JP7413674B2 - Electricity storage point system - Google Patents

Description

The present invention relates to an electricity deposit point system that provides points to electricity consumers.

BACKGROUND ART Conventionally, power supply systems that enable power to be bought and sold between business operators and consumers have been known (for example, see Patent Document 1). This system detects multiple power supplies owned by a consumer aggregate made up of multiple consumers and the power sold from the multiple power supplies to a business other than the consumer aggregate. a detection unit, a first power purchase detection unit that detects the power purchased by multiple consumers from the business operator, a second power sale detection unit that detects the power sold from the business operator to the electric power company, and the business operator. a second power purchase detection unit that detects the power purchased from the power company by the power supply device, and excludes the power purchased from the business by multiple consumers from among the power sold to the business from the plurality of power supply devices. The surplus electricity generated is sold to the electric power company.

Japanese Patent Application Publication No. 2017-163746

By the way, in a situation where so-called electric power liberalization is progressing, electric power companies are required to diversify their services to meet the demands of various customers. For electric power companies, it is desirable to increase the interest of consumers and build a long-term stable supply-demand relationship. On the other hand, consumers are now able to select the most suitable power company for themselves based on their own power usage patterns and the services provided by each power company (power supply side).

Therefore, an object of this invention is to provide an electricity storage point system that makes it possible to increase consumers' interest in electric power companies by providing unique value-added services (options) from a new perspective.

In order to solve the above problem, the invention of claim 1 provides a purchased power amount server that stores the amount of purchased power that an electric power company has purchased from a customer, and a power consumption server that stores the amount of purchased power that the customer has purchased from the power company. a point management server that is communicatively connected to the purchased power amount server and the power usage amount server, and the point management server stores the purchased power amount and the used power amount server. and a point granting means for giving points to the consumer based on the amount of power, and the point giving means is configured to set a preset unit of power to the smaller value of the amount of purchased power and the amount of power used. This electricity storage point system is characterized in that the number of points to be given to the consumer is calculated by multiplying the number of points per quantity .

According to this invention, points are given to consumers who subscribe to the service based on the amount of electricity generated by their own power generating equipment and sold to the electric power company and the amount of electricity used by themselves. be done.

The invention according to claim 2 is the electricity storage point system according to claim 1, in which the point awarding means selects between the calculated number of points, the value obtained by subtracting the amount of power used from the amount of purchased power, and zero. The method is characterized in that the number of points to be given to the consumer is calculated by adding together a value obtained by multiplying the larger value of by a preset number of points per unit power amount.

The invention according to claim 3 is the electricity storage point system according to claim 1 or 2 , in which at least one of the purchased power amount and the used power amount used by the point giving means is set within a specific day. It is characterized by that it is the amount of electricity during a time period of .

According to the invention of claim 1, points are given to consumers subscribing to the service based on the amount of electricity sold to the electric power company and the amount of electricity used by themselves. In this way, by subscribing to the services of an electric power company, points are given by the electric power company, which makes it possible to increase the interest of consumers in the electric power company, and as a result, the relationship between consumers and the electric power company increases. It can be expected that a stable supply-demand relationship will be established for a long time.

According to the invention of claim 1 , the amount of power used by the customer after selling the power generated by the power generation device of the customer to the electric power company (so-called, the amount of power generated that is appropriated for the power used by the customer) Points will be awarded for. Therefore, it becomes possible to increase the interest of consumers in electric power companies.

According to the invention of claim 2 , the amount of power used by the customer after selling the power generated by the power generation device of the customer to the electric power company (so-called, the amount of power generated that is appropriated for the power used by the customer) In addition, points are awarded for the remainder of the sold electricity that the consumer uses for himself (so-called, the amount of power generated that is not allocated to the consumer's own electricity consumption). Ru. Therefore, it becomes possible to further increase the interest of consumers in electric power companies.

