System for controlling power consumption on a distribution grid

A method of controlling power consumption on a portion of a distribution grid, the portion of the grid providing electrical power to a plurality of power-consuming units, the method comprising:

• providing a data set including a previously measured power consumption associated with previously measured values of at least one property, the at least one property being one of voltage, current, frequency or load, or a combination thereof,
• storing one or more rules associating a measured condition with a corrective action associated with one or more of the power-consuming units, and
• wherein the corrective action includes at least one of turning on or off one or more power-consuming units, turning one or more power-consuming units off or on for a pre-determined duration of time and subsequently turning the unit back on or off, respectively, instructing the power-consuming units to reduce or raise their power consumption to alter the value of the at least one property from the first value to the second value;
• measuring the property, or properties, of the grid,
• determining from the previously measured values of the at least one property in the data set an effect of altering the value(s) of the at least one property from a first value to a second value on the power consumption of those consumers,
• determining whether a measurement meets a measured condition of a stored rule, and
• for each triggered rule, communicating instructions to the respective power-consuming units to perform the corrective action associated with the triggered rule,
• wherein a remote control unit is associated with each power-consuming unit, and wherein communicating an instruction to the power-consuming units comprises communicating the instruction to the remote control unit, and the remote control unit taking the required corrective action associated with the power-consuming unit(s).

A power-control device for controlling power consumption on a distribution grid, the grid providing electrical power to a plurality of power-consuming units, the device comprising:

• a data set including a previously measured power consumption associated with previously measured values of at least one property, the at least one property being one of voltage, current, frequency or load, or a combination thereof,
• a measurement device for measuring an at least one property of the grid,
• a processing device to determine from the previously measured values of the at least one property in the data set an effect of altering the value(s) of the at least one property from a first value to a second value on the power consumption of those consumers,
• a storage device for storing one or more rules associating a measured condition with a corrective action associated with one or more of the power-consuming units, and
• wherein the corrective action includes at least one of turning on or off one or more power-consuming units, turning one or more power-consuming units off or on for a pre-determined duration of time and subsequently turning the unit back on or off, respectively, instructing the power-consuming units to reduce or raise their power consumption to alter the value of the at least one property from the first value to the second value;
• a processor determining whether a measurement meets a measured condition of a stored rule, and
• a communication interface communicating instructions to the respective power-consuming units to perform the corrective action associated with the triggered rule, where a triggered rule is determined to have been triggered,
• wherein a remote control unit is associated with each power-consuming unit, and wherein communicating an instruction to the power-consuming units comprises communicating the instruction to the remote control unit, and the remote control unit taking the required corrective action associated with the power-consuming unit(s).