WO2009138574A1

WO2009138574A1 - Methods and devices for supervising the electrical power consumed at each instant

Info

Publication number: WO2009138574A1
Application number: PCT/FR2008/000658
Authority: WO
Inventors: Jacques Lewiner; Sylvain Javelot; Damien Lebrun; Stéphane DEBUSNE; Jean-Philippe Francois
Original assignee: Cynove
Priority date: 2008-05-13
Filing date: 2008-05-13
Publication date: 2009-11-19
Also published as: EP2294670A1

Abstract

When the overall power invoked on the installations of an electricity supplier (1) by all the customers approaches the maximum electricity production or transport capacity, a situation termed saturation, this electricity supplier uses transmission means (12) to transmit an alert message (100) to the customers whose processing means (41) after receipt of this alert message send a command to disconnect non-priority appliances (42) and then when the overall power invoked on the installations of the electricity supplier reduces and moves away from saturation, the transmission means transmit an end-of-alert message (103) and the processing means of the customers after receipt of this message send a command to reconnect the appliances which had been disconnected.

Description

METHODS AND DEVICES FOR CONTROLLING THE POWER CONSUMED AT EACH INSTANT.

The present invention relates to methods for controlling and if necessary reducing the electrical power consumed at any time by a customer or a group of customers of an electrical network and devices for implementing such methods.

Indeed, the power consumption, for example in very cold weather or on the contrary in case of high heat, increases significantly in a large number of customers of such an electrical network.

It may then happen that the sum of the individual consumptions approaches the maximum production capacities of the distributor 's electricity or transport supplier, which has unfortunate technical and economic consequences.

Indeed, technically these temporary surcharges are likely to cause disjunctions of electrical systems or a collapse of electrical networks.

From the economic point of view, investing in production and / or transport capacities to cope with these point-in-time consumption peaks is an expense that is difficult to justify.

Subsequently, for the sake of simplification, we will call under the generic term of electricity supplier, indifferently the producer, supplier, carrier or distributor of electricity and under the term saturation the situation in which we are in maximum capacity of production or transport. In order to avoid such situations, various approaches have been proposed and even implemented, for example by granting preferential tariffs to consumers agreeing in return to disappear from the network in case of saturation.

In another, more direct approach, a whole set of customers is disconnected from the network in the event of saturation, without this being necessarily linked to their own consumption.

To reduce the electrical power consumed by a customer at any time, it has been proposed in patent FR 2 433 254, a device that allows a cyclic disconnection of the various heating devices present at the customer so that the equipment of said customer can not to be simultaneously in operation and thus to limit the electrical power consumed by this customer.

Other patents, in particular US Patents 4,471,232; US 4,324,987; US 5,436,510 and WO 01/37392 A1 propose solutions that improve this approach.

For example, it has been proposed to introduce ^one in the earlier architecture means for monitoring the electric power consumed at every moment which avoids disconnecting devices cyclically but on consumption of each of these devices and / or according to an order of priority possibly defined by the customer.

If these approaches enable the customer to take out a more advantageous contract with their electricity supplier and avoid exceeding a predetermined consumption of their own overconsumption, the initial problem is not solved. Indeed, these systems only work locally, that is to say at the level of the customer's electrical installation and do not take into account in real time or near real-time, peaks of over-consumption on the entire network.

Therefore, they can not be used by the electricity supplier in case of risk or saturation situation.

In addition, such approaches can not be applied globally to a set of customers without prior agreement of the latter as it is for example the case with certain tariffs, particularly in France the rate called "erasing days peak" that allows by anticipating the electricity supplier to cut off power to its customers subject to possibly short notice.

In the following of this text we will define by tariff ejp such tariffs.

When the electrical power demanded by all the customers is likely to reach saturation, the ejp rate, which in normal times is very often much lower than the normal rate, then becomes many times multiple of this normal tariff.

The signaling to the customer of the switching of a preferential rate linked to a contract ejp to a much more expensive tariff or the opposite is, for example, described in the patent FR 2,592,999.

Thus, it is possible to disconnect a set of electrical equipment in order to minimize the electrical power consumed at each instant and as a result of reduce the cost to the customer.

It should be noted, however, that the disconnection of such devices is applied to all customers who have subscribed to such a contract and not only to those in overconsumption because it is not expected at the local level an instantaneous measure of the electrical power consumed.

Similarly, WO 03/049248A discloses a method for which exceeding the power demand of the electricity supplier leads to disconnection of certain electrical equipment previously determined by the customer in order to reduce the energy consumption of the electricity supply. power demand at the supplier, regardless of the electrical power consumed by the said customer.

