Achieving energy demand response using price signals and a load control transponder

In an electricity supply system by which electricity is supplied by a utility to consumers, a method of controlling a demand response of consumers comprising:

• informing consumers as to a price of electricity, including increases in the price thereof as demand increases, via price signals transmitted from the utility to the consumer over a communications channel available to the consumer;
• a consumer, using means for interpreting the price signals, assessing a desirability of maintaining a selected load level for an appliance installed at a consumer's location and at what level, if any, the consumer wishes to maintain that load level whenever a price increase occurs or a consumer's individual situation changes;
• programming a control device responsive to an input from the utility that a price increase point has been reached at which the consumer wants to change a level of continuing service from that previously selected by the consumer for that price point, the consumer being capable of overriding an output from the control device based on their individual situation so to operate the appliance at a different load level;
• the utility, if an unplanned, critical event occurs that affects the utility's ability to continue to supply electricity to its consumers, being able to reduce a level of energy consumption by the consumer to a consumer's lowest selected level for continuing service, thereby to shed sufficient load on a system to maintain an adequate level of electricity supply for the system;
• and,
• whenever an appliance which is “off” at a start of a critical event is turned “on” during the event, a duty cycle of the appliance is whatever is programmed for the then current status of the utility for the duty cycle to immediately be at less than a 100% duty cycle.