Method and System for Unusual Usage Reporting

A computer-implemented method of reducing a usage or cost of a commodity by reporting to consumers of unusual usage of the commodity, wherein the unusual usage is by a consumer during a current billing period, and wherein the current billing period is incomplete, the computer-implemented method comprising:

• retrieving a usage-information dataset corresponding to the usage of the commodity by the consumer, the usage-information dataset including past usage of the commodity during at least one of a completed billing period and a usage of the commodity during a completed portion of the billing period;
• retrieving a cost-rate dataset for the current billing period;
• establishing a plurality of a report-trigger conditions for the current billing period, each report-trigger condition based at least in part from the past usage in the usage-information dataset and the cost-rate dataset,
• determining, for each consumer, whether an estimated cost for the current billing period fulfills the report-trigger condition for a respective consumer, and if the estimated cost for the current billing period fulfills the report-trigger condition being fulfilled, outputting an report to the consumer,
• wherein the estimated cost for the current billing period is determined from the cost-rate dataset and an estimated usage for the current billing period, the estimated usage for the current billing period being determined based at least in part on the usage for the completed portion of the current billing period and a forecast of the usage for a remaining portion of the current billing period.

A computer program product, which is stored on a machine-readable medium, or computer data signal, embodied by an electromagnetic wave, comprising program code for carrying out a method of reducing a usage or cost of a commodity by reporting to consumers of unusual usage of the commodity, wherein the unusual usage is by a consumer during a current billing period, and wherein the current billing period is incomplete, the computer program product comprising:

• computer code to retrieve a plurality of usage-information datasets, each dataset corresponding to usage of the commodity by a consumer, each usage-information dataset including past usage of the commodity during at least one of a completed billing period and an completed portion of the current billing period;
• computer code to establish a plurality of report-trigger conditions for the current billing period, each report-trigger condition corresponding to each consumer and based at least in part on the past usage in the usage-information dataset;
• and
• computer code to determine, for each consumer, whether an estimated usage established for each consumer for a remaining portion of the current billing period fulfills the report-trigger condition for the respective consumer and, if the estimated usage fulfills the report-trigger condition, outputting a report to the consumer,
• wherein the estimated usage is determined based at least in part on usage for the completed portion of the current billing period and a forecast of the usage for the remaining portion of the current billing period.

A system comprising:

• a memory configured to store usage data associated to a commodity, the usage data includes, in part, a usage-information dataset corresponding to usage of the commodity by a plurality of consumers, the usage-information includes, in part, past usage-information of the commodity during at least one of completed billing period and a current usage of the commodity during a current incomplete billing period;
• a communication port configured to transmit report data to a plurality of consumers;
• a control program configured to
• control the memory and communication port;
• retrieve the usage-information dataset for a consumer,
• establish a report-trigger condition for the current billing period for the consumer, the report-trigger condition based at least in part from the past usage in the usage-information dataset,
• determine, for each consumer, an estimated usage for the current billing period based at least on usage for a completed portion of the current billing period and a forecast of usage for a remaining portion of the current billing period;
• and
• continuously determine whether the estimated usage fulfills the report-trigger condition for each respective consumer;
• and if the estimated usage fulfills the report-trigger condition, outputting a report to the consumer through the communication port.