However, this method has the disadvantage of leading to the disconnection of electrical equipment from a customer who has respected the power limits consumed by him.

However, in particular because of the deregulation of the electricity market and the need for operators to monitor more and more precisely the parameters related to the electricity consumption delivered to customers, several measurement devices and / or Real-time recording of this electrical power consumed at every moment has been proposed.

For example, the patent WO 96/10313 explains a communication architecture between the customer and his electricity supplier in order to allow remote reading of the customer's consumption data and this at the request of the electricity supplier.

So, using such an architecture, it would be theoretically possible for the electricity supplier to ^f initiate a remote reading query to retrieve data of different customers and identify those in excess of a predetermined level of electric power consumed at every moment.

Such an approach, however, faces many problems.

The electricity supplier must indeed process the data of all its customers simultaneously, which requires considerable computing power and greatly increases the reaction time of the system in the event of an alert.

To avoid the transmission of too many requests simultaneously, the approach proposed in the US2004 / 0093175A1 patent, this time relates to a consumption monitoring apparatus which is connected by known methods to databases remote, for example by means of the Internet network and consumption data relating to the customer can be consulted by the electricity supplier.

The electricity supplier is thus able to determine the electrical power demanded by its customers.

In this way, it can establish from its databases a forecast of the consumption and / or electrical power demanded by its customers.

However, this approach is also not able to effectively solve the initial problem.

Indeed, such a system that makes predictions is not able to cope with unusual and / or unforeseen events, for example climatic variations. brutal, snowfall, etc.

In addition, it does not allow the transmission of messages to customers even when changes in consumption is likely to justify action at these customers.

A transmission of this nature would in any case be inefficient because it would require to establish an individual connection with the possible disconnect devices implanted with all customers.

This leads to a reaction time too long to avoid the adverse consequences of a rapid change in consumption.

In order to obtain a shorter reaction time, a system such as described in patent FR 2,845,846 proposes to follow the consumption data, to memorize the events that may require a reaction (approach of saturation) and to generate messages. alerting remote servers to respond to these problems and not locally at the level of the facilities to be controlled.

However, many disadvantages also appear in this approach.

Indeed, the analysis of the data is made from the data recorded on the remote server and not locally at the electrical installation of the client.

When the number of clients becomes important, the analysis of these data again requires considerable power and calculation time, which again generates a too long response time of the system. In addition, the alert messages are then retransmitted to computers or mobile phones, users of these computers or mobile phones can then act to avoid reaching saturation.

Such an approach obviously does not allow to react quickly even if the situation would require it.

Similarly, for the method described in US Pat. No. 5,569,695 A, the transmission of alert messages to the customer is not intended for the automatic disconnection of electrical equipment from the customer and, on the contrary, requires human action. still, does not allow a great reactivity.

Another method, described in document WO 02/21660A, makes it possible to constitute an identification database of the electrical equipment in operation on the customer's electrical network and to use this database to determine the called power.

Such an approach remains complex and does not reduce preferentially the electrical power consumed in customers who do not meet the predetermined consumption limits.

The present invention makes it possible to solve the problems mentioned above and to control and / or reduce the power consumed at any given moment by a customer or a group of customers in a reactive and efficient manner, that is to say in a fast manner and thus to avoid for the electricity supplier to have to provide means of production and / or transport sized to cope with peak consumption under threat of risk of serious disturbances networks or even cut It also makes it possible to subscribe to customers contracts adapted not only in terms of the electrical power that can be consumed, but also in terms of the evolution of this power as a function of time, hereinafter referred to as the reference profile.

For this purpose a method according to the invention comprises the following steps:

we place at the electricity supplier in a manner known per se:

means for determining the power demanded by a set of its customers,

means for transmitting a message to the client,

-you place at the customer in a manner known per se:

means for measuring and monitoring the electrical power consumed at each instant, the corresponding values being hereinafter referred to as measurement data,

means for disconnecting from the electrical network and reconnecting to the electrical network at least one electrical appliance considered disconnectable, for example non-priority equipment,

means for receiving the message from the electricity supplier,

processing means for reading and treating the measurement data, exploit the message received from the electricity supplier and control the means for disconnecting and reconnecting at least one disconnectable electrical equipment.

and is characterized in that:

at the level of the electricity supplier, it determines the global power demanded on its installations by a set of its customers and when this called power approaches, by exceeding a predetermined first level, the maximum capacity of production or transport of the electricity, so-called saturation situation, the means of transmission are used to transmit an alert message to the client,

-on comparison with the customer, using the processing means, the actual power consumed at a previously defined power, -if the power consumed by a customer is greater than the pre-defined power, so-called overconsumption situation, we send, using the processing means and after receiving the alert message from the electricity supplier, a disconnection order of said at least one device can be disconnected,

when the overall power demanded on the installations of the electricity supplier decreases by moving away from a saturation situation below a second predetermined level, the electricity supplier transmits, using its transmission means at least one end of alert message to the client,

after receiving this end of alert message, the client processing means for which said at least one disconnected switchgear has been disconnected send to the disconnection / reconnection means a reconnection command. In this way, each customer always benefits from the supply of electrical energy for their most important equipment and the electricity supplier reduces the overall power required at every moment.