According to the third aspect of the invention, points are awarded for the amount of power used by the consumer during a specific time period. Specifically, for example, points are not awarded for the amount of electricity used by a consumer during peak electricity demand hours, but points are awarded for the amount of electricity used by a consumer during off-peak electricity demand hours. It can be set to This makes it possible to further increase the interest of consumers in the electric power company by calling their attention to how to use electricity.

1 is a schematic configuration diagram showing an electricity deposit point system according to an embodiment of the present invention. 2 is a schematic configuration block diagram showing a point management server and a web server of the electricity storage point system of FIG. 1. FIG. 2 is a timing chart showing the operation of the electricity storage point system of FIG. 1. FIG.

The present invention will be described below based on the illustrated embodiments.

(Embodiment 1)
FIG. 1 is a schematic configuration diagram showing an electricity storage point system 1 according to this embodiment. This electricity storage point system 1 is a system for an electric power company (power supply side) to allocate points to electricity consumers M, and is related to the electricity storage point service provided by the electricity storage point system 1. A point management server 2 that executes processing and stores the amount of surplus electricity (i.e., the amount of electricity purchased by the electric power company from each consumer M) of the electricity generated by the solar power generation equipment of each consumer M. It has a purchased power amount server 3 and a power usage amount server 4 that stores the amount of power used by each customer M (that is, the amount of power sold by the electric power company to each customer M). At least, the point management server 2 and the purchased power amount server 3 are communicably connected, and the point management server 2 and the power consumption server 4 are communicably connected (in the example shown in FIG. The power amount server 3 and the power consumption server 4 are also communicably connected).

Each consumer M has a power generating device such as a solar power generator, and sells the excess power generated by the power generating device to the power used by itself to the electric power company as surplus power. , the electricity generated by the power generating equipment exceeds the amount of electricity that it uses itself and purchases it from the electric power company. It should be noted that each consumer M may or may not have installed a storage battery to store surplus electricity, but for a consumer M who has installed a storage battery himself, This applies to cases where at least part of the electricity is sold to electric power companies. In addition, in this embodiment, explanation will be made assuming a consumer M who sells the amount of power generated by the power generation device that exceeds the amount of power used as surplus power, but all of the power generation amount of the power generation device is Consumers who sell electricity may be included in the electricity storage point service.

The electricity storage point system 1 according to this embodiment includes a purchased power amount server 3 that stores the amount of purchased power that the power company has purchased from the customer M, and a purchased power amount server 3 that stores the amount of purchased power that the power company has purchased from the power company. It has a power consumption server 4 that stores the power consumption, and a point management server 2 that is communicatively connected to the purchased power consumption server 3 and the power consumption server 4, and the point management server 2 stores the purchased power consumption. A point granting task 23a is provided as a point granting means for granting points to the consumer M based on the amount of power used.

In this embodiment, as an auxiliary element related to the operation of the electricity storage point system 1, a web server 5 of an electric power company that can be accessed by each consumer M via a communication terminal 6 is installed. and the point management server 2 are communicably connected.

In this embodiment, the point management server 2, the purchased power amount server 3, the power consumption server 4, and the web server 5 are each provided as separate servers, but some of these servers are The server may be composed of one server, or all of these servers may be composed of one server.

The purchased power amount server 3 is a server that stores the total amount of power (kWh) purchased by the power company from each customer M during a predetermined period (for example, one month). By periodically receiving the meter reading data from the computer server that collects the meter reading data of the electric energy meter for selling electricity (that is, the electricity purchase data for the electric power company), the purchase for each customer M during the predetermined period is performed. Calculate and manage the total amount of electricity. In addition, the purchased power amount server 3 only has to store the purchased power amount in a predetermined period, and the purchased power amount for each customer M in a predetermined period is stored in the purchased power amount server 3 from another computer server that calculates the purchased power amount. A total amount may be received and stored.

