Methods, apparatus, computer readable data and signals for facilitating the supply of a utility provided to a consumer site by a plurality of providers and/or retailers and differentiation are disclosed. In one embodiment, each provider produces a representation of a utility and the provider that reveals: specification of the provider, quality and quantity standards, live real time price, rules of usage, and reliability of the provider and grade of the product. In one embodiment, each consumer inputs consumer preferences and parameters related to selecting utility providers. In one embodiment, rules for regulating usage of a utility are provided by regulatory authorities. In one embodiment, real time capacity information related to the distribution and transmission of a utility is provided by transmission authorities. In one embodiment, all the consumer preference information and rule information and capacity information is received and processed in real time to automatically select a preferred utility provider.