This eliminates the need to completely disconnect complete groups of clients from the network, allowing for more equitable management of customer outages on the network, thereby resolving the initial problem.

In order to compensate for the inconvenience suffered, the customer authorizing such manipulation on his installation may, in return, benefit for example from a contract with his electricity supplier at a preferential rate, as was already the case for the ejp rate.

In addition, the consequences of disconnections in the saturation period of the electricity supplier and overconsumption of the customer are much less harmful than in the prior art, insofar as the latter himself chose the non-priority equipment he agreed in advance to see disconnected.

In preferred embodiments, one and / or the other of the following provisions is used:

When the alert or end of alert message is sent to several clients of all the clients, it is transmitted simultaneously to the clients,

when the warning or end of alert message is transmitted to several clients of all the clients, it is transmitted at times offset in time to the customers, the first predetermined level corresponds to a situation in which the provider is in maximum capacity of production or transmission of electricity, the evolution of the power as a function of time, previously defined, constituting the reference profile is stored in a memory at the client, the memory is of the rewritable type, the reference profile is determined according to the powers subscribed by the customer to the electricity supplier,

The reference profile is downloaded to the memory, the second predetermined level is substantially equal to the first predetermined level,

when the power demand is approaching the saturation situation and when the means for determining the power demand show that this power continues to increase, by passing over a third predetermined level, the so-called dangerous situation, the warning message. transmitted by the electricity supplier is a priority alert message and the customer processing means send disconnection orders to said at least one apparatus that can be disconnected even if the power consumed by the customer is less than the power previously defined ,

when the overall power demanded on the installations of the electricity supplier decreases while passing, below a fourth predetermined level, from the dangerous situation, the electricity supplier transmits, using its means of transmission, at least one end-of-priority message to the client, -the fourth predetermined level is substantially equal to the third predetermined level, -after receiving this priority end-of-priority message, the client processing means for which said unless a disconnected switchgear has been disconnected send to the disconnection / reconnection means a reconnection command, -the power transmission network is used itself. even to convey the message,

In the case above, the carrier currents are used locally to transmit the alert message, the end of alert message, the end of priority alert message and / or the end of priority alert message,

A telephone line is used to transmit the alert message, the end of the alert message, the end of priority alert message and / or the end of priority alert message, the alert message is transmitted; end of alert, the message of end of priority alert and / or the message of end of priority alert using a radio wave, -on transmits the alert message, end of alert, the priority warning message and / or the priority warning message using an xDSL internet connection, -the alert, the end of alert, the priority alert and the end of alert messages priority alert are transmitted automatically, when the end of alarm messages are transmitted to several clients, they are transmitted at times offset in time,

The offset in time follows a random law, the offset in time is defined by a sequential algorithm, at the customer, after receiving an end of alert message, the processing means are arranged to reconnect the apparatuses being disconnectable at predetermined times, if the customer has several devices that can be disconnected, -the customer, after receiving a priority alert message, the processing means are arranged to reconnect the equipment can be disconnected at predetermined times, if the customer has several devices that can be disconnected, the time offset is defined by a pre-established algorithm, - places at the customer means to transmit messages to the electricity supplier.

The invention also relates to devices for implementing a method as described above, these devices comprising:

• at the electricity supplier in a manner known per se:

means for determining the power demanded by a set of its customers,

means for transmitting a message to the client,

• among customers in a manner known per se:

means for disconnecting the electrical network and reconnecting the electrical network with at least one electrical equipment that can be disconnected, ie not a priority, means for receiving messages from the electricity supplier,

means for reading and processing the measurement data, for operating the messages received from the electricity supplier and for controlling the means for disconnecting / reconnecting the at least one disconnectable electrical equipment,

and is characterized in that it comprises:

• at the electricity supplier: Means for generating an alert message to be transmitted by the transmission means to the client when the global power called on its installations by a set of clients approaches that leading to saturation, exceeding a first level predetermined,

means for producing an end-of-alert message to be transmitted by the transmission means to the customer when the overall power demanded on the electricity supplier's installations decreases while moving away, passing below a second predetermined level, of the saturation situation,

• among customers:

Means for memorizing a previously defined power,

Means for comparing the power consumed with the power defined previously,

Means for generating a disconnection order of said at least one disconnected apparatus and sending this order to the disconnection / reconnection means, after receiving an alert message from the service provider; electricity when the power consumed is greater than the power previously defined, means for generating a reconnection order of said at least one device that can be disconnected and sending this order to the disconnection / reconnection means, after reception the end of alert message.