The power usage server 4 is a server that stores the total amount of power (kWh) purchased by each customer M from the electric power company during the predetermined period, and for example, the amount of power purchased by each customer M. By periodically receiving the meter reading data from a computer server that collects meter reading data (that is, electricity sales data for the electric power company), the total amount of electricity used by each customer M during the predetermined period can be calculated. Calculate and manage. Note that the power consumption server 4 only has to store the power consumption in a predetermined period, and the power consumption for each customer M in a predetermined period can be obtained from another computer server that calculates the power consumption. A total amount may be received and stored.

If consumer M has multiple contracts with electric power companies regarding the sale of generated electricity, the purchased electricity amount server 3 records the amount of purchased electricity for a predetermined period for each electricity sales contract. Remember the total. In addition, if consumer M has multiple contracts with electric power companies regarding the purchase of used electricity, the electricity usage server 4 stores the amount of electricity used in a predetermined period for each electricity purchase contract. Remember the total amount.

The communication terminal 6 is a terminal device operated by the consumer M, and includes a personal computer, a smartphone (multifunctional mobile terminal), etc., and is configured as a device that can freely communicate with the web server 5 via a communication network 7 such as the Internet. be done.

The web server 5 is a server that provides the website of the electric power company, and is configured as a server that can be accessed from the communication terminal 6 of each customer M via the communication network 7. As shown in FIG. 2, the web server 5 mainly includes a memory 51, a main task 52, and a central processing unit 53 that controls these.

The memory 51 is a storage device capable of storing various information and data, and stores, for example, information input by the customer M when applying for subscription to a service.

The main task 52 is a group of tasks and programs for providing and operating a website. In this embodiment, the tasks for operating the electricity storage point service provided by the electricity storage point system 1 on the website of the electric power company will be mainly explained. This main task 52 mainly includes a joining task 52a.

The main task 52 is to access the electricity storage point service when the communication terminal 6 accesses the electricity provider's website in response to an operation on the website by a consumer M who wishes to subscribe to the electricity storage point service. A page for accepting subscriptions is displayed on the communication terminal 6.

The subscription task 52a is a task program that is activated when a subscription button on a page that accepts subscription to the electricity deposit point service is selected, and executes the process of joining the electricity deposit point service.

The subscription task 52a requests the input of information (for example, contract number/customer number, contract name, contract address, contact information, etc.) regarding the customer M who wishes to subscribe to the electricity storage point service, and It is determined whether or not the electricity storage point service membership conditions are met. As the participation condition, for example, the consumer M must sell electricity to the electric power company and purchase electricity from the electric power company.

When the joining task 52a determines that the customer M in question satisfies the joining conditions, the joining task 52a combines the customer M's identifier (ID) with the input information regarding the customer M ("subscriber information"). (including the identifier (ID) of customer M) is output to the point management server 2. The identifier (ID) of consumer M may be newly assigned by the subscription task 52a in the service subscription process, or may be a contract number/customer number already given to consumer M. An ID already given through another service of the electric power company may be used.

If consumer M has multiple power purchase contracts with electric power companies regarding the sale of generated power or multiple power purchase contracts regarding the purchase of used power, , the joining task 52a assigns an identifier (ID) to a combination of a one-to-one correspondence between a power sale contract and a power purchase contract, or assigns an identifier (ID) to a combination of a one-to-one correspondence between a power sale contract and a power purchase contract, and An identifier (ID) is assigned to the combination made in step 1.

The point management server 2 is a server that executes processing related to the electricity storage point service provided by the electricity storage point system 1, and as shown in FIG. 23, and a central processing unit 24 that controls these.

The memory 21 is a storage device that can store various types of information and data, and functions as a work area when, for example, processing related to the electricity storage point service is executed.

The subscriber database 22 is a database that stores subscriber information and information necessary to execute processing related to the electricity storage point service, and stores at least currently valid points in correspondence with the identifier (ID) of each customer M. remembers numbers.

