier plurality of customers for a remainder of the offer duration time period after the expiration of the second time period.