• at the electricity supplier: the transmission means are arranged to transmit a message simultaneously to several clients, the transmission means are arranged to transmit a message at times offset in time to several clients,

the first predetermined level corresponds to a situation in which the electricity supplier is in maximum capacity of production or transmission of electricity,

the second predetermined level is substantially equal to the first predetermined level,

-Means are provided to allow the development and sending by the electricity supplier of a priority alert message when the called power approach, passing over a predetermined third level, the maximum capacity of production or transmission of electricity, a so-called dangerous situation, means are provided to allow the elaboration and sending by the electricity supplier of a message of end of priority alert when the called power goes away passing through a fourth predetermined level, the fourth predetermined level is substantially equal to the third predetermined level,

-Means are provided to enable the transmission of messages using the electricity transmission network, -the above means using the carrier currents, -means are provided to allow the transmission of messages by telephone line,

means are provided to enable messages to be transmitted by means of a radio wave,

-Means are provided to allow the transmission of messages to customers using an xDSL internet link, -the transmission means are arranged to transmit automatically, the alert message, the message priority alert, the end of alert message and / or the end of priority alert message,

the transmission means are arranged to transmit at different times an end of alert message to several clients,

according to the preceding arrangement, the different instants have been predetermined,

according to the arrangement that precedes the preceding, the means operate according to a predetermined algorithm, means are provided to enable transmission at different times of the messages of end of priority alert to the client when the overall power called on the facilities of the supplier of electricity departs significantly, passing below a fourth predetermined level, from that leading to saturation,

according to the arrangement preceding the preceding one, the different times have been predetermined,

according to the arrangement which precedes the preceding, the means operate according to a pre-established algorithm, according to the preceding arrangement, the algorithm introduces a random interval between the successive instants.

• at the customer's:

storage means are arranged to store a reference profile representing the evolution of the power consumed as a function of time by the customer as agreed with the latter, downloading means are provided to transfer the reference profile in the means of memorizing the client,

-according to the preceding provision, these means are activated according to the powers subscribed by the customer from the electricity supplier, -means of developing the reference profile are provided that use the previous measurements of customer's consumption,

-Means are provided to allow the development of a disconnection order of the at least one equipment that can be disconnected and sending this order to the disconnection / reconnection means after receiving a priority alert message from of the electricity supplier even if the power consumed is below the previously defined power, means are provided to reconnect in a deferred manner in time according to a pre-established algorithm devices that can be disconnected if the customer has several devices that can be disconnected , the algorithm defines the different instants taking into account the nature of the disconnected devices and their time of return to the normal operational state,

means are provided to enable the transmission of messages to the electricity supplier.

The invention includes, apart from these main provisions, certain other provisions which are preferably used at the same time and which will be discussed below.

In the following, we will describe some preferred embodiments of the invention with reference to the accompanying figures in a manner of course not limiting.

On the drawings,

Figure 1 is a schematic view of an installation for implementing the method according to the invention, in which an electricity supplier 1 has an electric power generator 11 and means 12 for transmitting messages to customers , 2 is the electricity transmission network to a customer whose the electrical installation 3 possibly comprises an input differential circuit breaker 31, a set of equipment 30 that consumes electricity and means 32 for conveying electricity to these apparatuses which comprise priority and non-priority apparatuses 42.

The priority equipment 45 connected to the installation of a customer are for example low ceiling lights, computers or a refrigerator.

The non-priority or disconnectable apparatuses 42 are, for example, electric radiators with inertia, machines, high power luminaires, hot water tanks, air conditioning systems, possibly at two levels (very cold and simple comfort), etc.

These non-priority devices, for example 421, 422, 423 are connected to the electrical network through a set 40 of disconnection and reconnection means 401, 402, 403 respectively.

These disconnection and reconnection means 40 may be located for example at a central electrical panel located near the input 31 of the electrical installation.

In another embodiment, the disconnection and reconnection means 40 are located near non-priority electrical equipment which they disconnect / reconnect the electrical network.