The main task 23 is a group of tasks and programs for executing processing related to the electricity storage point service. This main task 23 mainly includes a point assignment task 23a.

The point granting task 23a is a task program that executes a process of granting points to the consumer M based on the amount of purchased power and the amount of used power. The point granting task 23a first stores the subscriber information output from the web server 5 in the subscriber database 22.

When the amount of purchased power and amount of power used in a predetermined period (for example, one month) is determined for each consumer M stored in the subscriber database 22, the point granting task 23a Based on the identifier of M, the purchased power amount is acquired from the purchased power amount server 3, and the power usage amount is acquired from the power usage amount server 4. The method of acquiring the amount of purchased power and the amount of used power by the point granting task 23a is not limited to a specific method. For example, after the amount of purchased power and the amount of power used is determined, a meter reading notification notifying the determined amount of purchased power is sent from the purchased power amount server 3 to the point management server 2, and a meter reading notification notifying the determined amount of power used. may be transmitted from the power usage server 4 to the point management server 2, or the point management server 2 may periodically access the purchased power amount server 3 or the power usage server 4 to newly The determined purchased power amount and used power amount may be acquired. In addition, if necessary, the identifier (ID) of each consumer M in the subscriber information stored in the subscriber database 22 and each consumer stored in the purchased power amount server 3 and the used power amount server 4 are A correspondence with a code for identification (for example, contract number/customer number) is prepared in advance.

The point granting task 23a calculates the number of points P to be given to the consumer M using the acquired purchased power amount (kWh) and used power amount (kWh) using Equation 1 below.
(Math. 1) P = Min [purchased power amount, used power amount] x a
Here, Min[X, Y]: an operator that selects the smaller value between X and Y,
Purchased power amount: the amount of power (kWh) purchased by the power company from consumer M,
Amount of electricity used: Amount of electricity (kWh) purchased by consumer M from the electric power company,
a: Number of points given per unit electric energy (number of points/kWh),
respectively.

The amount of purchased electricity in Formula 1 may be the total amount of electricity sold by consumer M during all hours of the day (and the total over a predetermined period), or the amount of electricity sold during a specific time of the day by consumer M. It may be the total amount of electric power sold (and the total amount over a predetermined period). Furthermore, the amount of power used in Formula 1 may be the total amount of power purchased by consumer M during all hours of the day (and the total over a predetermined period), or may be the total amount of power purchased by consumer M during all hours of the day, or It may be the total amount of power purchased in the band (and the total amount over a predetermined period).

When the amount of electricity in a specific time period is used as the amount of purchased electricity, the amount of purchased electricity stored in the purchased electricity amount server 3 may be the total amount of electricity in the specific time period, or The point granting task 23a may calculate and use the total amount of power in a specific time period among the purchased power amounts stored in the purchased power amount server 3. Furthermore, when the amount of power used in a specific time period is used as the amount of power used, the amount of power used stored in the amount of power used in the power amount server 4 may be the total amount of power used in the specific time period. Alternatively, the point assignment task 23a may calculate and use the total amount of power in a specific time period among the power usage stored in the power usage server 4.

The point granting task 23a adds the calculated number of granted points P to the currently valid number of points of the customer M stored in the subscriber database 22 based on the identifier of the customer M, and after the addition process. The number of points is stored in the subscriber database 22 as the currently valid number of points for the customer M.

Next, the function, operation, etc. of the electricity storage point system 1 having such a configuration will be explained based on FIG. 3.

First, consumer M accesses web server 5 using communication terminal 6 (step S1), and selects a subscription button on a page that accepts subscription to the electricity storage point service. As a result, the subscription task 52a of the web server 5 is started, and the process of subscription of the customer M to the electricity storage point service is performed (step S2). At this time, the subscription task 52a determines whether the consumer M who desires to subscribe to the electricity storage point service satisfies the service subscription conditions. Then, the web server 5 outputs the subscriber information of the customer M who satisfies the subscription conditions to the point management server 2 (step S3).

