Abstract: The invention provides methods, systems and apparatus for combining aspects of a prepay and post pay utility service billing arrangement. When a customer enrolls in the program with the system, utility service is initiated and a first bill is generated and transmitted; the amount of the first bill is an estimated amount of charges for the service to be provided during a first period. In subsequent billing periods, subsequent bills are generated and transmitted and each includes an estimated amount of charges for the subsequent period as well as a difference between actual and estimated charges for the service during the previous billing period, less any payments received from the customer. Service may be terminated if the customer withdraws from the program, if the customer fails to make timely payments, or for other reasons.

Abstract: The invention provides methods, systems and apparatus for combining aspects of a prepay and post pay utility service billing arrangement. When a customer enrolls in the program with the system, utility service is initiated and a first bill is generated and transmitted; the amount of the first bill is an estimated amount of charges for the service to be provided during a first period. In subsequent billing periods, subsequent bills are generated and transmitted and each includes an estimated amount of charges for the subsequent period as well as a difference between actual and estimated charges for the service during the previous billing period, less any payments received from the customer. Service may be terminated if the customer withdraws from the program, if the customer fails to make timely payments, or for other reasons.

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.

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.