The computing unit 41, for example a microprocessor or a signal processing processor (DSP) or a dedicated electronic circuit, itself classified as an apparatus priority, control consumption through measuring instruments each consisting of a sensor, for example 431a and its associated electronic circuit, for example 431b and records the measurement data in a subset 44a of the memory 44 whose computing unit 41 can exploit the contents, computing unit 41 can also exploit messages received by receiving means 46 and from transmission means 12 and send disconnection and reconnection commands to means 401, 402 , 403, etc.

The memory 44 contains in a subset 44b, a set of data developed by the computing unit 41 from data meusre and / or data from the electricity supplier.

The two subsets 44a and 44b can be made in software, the computing unit 41 then accessing memory spaces that are distinct from the memory 44 by using, for example, non-volatile memories of FLASH and / or EEPROM type and / or using volatile technologies of SRAM and / or SDRAM electronic circuits.

The two subassemblies 44a and 44b can also be made in a hardware manner, the computing unit 41 then accessing different electronic circuits, for example using non-volatile memories of FLASH and / or EEPROM type and / or using volatile memories of SRAM and / or SDRAM electronic circuits.

By way of non-limiting example, the routing means 32 may be the four electrical wires of a three-phase installation comprising the neutral and three phases, or the three electrical wires of the installations for which the neutral is not connected. In the case of an installation with neutral and three phases, there are four sensors 430a, 431a, 432a, 433a, which may be simple clamps ammetric when the method according to the invention is applied to an existing installation.

On the other hand, if the method implements specifically adapted devices, these sensors can be directly incorporated in the routing means, for example in the form of magnetic toroids, devices for measuring magnetic fields induced by the currents flowing in these means. routing or by any other known method.

Similarly, in another embodiment, the electrical consumption of the installation can be evaluated by means of an optical sensor observing the rotation of the wheel of the electric meter and by determining the frequency of passage of a mark in front of the sensor thus determine the electrical power consumed.

In the case of ammeter clamps 430a, 431a, 432a, 433a, a voltage or intensity depending on the intensity traversed in each of the son 32 is sent to its associated electronic circuit respectively 430b, 431b, 432b, 433b.

The electronic circuits 430b, 431b, 432b, 433b may include analog or digital inputs.

The electronic circuits 430b, 431b, 432b, 433b may comprise analog / digital converters so as to transform the voltages or currents delivered by the sensors 430a, 431a, 432a, 433a into a digital value which can be processed by the computing unit 41. To reduce the size of the system, it is advantageous, without this being necessary, to place this computing unit 41 on an electronic card also comprising the electronic circuits 430b, 431b, 432b, 433b.

In some embodiments, the computing unit 41 and the memory 44 may be merged.

Similarly, the unit 41 may itself include at least one analog / digital converter.

Advantageously, the data relating to the electrical power consumed by the electrical installation 30 are recorded at regular intervals, in the memory 44a: in this way, the computing unit 41 can at any time compare the electrical power consumed with values previously stored during identical time periods.

The reference profile can be defined when defining the powers subscribed by the customer from the electricity supplier and transferred to the memory, either by a local intervention of a representative of the electricity supplier or the customer himself for example by using a memory on a bus type USB.

In this case, an interface is provided to allow the computing unit 41 to access the contents of this memory.

The reference profile can also be transferred to memory by downloading using the transmission means provided by the electricity supplier and the receiving means at the customer.

The reference profile can also be defined by the electricity supplier using data from forecast consumption provided by the customer.

It can also be modified to take into account events outside the customer.

In both cases above, it can be transferred to the memory as previously indicated.

It is particularly interesting to store the reference profile in the memory at the customer in order to avoid overloading the electricity supplier who has many customers to manage.

By comparing the data from the electronic circuits 430b, 431b, 432b, 433b, called measurement data and data stored in the memory 44, the calculation unit 41 determines whether the installation is overconsumption with respect to its reference profile. or not.

Interfaces 401, 402, 403, etc. of the assembly 40 are also connected to the computing unit 41, by any of the known means of sending data, such that, without this being exhaustive: carrier currents, dedicated electrical wires, electromagnetic wave, Bluetooth protocol, infrared, telephone line, Euridis bus, xDSL, etc.

When the electrical power consumed is less than that defined in the reference profile, the apparatus of the assembly 42 are directly connected to the son 32 by these interfaces.

The calculation unit 41 is also connected to a system 46 for receiving warning messages from the electricity supplier. This system 46 may for example be a radio frequency receiver, a satellite decoder or when the message is directly transmitted by the electrical network 2, a decoding device by carrier currents or Euridis bus.

In some cases, this system may also consist of an xDSL terminal or any other modem connected to the Internet via a telephone line or a wireless transmission network.

