Patent ID: 7379791

Claim:
A system for reporting at a subscriber's location of utility commodity cost and usage data and for local or remote control of utility commodity usage; the system comprising: at least one meter for measuring usage of at least one utility commodity and generating at least one usage signal comprising a measurement of said subscriber's usage of said at least one utility commodity; at least one central location for receiving said subscriber's utility commodity usage data and a utility commodity cost for said subscriber and transmitting at least one utility commodity rate and utility commodity usage control signals to an information and control apparatus at the subscriber's location; and an information and control apparatus comprising a microprocessor; a memory; a display; a user interface; a clock; and display communication means for receiving utility commodity rates and utility commodity usage control signals from said at least one central location, for receiving at least one usage signal from said at least one meter, and for transmitting said subscriber's utility commodity usage data to said at least one central location, wherein each of said at least one meter further comprises meter communication means for transmitting at least one usage signal to said information and control apparatus and wherein each of said at least one central location further comprises center communication means for transmitting utility commodity rates and utility commodity usage control signals to said information and control apparatus and for receiving said subscriber's utility commodity usage data from said information and control apparatus; wherein said at least one meter measures a daily usage value of said utility commodity and an accumulated usage value over a predetermined billing period of time for transmission to said information and control apparatus; and wherein said microprocessor calculates a daily usage percentage of a budgeted daily usage value stored in said memory and a usage percentage of said predetermined billing period of a budgeted usage value for said predetermined billing period stored in said memory.