erex and Informetis Collaborate to Develop New Functions for DR Support Services
erex Co., Ltd
Informetis Co., Ltd.
erex and Informetis Collaborate to Develop New Functions
for DR Support Services
Starting Development of New Functions to Realize
Demand Response for the “Capacity Market”
～ Aiming to Simultaneously Realize Countermeasures Against Soaring Energy Prices,
Stable Power Supply, and a De-carbonized Society ～
erex Co., Ltd. (Head Office: Chuo-Ward, Tokyo; Representative Director and President: Hitoshi Honna; hereinafter referred to as “erex”), which operates energy businesses in Japan and internationally with a mission of de-carbonization, collaborates with Informetis Co., Ltd. (Head Office: Minato-Ward, Tokyo; Representative Director: Taro Tadano; hereinafter referred to as “Informetis”), which provides “BridgeLAB DR”, a cloud-based demand response support service, to develop new functions that will enable electric power retailers to easily perform demand response (*1) on the cloud for the Capacity Market that will start in April 2024.
*1 Demand response is a program in which electric power retailers and others encourage customers to save electric power by discounting electric power rates or by awarding points to customers who save electric power when the supply and demand of electric power is tight. This initiative has the effect of adjusting the supply-demand balance of electric power and contributes to the realization of stable power supply.
Background and Purpose of Collaboration
In October 2020, the Japanese government declared its goal of becoming carbon neutral, reducing overall greenhouse gas emissions to zero by 2050. By thoroughly promoting the use of renewable energy as the main source of power and encouraging its introduction, the government expects that renewable energy will account for 36% to 38% of the power source composition by 2030. On the other hand, since the latter half of 2021, the energy supply structure has been changing due to a combination of factors, such as worldwide unseasonable weather, disasters, structural underinvestment in fossil resources, and geopolitical tensions, resulting in a sharp rise in energy prices. In response, electric power rate hikes have had a significant impact on business activities and household budgets.
Under these circumstances, the “Capacity Market” will start in April 2024 to secure in advance the supply capacity that will be needed in the future as one of the means to encourage necessary power source investments. The Capacity Market is a system in which electric power users as a whole share the costs (capacity contribution)necessary to secure supply capacity through electric power retailers (so-called “electric power companies” that sell electric power). Electric power retailers will be required to take various measures to realize appropriate electric power rates after the start of the Capacity Market.
Through this initiative, erex and Informetis aim to respond to the Capacity Market,to optimize electric power rates through efficient use of electric power (*2), and,in addition,to contribute to the stable power supply in the era of mass introduction of renewable energy.
*2 With the progress of electric power de-regulation, it is expected that the efficient functioning of the market mechanism will result in relatively lower electric power rates for customers who make a large contribution to stable power supply through DR.
Mechanism of Contribution of This Initiative to Electric Power Rates
Upcoming Initiatives
Informetis will promote the development of functions for bidding in the Capacity Market using the activation command power source in the “BridgeLAB DR”, the cloud-based DR support service that it provides. In addition, a function that predicts summer and winter peak demand periods from 2023 onward and automatically activates DR will be developed, further simplifying DR activation and contributing to the sustainable management of electric power retailers and lowering electric power rates for customers. This new function will be provided to erex as the first user.
erex will utilize its business expertise from the early days of electric power deregulation and cooperate in the development of services that will enable easy DR and lead to lower electric power rates for customers in anticipation of the start of the Capacity Market in 2024 and beyond, in order to realize “demand side contribution toward the mass introduction of renewable energy”, “lower rates based on the new electric power market” and “new customer experiences associated with energy use”.
About 「BridgeLAB DR」
“BridgeLAB DR” provided by Informetis is a cloud-based service that easily enables electric power retailers to collect customers’ willingness to participate in DR, to calculate demand adjustments, and to issue reports. It can be started in as little as four weeks, significantly reducing the man-hours involved in DR.
「BridgeLAB DR」 service site:https://dr.bridgelab.app/
Company Profile of erex
erex Co., Ltd.
Location: 14F Kyobashi EDOGRAND, 2-2-1 Kyobashi, Chuo-Ward, Tokyo
Representative: Representative Director and President, Hitoshi Honna
Business: Fuel Business, Power Generation Business, Trading Business, Power Retail Business
Establishment: December 8, 1999
URL: https://www.erex.co.jp/
Company Profile of Informetis
Informetis Co., Ltd.
Location: 4F Mita Building, 5-5-1 Shiba, Minato-Ward, Tokyo
Representative: Representative Director: Taro Tadano
Business: Energy Informatics Business (development and sales of proprietary electricity sensors, data mining, provision of proprietary IoT data platforms and applications to utilize energy data, etc., and creation of new services utilizing energy data, etc.)
Establishment: April 8, 2013
URL: https://www.informetis.com/
* The information in this release is current as of the date of the announcement.
Please note that the information is subject to change without notice.
■ Press Contact
erex Co., Ltd. / IR & PR Department
E-mail: pr.info@erex.co.jp
Informetis Co., Ltd. / Public Relations
E-mail: pr@informetis.com