In this case, the computing unit 41 can also use the means 46 and the Internet network to transmit messages to the electricity supplier.

Figure 2 is an overall view describing more precisely the method according to the invention.

Saturation is the situation in which the electrical power demanded from an electricity supplier approaches the maximum power that can be produced or transported.

When the overall power called evolves from a normal situation 50, ie less than that corresponding to the saturation, to a situation 51 corresponding to a predetermined first level and for which this called power approaches the saturation, the electricity supplier develops and transmits 100 alert messages to customers.

The normal situation of a customer is that for which no apparatus has been disconnected.

After receiving the alert message 100 from the electricity supplier, the computing unit 41 compares the power consumed to that defined in the reference profile stored in a subset 44b of the memory 44 and if this power corresponds to a situation of overconsumption 63, which constitutes a second customer disconnection condition, this computing unit sends a disconnection order 200 means 40, which results in a disconnection of non-priority equipment 42 of the customer.

The transmission of alert messages 100 from the electricity supplier to all the customers makes it possible to significantly reduce the overall power demand and this with a short response time.

Thus, the electricity supplier's installations are moving away from the situation of saturation 51 which can make it possible to avoid the constraints and risks associated with consumption peaks.

In the case where the disconnection of non-priority equipment made from overconsumption customers alone is not sufficient to remove the electricity supplier from the saturation situation 51 or if the situation continues to evolve to a dangerous situation 52 corresponding to a third level predetermined, the electricity supplier develops and then transmits a priority alert message 101.

After receiving this priority warning message, the client installations switch to the situation 62 for which the computing unit sends a disconnection order 201 to the means 40, which has the consequence that the non-priority apparatuses are disconnected, even for customers for whom the power consumed was not greater than that defined by the reference profile. The transmission of such priority messages 101 from the electricity supplier to all the customers thus makes it possible to significantly reduce the overall power required, and this also with a short response time.

This strongly limits the harmful consequences associated with consumption peaks.

When the called global power changes from a saturation situation 52 to a situation 53 corresponding to a fourth predetermined level, for which this called power is significantly away from the saturation, the electricity supplier draws up and transmits end-of-saturation messages. priority alert 102.

After reception of these messages of end of priority alert, for the installations of the customers who are not in over-consumption, the calculation units send a reconnection command 202 to the means 40, which results in a reconnection of the non-priority apparatus of these clients.

When the called global power changes from a saturation situation 52 to the normal situation 50, for which this called power is significantly away from the saturation corresponding to a predetermined second level, the electricity supplier then generates and transmits messages of end of alert 103.

After receiving this end of alert message 103 from the electricity supplier, the customer computing unit 41 sends a reconnection command 203 to the means 40, which results in a reconnection of the non-priority equipment 42. In a preferred embodiment and in order to avoid for the supplier the strong growth in the overall power required at the time of the reconnection of the non-priority devices at the customers, the end of alert and / or end of alert messages priority are not transmitted simultaneously to different customers but at different times.

Various algorithms can be used to determine these moments, for example by generating random or predetermined delays.

In another preferred embodiment in order to avoid in the customers a strong growth of the power consumed during the reconnection of the non-priority apparatus, the computing units 41 do not send the reconnection orders simultaneously.

Various algorithms can be used to determine the instants of reconnection of non-priority devices, for example by generating predetermined delays.

In such an embodiment, the delays introduced for the different reconnections are predetermined to take into account the nature of non-priority devices.

In such an embodiment, the interval between the reconnection orders can be set as corresponding for example substantially to the normal reset time of one of the disconnected switchgear.

For example, when the hot water tank has been disconnected and then reconnected this time can correspond substantially to the duration of the desired temperature setting by the client of the water of said balloon.

Thus, the present invention makes it possible not to disconnect the clients respecting their profile. reference and in the case of disconnection of customers exceeding their reference profile, disconnect only the equipment chosen by the customer in question.

It goes without saying, and as it follows from the foregoing, the invention is not limited to the particular embodiments which have just been described; on the contrary, it embraces all variants.

