AEMO, the Australian grid regulator, has launched the Wholesale Demand Response Mechanism (WDRM) this week. The Mechanism will enable commercial and industrial players to receive payment for scheduled consumption reductions, under a bidding process. The purpose is to reduce demand at peak times especially during summer, thus reducing the need for reserve capacity. The first customer to sign up is Enel X, which was also the first entrant to Australia’s Frequency Control Ancillary Services (FCAS) market. Enel X is the world’s leading demand response provider and was acquired by Italian electricity and gas provider Enel in 2017, the same year FCAS opened. Enel’s generation assets in Australia are on par with the scale of consumer demand which Enel X has…