Andre E Foster

US Patent:

20050004858, Jan 6, 2005

Filed:

Aug 16, 2004

Appl. No.:

10/919155

Inventors:

Andre Foster - Smyrna GA, US
Kevin Greiner - Decatur GA, US

International Classification:

G06F017/60

US Classification:

705036000

Abstract:

Methods for assisting and enabling a large industrial or business consumer of energy to become a self-serving retail electricity provider in a deregulated energy market. Performed by an energy advisory and transaction management service provider, one method registers the large business energy consumer with the state public utility commission, assists the business to qualify as a scheduling entity with an independent service operator, and establishes the business as a bilateral trading partner of wholesale energy merchants. In another method, the business processing outsourcing service assists the business in energy purchasing and risk management decisions by forecasting zonal load requirements for the business. A price forecasting analysis is compared with supply offers from wholesale energy merchants and bilateral transactions for energy supply are brokered between the business and the wholesale energy merchants. In another method, the business process outsourcing service assists the business to manage electronic transactions with an independent service operator and a transmission and distribution service provider. A daily load forecast for the business is updated and compared with energy purchase commitments to identify imbalances between supply and demand. The outsourcing service submits a daily schedule of forecasted sub-hourly load and purchase and sale commitments to the independent system operator. The outsourcing service receives and processes invoices from market participants and generates financial settlement reports for the business.

US Patent:

20040215529, Oct 28, 2004

Filed:

Apr 16, 2004

Appl. No.:

10/826422

Inventors:

Andre Foster - Smyrna GA, US
Kevin Greiner - Decatur GA, US

International Classification:

G06F017/60

US Classification:

705/026000, 705/035000

Abstract:

A method and computer program product for forecasting the retail price of electricity for a customer in a deregulated market and for providing probabilistic valuation of costs and risks. The method includes the steps of performing a digital simulation of marginal clearing prices and hourly customer load to derive expected and probabilistic forecasts of load-weighted wholesale prices and costs for a customer; determining a supplier risk premium to be added to the forecasted retail price based on an expected wholesale price volatility, an expected variability of customer load, and a set of contractual conditions governing price structure, volume flexibility, and financial options embedded within a contract; performing a supply price analysis; and presenting the results of the supply price analysis to the customer. The method can also include the steps of performing a cash flow at risk analysis and/or performing a price duration analysis and/or financial valuation of options embedded in supply contracts such as collars (caps/floors) and contract extension options from the supplier or the end-user and combining the results with the results of the supply price analysis.