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.
“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,” said Ushio Okuyama, Head of Enel X Japan.
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, Enel X 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 wholesale electricity 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 211 MW 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.
Demand response programs encourage energy users to adjust their energy consumption in order to help stabilize the grid when requested by the system. Enel X Japan is a subsidiary of Enel X, the Enel Group advanced energy services company holding the leading position among private players in demand response programs globally, with more than 6 GW of capacity currently managed and assigned in the Americas, Europe, Asia and Oceania.