Tokyo, October 7, 2020 – Enel X Japan, the country’s leading independent aggregator in demand response services, was awarded over 1 GW of demand response in Japan’s capacity market for 2024, the market’s inaugural year. The successful auction result gave Enel X more than 25% of the new market’s demand response capacity.
Ushio Okuyama, Head of Enel X Japan, said: “We are proud to build on our strong foundation of offering demand response services to Japan’s national electricity grid. As the country’s leader in demand response services, we are promoting these resources as a cost-effective alternative to traditional generation, which is also key to supporting grid integration of renewables. Looking ahead, with demand response participating in Japan’s capacity market from its inaugural year, we expect an ever-growing role for these services in the country’s power markets.”
With its real-time flexibility platform, Enel X is able to optimize the use of demand response resources across all areas of Japan’s rapidly evolving power market. In Japan, EnelX is currently the leading independent provider of ‘1-dash’ reserves, a demand response program based on annual tenders that is in place until the capacity market comes into effect. In addition, Enel X recently secured its membership on the Japan Electric Power Exchange (JEPX), the country’s wholesaleelectricity trading market, enabling it to bid demand response into the electricity market on a day-ahead or intraday basis.
With its market-leading platform, comprised of more than 200MW in the ‘1-dash’ program, alongside more than 1 GW just awarded on the capacity market, Enel X manages a significant Virtual Power Plant aimed at helping to stabilize the country’s electricity grid. The company is therefore well-positioned to help Japanese businesses maximize the value they can access from actively participating in the country’s power market. With their participation, qualifying businesses earn a new revenue stream that can improve their profitability, while also supporting the integration of renewables. Enel X’s current customer portfolio spans many business sectors, including heavy industry, manufacturing, information technology, logistics and commercial properties.
Japan’s capacity market is designed to procure the power capacity needed in order to maintain the country’s security of supply. Capacity is procured through a four-year forward auction, where demand response alongside other technologies can participate.
Enel X is leading the transition toward a sustainable energy future, with a focus on circular economy. Enel X was one of the first businesses to offer products that apply the principles of circular economy and supports businesses to do the same. Demand Response is a key service in which circular economy principles are met, due to its design that uses two of the business models of the circular economy: Sustainable inputs and Sharing Platforms. By joining Demand Response programs, commercial and industrial businesses can participate in the electricity market and be compensated for modifying their energy consumption to respond to the peaks in the electrical supply or demand, while contributing to the global decarbonization.
