Efforts made to address Singapore’s future energy needs

Today Online 27 Oct 15;

SINGAPORE — The Energy Market Authority (EMA) intends to provide more detailed information on Singapore’s long-term energy outlook, and also plans to seek feedback on a proposed land allocation framework for new power plants, said Minister for Trade and Industry (Industry) S Iswaran yesterday.

This will form part of government efforts to support energy investments in Singapore and address most of the country’s future energy needs, the minister said in a speech at the opening of Singapore International Energy Week. The Government also plans to establish a Secondary Gas Trading Market (SGTM) in Singapore, where gas buyers and sellers can trade gas domestically on a short-term basis, to “enhance Singapore’s position as a hub for LNG and gas trading activities”.

A consultation paper to seek industry feedback on the design for a domestic SGTM was issued yesterday. EMA intends to put out more information on the projected growth of the longer-term energy market outlook in Singapore, which would include information on the projected growth of electricity system demand, as well as a mix of sources coming from gas plants, solar power and electricity imports by 2030. Francis Law


More choices for all electricity users in 2018
FRANCIS MICAH LAW Today Online 27 Oct 15;

SINGAPORE — In three years, households and more commercial consumers can choose from whom they wish to buy electricity to power their homes and businesses, under a fully liberalised electricity market.

Consumers could choose whether to buy from electricity retailers under customised price plans, or from wholesale electricity markets where prices change at fixed intervals.

The Government plans to fully liberalise the electricity market in the second half of 2018, said Minister for Trade and Industry (Industry) S Iswaran today (Oct 26), at the Singapore International Energy Week 2015 at the Sands Expo and Convention Centre.

This will allow another 1.3 million consumers, mainly households, to have flexibility and choice in their electricity consumption, he said.

The Government has gradually liberalised the electricity market over the years by lowering the contestability threshold in phases, but households have not been brought on board until now. The contestability threshold — how much electricity a consumer must use monthly to be eligible — was lowered from 10MWh to 8MWh in 2004, to 4MWh last year, and to 2MWh in July. This has allowed 33,000 commercial and industrial consumers — from large users such as petrochemical companies to smaller users such as coffee shops and kindergartens — to participate in the contestable market, instead of remaining on the regulated tariff with Singapore Power (SP), he said.

A spokesperson from SP told ­­TODAY that the organisation supports the move. The organisation has been “steadily working behind the scenes” to deploy technology and refine processes to support this initiative, such as with the installation of Advanced Metering Infrastructure meters and the enhancement of current IT systems to provide reliable and accurate back-end support. “These steps will allow customers to better monitor and manage their usage and will help to facilitate the development of a competitive market,” he said.

Nanyang Technological University Assistant Professor of Economics Chang Youngho said with the full retail competition, consumers would benefit as they would be able to respond to the prices and reduce their consumption of electricity, which should lead to a reduction in expenditure.

But for this to work, the costs of preparing consumers here for the new model — such as the installation of new meters — must be low enough for there to be gains, he said, adding the Government has likely taken this into account before making the announcement.

There are currently 14 retail electricity licensees authorised by EMA to retail electricity to contestable customers. PacificLight general manager of Retail Geraldine Tan said the company sees full retail contestability as a “logical market development”, and that they look forward to delivering value-added services to all consumers when the retail market is fully opened up to competition in 2018.

A Keppel Electric spokesperson told TODAY: “Keppel Electric takes an interest in this development, as it potentially allows Keppel to grow its business and offer household consumers more choices.”

The EMA said it will release more details on plans for full retail competition soon.

Speaking to reporters after his speech, Mr Iswaran said: “As you can imagine, given the scale of such an undertaking, it needs time, especially from a back-end perspective, to ensure that the key service providers have the infrastructure and capability to fulfil the requirements, and EMA is working with the stakeholders on this.”


Electricity market to be fully liberalised in 2018
Audrey Tan, Straits Times AsiaOne 27 Oct 15;

In the second half of 2018, everyone who consumes electricity in Singapore will be free to shop around for the best deals in the market.

That is because the Energy Market Authority (EMA) plans to fully open up the electricity retail market to competition, Mr S. Iswaran, Minister for Trade and Industry (Industry), said yesterday at the opening of the Singapore International Energy Week.

This means consumers will have the choice to buy electricity from electricity retailers under customised price plans, similar to the way customers choose mobile-phone plans from telcos. This will allow these customers to get the best deal based on their usage patterns.

Currently, only some 33,000 commercial and industrial consumers with an average monthly electricity consumption of at least 2MWh - which amounts to a monthly electricity bill of about $450 - benefit from this flexibility. This threshold was last lowered from 4MWh to 2MWh in July. The remaining 1.3 million consumers, mainly households, are on the regulated tariff with SP Services. But that is set to change.

Dr Shi Xunpeng, deputy head of energy economics at the National University of Singapore's Energy Studies Institute, said: "This free choice and competition among retailers will give consumers more customised electricity supply, better services and probably lower prices."

He pointed out that with full liberalisation in Texas in the United States, the average electricity tariff with retail competition is 5.5 per cent lower than the national average. But Dr Shi noted that it is not yet possible to quantify the benefits for Singapore customers.

This would make Singapore the first liberalised energy market in East Asia, he said.

Professor Subodh Mhaisalkar, executive director of Nanyang Technological University's Energy Research Institute, said data from places such as Europe or the US shows that households could enjoy savings of between 5 and 15 per cent due to competitive pricing by multiple utility providers.

But he added that additional savings may be possible if there is a shift in consumer behaviour, by running heavy-duty appliances like clothes dryers or ovens at night to benefit from lower, off-peak electricity prices, for example.

Madam June Tan, a nurse in her 50s, said more choices could benefit consumers if they translate into lower electricity prices. "I hope the price plans will not tie us down for years, but instead leave us free to choose again after a short period, for example, one year."

She added: "It's pay-per-use now, so electricity providers must give us ample notice before they roll out the price plans."

Yesterday, Mr Iswaran also gave out the EMA's biennial Singapore Energy Awards to the Housing and Development Board for its use of solar panels and to Mr Neil McGregor, former chief executive of the Singapore LNG Corporation, who oversaw the building of Singapore's first LNG terminal.