Claims

1) A method for controlling and / or reducing the power consumed by a customer of a set of customers of an electricity supplier, the method comprising the following steps:

- we place at the electricity supplier:

Means for determining the overall power required by all its customers,

transmission means for transmitting a message to the client,

The electricity supplier determines a global power called on its installations by said set of its customers and when this overall power approaches a predetermined first level, it transmits an alert message to the customer,

when the overall power demanded on the electricity supplier's installations decreases below a second predetermined level, the electricity supplier transmits, using its means of transmission, an end-of-alert message to the customer,

- we place at the customer's:

means for measuring and monitoring the electrical power consumed over time and providing corresponding measurement data,

means for disconnecting from the electrical network and reconnecting to the electrical network at least one electrical equipment considered as being able to to be disconnected,

-means to receive the message of the ¹ electricity supplier,

processing means for reading and processing the measurement data, exploiting the message received from the electricity supplier and controlling the means for disconnecting and reconnecting said at least one disconnectable electrical equipment,

the method being characterized in that:

a power profile as a function of time, said reference profile is stored in memory means,

the client's processing means compare the power consumed with the power defined in the reference profile,

if the power consumed by the customer is greater than the power defined in the reference profile, the customer's processing means send, after reception of the alert message from the electricity supplier, a disconnection order of said at least one an apparatus that can be disconnected, - after receiving the end of alert message, the client processing means for which said at least one disconnected switchgear has been disconnected send to the disconnection / reconnection means a reconnection command.

2) Method according to claim 1 characterized in that when the alert or end of alert message is sent to several customers of all customers, it is transmitted simultaneously to customers.

3) Method according to claim 1 characterized in that when the warning or end of alert message is transmitted to several clients of all the clients, it is transmitted at times offset in time.

4) Process according to any one of claims 1 to 3 characterized in that the first predetermined level corresponds to a situation in which the supplier is in maximum capacity of production or transport of electricity.

5) Method according to claim 1 characterized in that the evolution of the power as a function of time, previously defined, constituting the reference profile, is stored in a memory at the customer.

6) Process according to claim 5 characterized in that the memory is of the rewritable type.

7) Method according to claim 1 characterized in that the reference profile is determined according to the powers subscribed by the customer from the electricity supplier.

8) Method according to one of claims 5 to 7 characterized in that the reference profile is downloaded to the storage means.

9) Method according to any one of the preceding claims characterized in that the second predetermined level is substantially equal to the first predetermined level.

10) Method according to any one of the preceding claims characterized in that when the means for determining the overall power determine that the overall power passes above a third level predetermined, the electricity supplier uses the transmission means to transmit a priority alert message and the client processing means send a disconnection order of the at least one disconnectable equipment even if the power consumed by the customer is less to the previously defined power.

11) A method according to claim 10 characterized in that when the overall power called on the facilities of the electricity supplier decreases below a fourth predetermined level, the electricity supplier transmits, using its transmission means, at least a message of end of priority alert towards the customer.

12) The method of claim 11 characterized in that the fourth predetermined level is substantially equal to the third predetermined level.

13) A method according to claim 11 characterized in that after receiving the priority alert message, the client processing means for which said at least one disconnected switchgear has been disconnected send to the disconnection / reconnection means a reconnection order if the power consumed by the customer is less than the previously defined power.

14) Method according to any one of the preceding claims characterized in that one uses the electricity transport network itself to transmit the messages sent by the supplier.

15) Method according to claim 14 characterized in that the carrier currents are used locally to transmit the messages sent by the supplier. 16) Method according to any one of claims 1 to 13 characterized in that a telephone line is used to transmit the messages sent by the provider.

17) Method according to any one of claims 1 to 13 characterized in that transmits the messages sent by the supplier using a radio wave.

18) Method according to any one of claims 1 to 13 characterized in that transmits the messages sent by the provider using an xDSL Internet connection.

19) Method according to any one of the preceding claims characterized in that the messages sent by the provider are automatically transmitted.

20) Method according to any one of claims 11 to

Characterized in that when the priority alert or end of alert message is transmitted to several clients, it is transmitted at times offset in time.

21) Method according to any one of claims 3 or

Characterized in that the lag in time follows a random law.

22) Method according to any one of claims 3 or 20 characterized in that the shift in time is defined by a sequential algorithm.

23) A method according to any one of the preceding claims characterized in that at the customer, after receiving the end of alert message and if the customer has several devices that can be disconnected, the processing means reconnect devices that can be disconnected to predetermined moments. 24) A method according to claim 13 characterized in that in the customers, after receiving a priority warning message and if the customer has several devices that can be disconnected, the processing means reconnect devices that can be disconnected to predetermined moments.

25) Method according to any one of claims 23 or 24 characterized in that the offset in time is defined by a pre-established algorithm.

26) Method according to any one of the preceding claims, characterized in that places in the customer means for transmitting messages to the electricity supplier.

