Question

Ms Poh Li San: To ask the Minister for Trade and Industry (a) as the global energy crunch protracts, whether there are (i) additional measures to prevent disruption to Singapore’s electricity supply and (ii) additional schemes being considered to help businesses cushion the impact of volatile wholesale electricity markets; and (b) whether the Ministry is prepared to consider putting a demand cap on energy consumption by energy-intensive industries.

Written Answer by Minister for Trade and Industry Gan Kim Yong

1. I previously shared with the House measures that MTI and EMA have put in place to secure our electricity supply and maintain the orderly functioning of the wider energy sector. We have established a standby LNG facility (SLF), which generation companies (gencos) can draw from to generate electricity in the event of disruptions to their natural gas supplies. We also required gencos to bolster their own stockpile of fuel and empowered EMA to direct the gencos to generate electricity using gas from the SLF, if there are potential shortages. These measures have secured our electricity supply and helped stabilise the Uniform Singapore Energy Price (USEP) from around $440/MWh in 4Q 2021 to around $300/MWh in 2Q 2022.

2. In December 2021, EMA introduced the Temporary Electricity Contracting Support (TRECS) Scheme to offer one month fully or partially fixed price plans to businesses. For businesses who want greater certainty, EMA has been working with electricity retailers and gencos since January 2022 to offer longer-term fixed price plans of up to 3 years.

3. In view of ongoing volatility in the global energy market and the war in Ukraine, EMA has extended these measures until 31 March 2023. In addition, EMA had invited interested parties to each submit an expression of interest (EOI) to build, own and operate 200MW/200MWh of energy storage systems, which will enhance the resilience of our energy supply and power grid. EMA received and assessed six proposals, and appointed SembCorp Utilities to put in place the energy storage systems.  EMA will continue to monitor the situation and consider if further extensions or measures are needed.

4. As electricity prices are expected to stay elevated in this global energy situation, companies should become more energy efficient to manage business costs. However, instead of capping energy demand on energy-intensive industries, which will disrupt company operations, Government agencies have worked with the industry to put in place several measures to help businesses improve their energy efficiency, and to tide over this period:

  a. First, companies can monitor their half-hourly electricity usage on the SP Utilities Portal or Open Electricity Market e-services portal to manage and reduce their electricity consumption.

  b. Second, companies can tap on the various energy efficiency support measures. These include the recently announced Energy Efficiency Grant for the food manufacturing, food services, and retail sectors, NEA's Energy Efficiency Fund, BCA's Green Mark Incentive Scheme and EnterpriseSG's Enterprise Sustainability Programme.

  c. Third, businesses which need financing support can also tap on EnterpriseSG’s programmes such as the Enterprise Financing Scheme and the Temporary Bridging Loan. The Small Business Recovery Grant will also help eligible firms in sectors most badly affected by COVID-19 cope with overall higher costs of doing business.

5. The Government is committed to safeguarding the security of our energy supplies and maintaining the orderly functioning of our domestic energy markets. We encourage businesses to take the opportunity to transform your operations and become more resource efficient.