EMA cites high demand, gas supply curbs for sharp spikes in Singapore's spot electricity prices

THE staggering spikes in Singapore's spot electricity prices in recent months are due to a confluence of factors including gas curtailment from Indonesia's West Natuna and "low landing pressure" of the gas supplied from South Sumatra, said the Energy Market Authority (EMA).

In a response to queries by The Business Times (BT), the industry regulator also cited "higher than usual electricity demand" and outage in several generation units as factors that have driven prices higher.

"Under standard operating procedures, generation companies (gencos) will switch from Piped Natural Gas to alternative fuel sources such as Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) or diesel should gas pressure drop below certain levels. This ensures that power supply remains stable and reliable during such low-pressure situations," said EMA.