Importance

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Abstract

An auction service is provided that stimulates competition between energy suppliers (i.e., electric power or natural gas). A bidding moderator (Moderator) receives bids from the competing suppliers of the rate each is willing to charge to particular end users for estimated quantities of electric power or gas supply (separate auctions). Each supplier receives competing bids from the Moderator and has the opportunity to adjust its own bids down or up, depending on whether it wants to encourage or discourage additional energy delivery commitments in a particular geographic area or to a particular customer group. Each supplier's bids can also be changed to reflect each supplier's capacity utilization. Appropriate billing arrangements are also disclosed. The technology required to facilitate forward delivery transactions, in which a buyer and seller agree to the terms of a transaction today but schedule the delivery for a future time, would be helpful to end users, resellers and suppliers. The Moderator can facilitate such transactions by processing requests for end users or resellers (as buyers) for energy needs to be delivered in the future by suppliers. In order to provide the Moderator with sufficient information to process such a request, the buyer will enter the information describing the request on a software-derived template and transmit such information to the Moderator.

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First Claim