Demand Response Service for Households, SMAP DR, Expands as a Solution to the Tight Power Supply and Demand Now Available at Tokyo Gas, Japan’s No. 1 Supplier of New Electricity

ENECHANGE Ltd. (Head Office: Chiyoda-ku, Tokyo; Representative Director & CEO: Yohei Kiguchi; Representative Director & COO: Ippei Arita) is pleased to announce that its demand response service for households, SMAP DR, serviced by its UK subsidiary SMAP ENERGY Ltd. (Head Office: London, UK; CEO: Yohei Kiguchi), will be adopted by Tokyo Gas Co., Ltd. (Head office: Minato-ku, Tokyo; Representative Director, President : Takashi Uchida).

Background

In order to realize a carbon-free society, flexible adjustment of supply and demand in tandem with widespread implementation of renewable energies and demand response (DR) is critical. DR is attracting growing interest as a way to reduce demand rather than increase power generation in times of tight power and supply demand. As thermal power plants are being phased out, the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry has forecast that there will be a tightening of the supply and demand for electricity in the summer and winter of 2021. Energy companies have been urged to devise methods to provide stable services, and consumers have been called upon to save electricity. As a result, DR is proving to be of interest not only to companies, but also to households.

The current initiative

Tokyo Gas is the No. 1 seller of electricity amongst new energy companies (*January 2021 actual figures) and holds 2.74 million electricity subscriptions (*as of April 2021), and has adopted SMAP DR for its Summer Energy Saving Campaign. In this campaign, Tokyo Gas and its electricity subscribers will utilize SMAP DR to cooperate to save electricity. In response to a request from Tokyo Gas, subscribers will be awarded points according to the amount of electricity saved, which will be returned to them in the form of Pacho Points*. The campaign will be announced on Tuesday, July 20, and will run for about a month from Tuesday, August 24 to Thursday, September 30. Approximately 100,000 households are expected to participate.

*Pacho point is for Tokyo Gas users. By using various Tokyo Gas services and participating in campaigns, you can accumulate “Patcho Points”, which can be exchanged for partner points.

Tokyo Gas Summer Energy Saving Campaign -ad

About SMAP DR

SMAP DR is a service that encourages households to shift their peak power consumption by utilizing electricity data obtained by digital smart meters. Through this, it seeks to alleviate the power supply-demand imbalance through the cooperation of participants in saving electricity. There are two types of DR services available: Behavioral change type DR, which encourages participants to voluntarily save electricity, and Smart device DR, which remotely controls home appliances connected to smart devices. The SMAP DR adopted by Tokyo Gas for this initiative is the behavioral change DR. The time of day when power-saving is most beneficial will be set by designating a predetermined threshold and a specific time period, based on the next day’s area price published on the electricity market (JEPX) the day prior. Participants will be rewarded according to the amount of electricity they have shifted from their individual standard power usage.

About ENECHANGE Ltd.

ENECHANGE is an energy technology company that promotes a carbon-free society through digital technology with the mission of CHANGING ENERGY FOR A BETTER WORLD. We offer services based on data utilization in the field of the 4 Ds of Energy: Deregulation, Digitalization, Decarbonization, and Decentralization. Our company’s roots come from an energy data lab at the University of Cambridge, UK, a country where liberalization is well advanced. ENECHANGE has a British subsidiary, SMAP Energy Limited, as well as a global network and analytical technology for energy data.

URL: https://enechange.co.jp/en/

For inquiries
ENECHANGE Ltd.
Mail: pr@enechange.co.jp