After that, when the amount of purchased power and the amount of power used for a predetermined period are determined, in this embodiment, a meter reading notification is sent from the purchased power amount server 3 and the power usage amount server 4 to the point management server 2 (step S4). .

When the meter reading notification is input to the point management server 2, the point granting task 23a starts, and the point granting task 23a uses the purchased power amount and the used power amount in a predetermined period, and calculates the number of points to be granted P by formula 1. is calculated, and the awarded point number P is added to the currently valid point number of customer M stored in the subscriber database 22, thereby updating the currently valid point number of customer M (step S5 ).

Here, if the amount of electricity used in Formula 1 is the total amount of electricity used during the night time period (for example, the time period when the solar power generation equipment does not generate power) in a day, then After the surplus electricity of consumer M is temporarily entrusted to the electric power company, the surplus electricity once entrusted is used for demand during the night time period when the electricity generated by the power generation device cannot cover the electricity used by consumer M. A virtual cycle is realized in which the electricity is allocated to the electricity used by house M (self-consumed).

In addition, regarding a hypothetical cycle in which the electricity generated by consumer M is temporarily entrusted to the electric power company and then allocated to the electricity used by consumer M, for example, the surplus electricity of consumer M is transferred to the electric power company. The unit price of selling electricity is S (yen/kWh), and the unit price of buying electricity from the electric power company for the electricity used by consumer M is B (yen/kWh), and the points given per unit amount of electricity in Formula 1. Assume that the monetary value of the number a is V (yen/kWh). At this time, consumer M obtains a profit of S yen per unit power amount for the surplus power, and receives a benefit of V yen while paying B yen per unit power amount for the used power. Therefore, in the case of B > (S + V), the difference between the cost B yen and the gain (S + V) yen is considered by consumer M as a fee for storing electricity by the electric power company (in other words, a fee for using the virtual storage battery). can be done. In addition, in the case of B=(S+V), the consumer M can use the virtual storage battery without having to pay a fee for storing electricity by the electric power company. As a result, the consumer M can utilize the power generation device more effectively even if he or she does not install a storage battery, which would require a high initial investment. In addition, if consumer M has installed storage batteries himself but the capacity is insufficient, he can generate electricity without having to install additional storage batteries by selling surplus electricity that exceeds the capacity of the storage batteries. It becomes possible to use the device more effectively.

Furthermore, let the amount of electricity used in Formula 1 be the total amount of electricity used during the off-peak hours of electricity demand in one day, and also establish the relationship between the electricity sales unit price S, electricity purchase unit price B, and monetary conversion value V in the above. If B<(S+V), points will not be awarded for the amount of electricity used by the customer during the peak electricity demand period, but points will be awarded for the amount of electricity used by the customer during the off-peak period of electricity demand. Points with a particularly large gain will be awarded for this. This makes it possible for consumer M to effectively utilize the power generation equipment while saving costs associated with installing or expanding storage batteries, and it also becomes possible to encourage consumer M to be more careful about how to use electricity. Become. In addition, the amount of purchased power in Formula 1 is the total amount of purchased power during the peak power demand period of the day, and the amount of power used is the total amount of power used during the off-peak power demand period of the day. In this case, points will be awarded when surplus power is sold during the peak power demand time period and used during the off-peak time period. This makes it possible for consumer M to effectively utilize the power generation equipment while saving costs associated with installing or expanding storage batteries, and it also becomes possible to encourage consumer M to be more careful about how to use electricity. Become.

In addition, in Formula 1, points are awarded for the smaller value of the amount of purchased electricity and the amount of electricity used, so points are virtually allocated to the electricity used by consumer M, which is the target of points. The upper limit of the amount of power purchased is the amount of purchased power (that is, the amount of power virtually deposited by consumer M with the electric power company).

