System, method, and apparatus for settlement for participation in an electric power grid

Abstract

Systems, methods, and apparatus embodiments for electric power grid and network registration and management of physical and financial settlement for participation of active grid elements in supply and/or curtailment of power, wherein Internet Protocol (IP)-based messages including IP packets are generated by transforming raw data content into settlement grade content. Settlement is provided for grid elements that participate in the electric power grid following initial registration of each grid element with the system, preferably through network-based communication between the grid elements and a coordinator, either in coordination with or outside of an IP-based communications network router. Messaging related to settlement is managed through a network by a Coordinator using IP messaging for communication with the grid elements, with the energy management system (EMS), and with the utilities, market participants, and/or grid operators.

The invention claimed is: 
     
         1 . A method for market-based financial settlement of transactions within an electric power grid comprising:
 a settlement processor for market-based financial transactions, and a legacy settlement processor, each comprising a server and/or a processor operatively coupled with a memory, and a database constructed and configured for electrical connection and internet protocol (IP)-based communication via a network with at least one coordinator;   each of the at least one coordinator communicating IP-based network messages to the settlement processor from at least one active grid element that is registered to participate within the electric power grid, wherein the IP-based network messages include revenue grade metrology for the at least one active grid element;   the settlement processor generating information for the market-based financial settlement for each of the at least on active grid element using the revenue grade metrology for the at least one active grid element;   transmitting a settlement message via IP-based messaging to the legacy settlement processor, wherein the settlement message further includes an IP packet having information relating to the market-based financial settlement corresponding to the participation of the at least one active grid element within the electric power grid.   
     
     
         2 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the participation includes the at least one active grid element providing an electric power supply, consuming an electric power load, and/or providing a curtailment of the electric power load that is functionally equivalent to the electric power supply. 
     
     
         3 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the market-based financial settlement further uses a kilowatt packet (KWP) unit, a power supply value (PSV) unit, and/or a power trading block (PTB) unit;
 wherein the KWP unit comprises measured data transformed into market settlement data for the participation of the at least one active grid element, wherein the participation includes the at least one active grid element providing an electric power supply, consuming an electric power load, and/or providing a curtailment of the electric power load that is functionally equivalent to the electric power supply;   wherein the PSV unit is a systematic unit for addressing power curtailment or power supply for providing grid stability, reliability, and frequency;   wherein the PTB unit is a standard unit that provides for blocks of energy to be introduced, aggregated, and settled for the market-based financial settlement.   
     
     
         4 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the participation of the at least one active grid element is communicated to the at least one coordinator via the network in real-time or in a predetermined timeframe. 
     
     
         5 . The method of  claim 1 , further including a step of aggregating and/or integrating at least two active grid elements through a master grid element and/or a virtual grid element that represents the participation of the at least two active grid elements as operationally equivalent to a single grid element with an aggregated KWP unit representing the participation of the at least two active grid elements. 
     
     
         6 . The method of  claim 5 , wherein each of the at least two active grid elements, upon aggregation or integration, transform into a sub-grid element. 
     
     
         7 . The method of  claim 1 , further including a step of assigning to each of the at least one active grid element an assigned identifier including an IP address that is unique to each of the at least one active grid element for the market-based financial settlement. 
     
     
         8 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein at least one of the at least one active grid element is a control device that operates, programs, and/or updates another grid element. 
     
     
         9 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the at least one active grid element is selected from a group consisting of: a sensor, a power-consuming device, an appliance, a meter, a switch, a controller, a control device, a power control subsystem integrated with another grid element for supply, a thermostat, a building control system, a security device, and combinations thereof. 
     
     
         10 . The method of  claim 1 , further including a step of storing in the database of the settlement processor the market-based financial settlement. 
     
     
         11 . The method of  claim 1 , further including a step of providing a security and a priority for the settlement message. 
     
     
         12 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the market-based financial settlement further includes factors for grid stability-based market pricing, operating reserves-based market pricing, and/or peak and off-peak timing market pricing. 
     
     
         13 . A system for market-based settlement of transactions within an electric power grid comprising:
 a settlement processor for market-based financial settlements comprising a server and/or a processor operatively coupled with a memory, and a database constructed and configured for electrical connection and internet protocol (IP)-based communication via a network with at least one coordinator;   each coordinator being constructed and configured for electrical connection and network-based communication with at least one active grid element registered to participate within the electric power grid by performing at least one predetermined function and automatically communicating, to the at least one coordinator and/or to the settlement processor, a revenue grade metrology corresponding to the at least one predetermined function performed;   the settlement processor operable to generate a settlement message in real-time or near real-time for a market-based financial settlement using the revenue grade metrology for each of the at least one active grid element for its participation in the electric power grid, wherein the market-based financial settlement provides a quantifying market rate for monetization for any unit of kilowatts with respect to time for the participation by each of the at least one active grid element.   
     
     
         14 . The system of  claim 13 , wherein each of the at least one active grid element is further configured to coordinate with at least one virtual ID and/or smart meter. 
     
     
         15 . The system of  claim 13 , wherein the at least one active grid element is an electrical device that consumes power from the electric power grid, provides power to the electric power grid, and/or measures power consumed or supplied to the electric power grid. 
     
     
         16 . The system of  claim 13 , wherein the at least one active grid element is a control device that operates, programs, and/or updates another grid element. 
     
     
         17 . The system of  claim 13 , wherein the at least one active grid element is selected from a group consisting of: a sensor, a power-consuming device, an appliance, a meter, a switch, a controller, a control device, a power control subsystem integrated with a grid element for supply, a thermostat, a building control system, a security device, and combinations thereof. 
     
     
         18 . The system of  claim 13 , wherein each of the at least one active grid element includes a unique grid element identifier. 
     
