Systems and Methods for Advanced Energy Network

Abstract

A multiplicity of participants comprising utility operators, distributed energy resource (DER) providers, vendors/aggregators, energy customers, and utility financial officers, are communicatively connected to a platform. The platform provides interactive interfaces for each type of participant to access the platform over communication network. Utility operators are enabled to view and control DER in a certain area via an interface for utility operators. DER providers are enabled to interconnect DER packages to a utility grid via an interface for DER providers. Vendors/aggregators are enabled to view and manage their portfolios via an interface for vendors/aggregators. Energy customers are enabled to view energy information, shop for new products or services, and manage rate plans via an interface for marketplace. Utility financial officers are enabled to view revenue streams from the platform to a utility via an interface for financial settlement.

What is claimed is: 
     
         1 . A system for managing an advanced energy network comprising:
 a financial settlements platform constructed and configured for network-based communication with at least one active grid element and at least one electric vehicle;   wherein the at least one active grid element includes at least one electric vehicle charging station and/or at least one smart meter;   wherein the financial settlements platform is operable to provide at least one interactive graphical user interface (GUI) for the at least one electric vehicle;   wherein charging of the at least one electric vehicle automatically generates financial settlement messages;   wherein the at least one active grid element is operable to transmit the financial settlement messages between the at least one electric vehicle and the financial settlements platform; and   wherein the financial settlements platform is operable to:
 create a profile for the at least one electric vehicle via the at least one interactive GUI; 
 collect energy usage data from the at least one active grid element; 
 generate pricing information for the at least one active grid element based on the financial settlement messages and/or market information; and 
 perform energy financial settlements for the participation of the at least one of the at least one electric vehicle based on the market information and revenue grade metrology data. 
   
     
     
         2 . The system of  claim 1 , wherein the profile includes energy usage data and historical data of the at least one electric vehicle. 
     
     
         3 . The system of  claim 1 , wherein the financial settlements platform is operable to collect historical energy usage data for the at least one electric vehicle from a utility bill uploaded to the financial settlements platform, and wherein the financial settlements platform is further operable to automatically recognize the format of the utility bill. 
     
     
         4 . The system of  claim 1 , wherein the financial settlements platform automatically populates a database based on historical energy usage data, and wherein the database stores the energy usage data and predictive energy consumption data. 
     
     
         5 . The system of  claim 1 , wherein the information regarding the energy financial settlements is communicated through the at least one interactive GUI in real-time or near real-time. 
     
     
         6 . The system of  claim 1 , wherein the at least one active grid element is operable to perform measurement and verification to produce the revenue grade metrology data for the at least one electric vehicle. 
     
     
         7 . The system of  claim 1 , wherein the financial settlements platform is operable to clear the energy financial settlements with at least one financial institution, and facilitate the transferring of funds into and/or out of at least one account associated with the profile. 
     
     
         8 . A system for managing an advanced energy network comprising:
 a financial settlements platform constructed and configured for network-based communication with at least one active grid element and at least one electric vehicle;   wherein the financial settlements platform is operable to provide at least one interactive graphical user interface (GUI) for the at least one electric vehicle;   wherein the financial settlements platform is operable to:
 perform energy financial settlements for the participation of the at least electric vehicle based on market information and revenue grade metrology data for the at least one electric vehicle in real-time or near real-time; 
 generate predictive energy consumption data; and 
 transmit the predictive energy consumption data, control information for the participation of the at least one electric vehicle, and energy settlement data via the at least one interactive GUI. 
   
     
     
         9 . The system of  claim 8 , wherein the at least one active grid element includes at least one electric vehicle charging station and/or at least one smart meter. 
     
     
         10 . The system of  claim 8 , wherein the at least one active grid element is operable to perform measurement and verification to produce the revenue grade metrology data for the at least one electric vehicle. 
     
     
         11 . The system of  claim 8 , wherein the financial settlements platform is operable to create a profile for at least one electric vehicle via the at least one interactive GUI, wherein the profile includes energy consumption data, an energy rate plan, at least one active grid element associated with the at least one electric vehicle, a service address, historical and/or current bill dates, a geodetic location, and/or a customer program enrollment status. 
     
     
         12 . The system of  claim 8 , wherein the financial settlements platform is operable to generate pricing information for the at least one active grid element based on the financial settlement messages and/or the market information. 
     
     
         13 . The system of  claim 8 , wherein the information regarding the energy financial settlements is communicated through the at least one interactive GUI in real-time or near real-time. 
     
     
         14 . The system of  claim 8 , wherein the financial settlements platform is operable to collect historical energy usage data for the at least one electric vehicle from a utility bill uploaded to the financial settlements platform, and wherein the financial settlements platform is further operable to automatically recognize the format of the utility bill. 
     
     
         15 . The system of  claim 8 , wherein the financial settlements platform is operable to clear the energy financial settlements with at least one financial institution, and facilitate the transferring of funds into and/or out of at least one account associated with the profile. 
     
     
         16 . A system for managing an advanced energy network comprising:
 a financial settlements platform constructed and configured for network-based communication with at least one active grid element and at least one electric vehicle;   wherein the financial settlements platform is operable to provide at least one interactive graphical user interface (GUI) for the at least one electric vehicle;   wherein the financial settlements platform is operable to:
 create a profile for the at least one electric vehicle; 
 collect historical energy usage data for the at least one electric vehicle from a utility bill uploaded to the financial settlements platform, wherein the financial settlements platform is operable to automatically recognize the format of the utility bill; 
 perform energy financial settlements for the participation of the at least electric vehicle based on market information and revenue grade metrology data for the at least one electric vehicle in real-time or near real-time; and 
 transmit the energy settlement data via the at least one interactive GUI; 
 wherein the profile includes energy usage data and historical energy usage data of the at least one electric vehicle. 
   
     
     
         17 . The system of  claim 16 , wherein the profile further includes energy consumption data, an energy rate plan, at least one active grid element associated with the at least one electric vehicle, a service address, historical and/or current bill dates, a geodetic location, and/or a customer program enrollment status. 
     
     
         18 . The system of  claim 16 , wherein the at least one interactive GUI includes at least one view interface operable for searching energy customers, displaying a heat map of active grid elements including available and running capacity, and/or visualizing energy usage distribution. 
     
     
         19 . The system of  claim 16 , wherein the financial settlements platform is operable to provide information contained in the profile for sales and marketing efforts by at least one of a vendor, a utility, and/or a utility partner, and wherein the information contained in the profile is anonymized. 
     
     
         20 . The system of  claim 16 , wherein the energy settlement data is aggregated into at least one settlement block in real-time or near real-time, and wherein the at least one settlement block includes revenue grade metrology data for the at least one electric vehicle.