27) Customer device for controlling and / or reducing the power consumed by a customer of an electricity supplier, characterized in that it comprises:

means for measuring and monitoring the electrical power consumed over time to provide corresponding measurement data; means for disconnecting the electrical network and reconnecting the electrical network with at least one electrical equipment considered as being able to be offline,

means for receiving messages from the electricity supplier,

means for reading and processing the measurement data, for operating messages received from the electricity and control supplier,

means for memorizing a predefined reference profile of power as a function of time,

means for comparing the power consumed with the power defined by the reference profile,

means for generating a disconnection or reconnection order of said at least one disconnectable switchgear, the generating means being arranged to develop a disconnect command and to send that command to the disconnection / reconnection means when both conditions are met:

-A warning message from the electricity supplier has been received,

The power consumed by the customer is greater than the power defined in the reference profile,

The manufacturing means being arranged to develop a reconnection order of said at least one disconnectable switchgear and to send this command to the disconnection / reconnection means when an end of alert message from the electricity supplier was received.

28) Device according to claim 27 characterized in that means are provided for locally entering the reference profile in the storage means.

29) Device according to claim 27 characterized in that downloading means are provided for transferring the reference profile in the storage means.

30) Device according to claim 27 characterized in that the reference profile is entered in the storage means according to the powers subscribed by the customer from the electricity supplier.

31) Device according to claim 27 characterized in that the reference profile is entered in the storage means according to the previous measurements of customer's consumption.

32) Device according to any one of claims 27 to 31 characterized in that, the reconnection means are arranged to reconnect the disconnectable devices, if the customer has several devices that can be disconnected, at predetermined times.

33) Device according to any one of claims 27 to 31 characterized in that the reconnection means are arranged to operate according to a preset algorithm.

34) Device according to claim 33 characterized in that the algorithm defines the different times by taking into account the nature of disconnected equipment and their time back to the normal operating state.

35) Device according to any one of claims 27 to 34 characterized in that means are provided to allow the transmission of messages to the electricity supplier.

36) Provider device for controlling and / or reducing the power consumed by a customer of an electricity supplier comprising:

means for determining the overall power demanded on the installations of the electricity supplier by a set of its customers; means for preparing a warning message, these means of elaboration being arranged to develop such a device; an alert message when the called global power exceeds a first predetermined level,

means for generating an end-of-alert message, these means being arranged to produce such an end-of-alert message to the client when the overall power called on the facilities of the electricity supplier passes below a second predetermined level, - means for transmitting alert messages or end of alert to the customer, the device being characterized in that it further comprises means for defining, transmitting and downloading to each client a reference profile.

37) Device according to claim 36 characterized in that the transmission means are arranged to transmit the alert messages and end of alert simultaneously to several customers.

38) Device according to claim 36 characterized in that the transmission means are arranged to transmit the alert and end of alert messages at times offset in time to several clients.

39) Device according to any one of claims 36 to 38 characterized in that the first predetermined level corresponds to a situation in which the supplier is in maximum capacity of production or transport of electricity.

40) Device according to any one of claims 36 to 39 characterized in that the second predetermined level is substantially equal to the first predetermined level.

41) Apparatus according to any one of claims 36 to 42 characterized in that means for producing are arranged to develop a priority alert message when the power demand passes above a third predetermined level.

42) Device according to any one of claims 36 to 41, characterized in that means for producing are arranged to develop a priority clear message when the called power falls below a fourth predetermined level.

43) Device according to claim 42 characterized in that the fourth level is substantially equal to the third level.

44) Device according to any one of claims 36 to 43 characterized in that the transmission and downloading means are arranged to allow the transmission of messages using the electricity transmission network.

45) Device according to claim 44 characterized in that the transmission and downloading means are arranged to use the carrier currents.

46) Device according to any one of claims 36 to 43 characterized in that the transmission and downloading means are arranged to use telephone lines.

47) Device according to any one of claims 36 to 43 characterized in that the transmission and downloading means are arranged to use radio waves.

48) Device according to any one of claims 36 to 43 characterized in that the transmission and downloading means are arranged to use xDSL Internet links.

49) Device according to any one of claims 36 to 48 characterized in that the transmission and downloading means are arranged to automatically transmit the messages. 50) Device according to any one of claims 36 to 49 characterized in that the transmission and downloading means are arranged to transmit at different times their messages to several clients.

51) Device according to claim 50 characterized in that the different times have been predetermined.

52) Device according to claim 50 characterized in that the transmission and downloading means are arranged to operate according to a preset algorithm.

53) Device according to claim 50 characterized in that the algorithm introduces a random interval between the successive instants.

54) System for controlling and / or reducing the power consumed by a customer of an electricity supplier, the system being characterized in that it comprises at least one customer device according to any one of claims 27 to And a supplier device according to any one of claims 36 to 53.