Patent ID: 8583291

Claim:
A meter controller apparatus for managing energy demands of a plurality of appliances, the meter controller apparatus comprising: at least one communication interface configured to receive a first message from a first appliance controller apparatus coupled to at least one first appliance of the plurality of appliances, the first message comprising first information regarding a first power demand of the at least one first appliance and a first demand category associated with the at least one first appliance, wherein the first demand category is one of a plurality of demand categories; and at least one processor programmed to compute an updated meter controller model for the plurality of appliances based at least in part on the first message received from the first appliance controller apparatus and a present meter controller model for the plurality of appliances, wherein the meter controller apparatus is a first meter controller apparatus, and wherein: the at least one communication interface is further configured to receive a second message from a second meter controller apparatus, the second message comprising a neighbor model; and the at least one processor is further programmed to compute a representative model based at least in part on the updated meter controller model and the neighbor model.