Energy Market Authority carves out new role

It will look at developing industry apart from its regulatory function
Ronnie Lim, Business Times 27 Jul 09;

THE Energy Market Authority - which recently took over development and ownership of the $1 billion-$1.5 billion LNG terminal - has unveiled its new corporate vision, which includes taking on industry development in addition to its present regulatory and operational responsibilities.

Announcing this last Friday, EMA said that its new 'Smart Energy, Sustainable Future' focus reflects 'the need to be smarter about our energy choices, and to work out robust solutions that will endure over time'.

When it was first formed in 2001, EMA's main focus was to liberalise the electricity and gas markets and ensure power system security. This has been largely achieved.

'EMA's mandate today has been broadened to include overseeing the energy market and enabling its growth. EMA will thus take on industry development and promotional functions, in addition to its regulatory and operational responsibilities,' it said on its website.

Its newly announced corporate mission comes just a month after the EMA took over the development of the liquefied natural gas terminal project on June 30 so as to ensure timely and sufficient natural gas supplies for power stations and industries here.

This is because the earlier-appointed project developers Singapore Power subsidiary PowerGas and GDF Suez had found it challenging to develop the Jurong Island project on a commercial basis and on time, amid a slowdown in gas demand and 'more difficult and costly' financing over the past 12 months due to the credit crunch.

The EMA's takeover was to ensure the LNG terminal is completed and operational by 2013, which puts the critical project already a year late.

LNG, which can be shipped in from anywhere in the world, will help supplement current piped gas supplies from neighbouring Indonesia and Malaysia whose own growing economies increasingly need gas for their needs.

EMA has since set up the new Singapore LNG Corporation to drive the LNG terminal, and plans to recruit as many as triple the current 20 staff seconded from PowerGas and also EMA. This will also include foreign LNG talent, which is lacking here, for the project.

Under its new mission statement of forging 'a progressive energy landscape for sustained growth,' EMA said that this includes having a competitive energy market with a sound regulatory framework that encourages investment and prevents the exercise of market power.

It also wants secure energy supplies, and to develop and support R&D efforts to secure Singapore's energy future.