Patent ID: 7821156

Claim:
A computer-implemented method for scheduling electric power consumption cycles in a power network, the method comprising: receiving a plurality of device-specific consumption cycle data (CCD) requests, wherein each CCD request uniquely corresponds to an electric-powered device and specifies for the corresponding device a required power consumption capacity, a power consumption duration, and a specified time period during which an allocation of power is requested, and wherein each CCD request is generated by a CCD requesting module communicatively linked to a respective electric-powered device; responding to the plurality of CCD requests by determining which requests can be granted subject to a predetermined capacity constraint of the power network to which each device is communicatively linked, wherein the determination is carried out by a CCD responding module of the power network, the CCD responding module being communicatively linked to each CCD requesting module and within a meter or station of the power network; and conveying to each device corresponding to a granted CCD request a signal indicating a start time for beginning a corresponding power consumption cycle.