     
         19 . The system of  claim 18 , wherein the unique grid element identifier comprises an IP address, an equipment identifier, and/or a mac address. 
     
     
         20 . The system of  claim 18 , wherein the unique grid element identifier includes location-based factors, time-based factors, grid-function-based factors, and/or combinations thereof. 
     
     
         21 . The system of  claim 13 , wherein the participation is stored in the database of the settlement processor, and any raw measurement data is transformed into settled measurements for storage. 
     
     
         22 . The system of  claim 13 , wherein the settlement message includes at least one of: a geodetic reference, a grid element identifier, a grid element type, a grid element function, a grid element capacity, a grid element profile, a grid element attachment point reference, a kilowatt packet (KWP) value, a grid element power supply value (PSV), a grid element power trade block (PTB) value, a grid element balancing authority association, a grid element owner identifier, a grid element compatibility identifier, and combinations thereof. 
     
     
         23 . The system of  claim 13 , wherein the market-based financial settlement includes factors for grid stability-based market pricing, operating reserves-based market pricing, and/or peak and off-peak timing market pricing. 
     
     
         24 . The system of  claim 13 , further including at least two active grid elements that aggregate and/or integrate through a master grid element and/or a virtual grid element that represents the participation of the at least two active grid elements as operationally equivalent to a single active grid element. 
     
     
         25 . The system of  claim 13 , wherein at least one of the at least one active grid elements is under the control of an energy management system (EMS), a supervisory control and data acquisition (SCADA) system, or combinations thereof. 
     
     
         26 . The system of  claim 13 , further comprising: a customer identifier, a billing identifier, a grid element unique identifier, and combinations thereof, each assigned to each of the at least one active grid element and used for the market-based financial settlement, and wherein the at least one active grid element unique identifier further includes an IP address, an equipment identifier, a mac address, location-based factors, time-based factors, grid-function-based factors, at least one grid reliability factor, at least one grid stability factor, and combinations thereof. 
     
     
         27 . The system of  claim 13 , wherein the market-based financial settlement includes factors for grid stability-based pricing, operating reserves-based pricing, peak and off-peak timing pricing, and estimations, network models, and/or real-time measurement of actual participation by each of the at least one active grid element, losses associated with transmission and distribution, and combinations thereof. 
     
     
         28 . The system of  claim 13 , wherein the settlement message is transmitted over one or more public or private carrier grade networks. 
     
     
         29 . The system of  claim 13 , further including network-based communication of the settlement message to at least one financial institution. 
     
     
         30 . A system for market-based financial settlement of transactions within an electric power grid comprising:
 a settlement processor for market-based financial settlements, comprising a server and/or a processor operatively coupled with a memory, and a database constructed and configured for electrical connection and internet protocol (IP)-based communication via a network with at least one coordinator;   each of the at least one coordinator is constructed and configured for electrical connection and IP-based network communication with at least one active grid element that is registered to participate within the electric power grid;   wherein the settlement processor is configured to receive an IP-based message including revenue grade metrology generated by the at least one active grid element and communicated by the at least one coordinator;   wherein the settlement processor is further configure to generate a settlement message including information for the market-based financial settlements corresponding to the participation by each of the at least one active grid element using the revenue grade metrology for each of the at least one active grid element;   wherein the settlement message is configured to be transmitted via IP-based messaging and further includes an IP packet having information relating to the at least one kilowatt packet (KWP) unit for the market-based financial settlements corresponding to the participation of the at least one active grid element within the electric power grid;   wherein each KWP unit comprises measured data transformed into settlement grade data for the market financial settlements of the participation of each of the at least one active grid element for load or supply;   wherein each KWP unit is configured to provide a quantifying market rate for monetization for any unit of kilowatts with respect to time.   
     
     
         31 . A system for energy data management for market-based financial settlements comprising:
 a computer readable medium having instructions executable by a settlement processor for market-based financial settlements, comprising a server and/or a processor operatively coupled with a memory, and a database constructed and configured for electrical connection and internet protocol (IP)-based communication via a network;   a settlement message transmittable over the network via IP-based messaging, the settlement message further including an IP packet for the market-based financial settlements corresponding to the participation of at least one grid element operable within an electric power grid.   
     
     
         32 . The system of  claim 31 , further including at least one coordinator, wherein each of the at least one coordinator is constructed and configured for electrical connection and IP-based network communication with the at least one grid element; and wherein the at least one grid element is registered with the settlement processor to participate within the electric power grid. 
     
     
         33 . The system of  claim 31 , wherein the settlement processor generates information for the market based financial settlements for each of the at least one grid element. 
     
     
         34 . The system of  claim 31 , wherein the market-based financial settlements correspond to at least one kilowatt packet (KWP) unit of participation by the at least one grid element, wherein each KWP unit comprises measured data transformed into settlement grade data for the market financial settlements corresponding to each of the participation of the at least one grid element for load or supply, and wherein each KWP unit provides a quantifying market rate for monetization for any unit of kilowatts with respect to time. 
     
     
         35 . The system of  claim 31 , wherein the IP packet includes at least one of revenue grade data and non-revenue grade data. 
     
     
         36 . The system of  claim 31 , wherein the IP packet includes settlement grade content generated from raw data for determining the market-based financial settlements. 
     
     
         37 . The system of  claim 31 , wherein the IP packet is encapsulated, constructed and configured for transmission over an IP-based network used for the market-based financial settlements. 
     
     
         38 . The system of  claim 31 , wherein the IP packet is routable through the network by a coordinator. 
     
     
         39 . The system of  claim 31 , wherein the IP packet is automatically generated by the at least one grid element. 
     
     
         40 . The system of  claim 31 , wherein the IP packet includes a power supply value (PSV) corresponding to the participation of the at least one grid element.