In this way, according to the electricity storage point system 1, the consumer M who subscribes to the service is provided with the amount of electricity sold to the electric power company (surplus electricity) and the amount of electricity used by the consumer M. Points will be awarded based on. In this way, by subscribing to the service of an electric power company, the electric power company gives points, which makes it possible to increase the interest of customer M in the electric power company, and as a result, the relationship between customer M and the electric power company increases. It can be expected that a stable supply-demand relationship will be established for a long time with business operators.

Furthermore, the electricity storage point service described above can be introduced without changing the existing rate structure (rate menu), and can be implemented by utilizing existing data and systems regarding the amount of purchased electricity and the amount of electricity used. It is possible to implement and implement services while reducing effort and cost.

(Embodiment 2)
In this embodiment, the method for calculating the number of points P awarded by the point assignment task 23a is different from the first embodiment, but the other configurations are the same as in the first embodiment, so explanations other than the method for calculating the number P of points awarded will be explained. omitted.

In this embodiment, the point granting task 23a calculates the number of points P to be granted using Equation 2 below.
(Math. 2) P = Min [purchased power amount, used power amount] x a
+Max[(Purchased electricity amount - Used electricity amount), 0]×b
Here, Min[X, Y]: an operator that selects the smaller value between X and Y,
Max[X, Y]: operator that selects the larger value between X and Y,
Purchased power amount: the amount of power (kWh) purchased by the power company from consumer M,
Amount of electricity used: Amount of electricity (kWh) purchased by consumer M from the electric power company,
a, b: number of points given per unit electric energy (number of points/kWh),
respectively.

In Equation 2, compared to Equation 1, the objects to which points are awarded are expanded. In other words, in addition to being awarded points for the amount of electricity sold by consumer M that is virtually allocated to its own use, points are awarded for the amount of electricity sold by consumer M that is virtually allocated to its own use. Points are also awarded for the amount of electricity that is not used for electricity. Therefore, the consumer M can receive benefits based on the amount of electricity that is consumed by the user, as well as benefits based on the amount of electricity that is not used up by the electricity provider. Note that a and b may be the same value or may be different values.

Although the embodiments of this invention have been described above, the specific configuration is not limited to the above embodiments, and even if there are changes in the design within the scope of the gist of this invention, Included in invention. For example, in the above embodiment, the point granting process (steps S4, S5) is executed after the subscription process (steps S1 to S3) on the website of the electric power company, but the subscription process itself ( In other words, processing via the web server 5) is not an essential feature of the present invention, and the subscriber information may be arranged and prepared in any manner.

1 Electricity storage point system 2 Point management server 21 Memory 22 Subscriber database 23 Main task 23a Point granting task 24 Central processing unit 3 Purchased electricity amount server 4 Used electricity amount server 5 Web server 51 Memory 52 Main task 52a Subscription task 53 Central processing Part 6 Communication terminal 7 Communication network M Consumer

Claims (3)

a purchased power amount server that stores the amount of purchased power purchased by the electric power company from the consumer;
a power usage server that stores the power usage amount purchased by the consumer from the power company;
a point management server communicatively connected to the purchased power amount server and the used power amount server;
The point management server is
comprising point granting means for granting points to the consumer based on the purchased power amount and the power usage amount;
The point awarding means is
calculating the number of points to be given to the consumer by multiplying the smaller value of the purchased power amount and the used power amount by a preset number of points per unit power amount;
An electric storage point system that is characterized by: The point awarding means is
The number of points calculated above,
a value obtained by multiplying the greater of the value obtained by subtracting the amount of power used from the amount of purchased power and 0 by a preset number of points per unit amount of power;
calculate the number of points to be given to the customer by adding them together;
The electricity deposit point system according to claim 1. At least one of the purchased power amount and the used power amount used by the point granting means is the power amount during a specific time of the day;
The electricity storage point system according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that:

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