‘Keep calm and carry on’: Indonesia gas cut unlikely to hit Singapore electricity prices, says Tan See Leng

SINGAPORE: Electricity prices in the short term are unlikely to be affected by Indonesia cutting natural gas exports to Singapore, said Minister for Energy, Trade and Industry (Energy and Industry) Tan See Leng on Sunday (Oct 25).

Speaking to reporters after the People’s Action Party (PAP) conference, Dr Tan reiterated that the reduction amounts to less than 2 per cent of Singapore’s total daily gas needs.

"In the short term, the prices would not really affect that much. In fact, if anything at all, we should be looking at the world prices because a lot of our gas, the unit price is actually pegged to the movement of some of the key global index itself," he said.

"We have always looked at energy as a very critical part of our entire country's economy, sustainability, and also our survival. Energy is existential for all of us, so we have put in place contingency measures, insurance measures, to ensure that our energy supply is diversified."

Indonesia on Saturday began reducing natural gas exports to Singapore to divert more supplies to domestic electricity needs.

In response to media queries, an Energy Market Authority (EMA) spokesperson said on Saturday the total reduction of 31 million standard cubic feet of gas a day amounts to 17 British thermal units per day over a period of 18 days.

Dr Tan added that Singapore has multiple layers of defence in place, including diversifying sources of natural gas, maintaining its standby liquefied natural gas (LNG) facility, and ensuring that Singapore GasCo is ready to import more LNG whenever required. 

"I would like to urge all of our fellow Singaporeans: keep calm and carry on. We have dealt seamlessly with such reductions in the past without any incident, and the government will continue to ensure the reliability and the resilience of Singapore's energy supply," he said.

Beyond gas, Singapore is also exploring alternative energy sources, including biomethane, geothermal and solar. It is also studying the possible use of nuclear energy, although no decision has been made on that yet.