providing electric usage data, other than cost/price billing data for programming in-home systems and appliances which use electricity, for use by customers in the operation of various in-home systems and appliances

electronic transmission of data and information between the customer's home and the electric utility via wiring such as telephone lines, RF broadcasting, and/or the home's electrical wiring connection to the outlast power lines

providing electric utility services which feature variable rate billing, namely, billing electricity customers at a multiple time-based rate using an interactive energy management smart system that allows either the utility or the customer to automatically and remotely control HVAC systems and appliances in response to an electric rate that reflects the utility's varying costs of producing and delivering electricity; providing electric utility services which feature demand-side management services and load-control management using a computer controller which can remotely store electrical usage data and read the customer's meter and consumption as a function of time; providing electric utility services which feature the use of remotely controlled and readable meters which can record electric use at each of a plurality of possible price levels and store a plurality of days of load profile data which may be used by the utility and the customer; providing electric utility services wherein the customer or utility may control electrical power usage to the customer's electric water heater and other major appliances such as pool/spa pumps according to instructions communicated from either the customer or utility via wire and/or radio transmissions