Singapore will need more generation capacity to meet the growing demand for electricity, said Second Minister for Trade and Industry Tan See Leng on Wednesday (Jul 19).
There is also a need to replace retiring generating units, he added in his speech at Keppel’s groundbreaking ceremony for Singapore’s first hydrogen-ready power plant on Jurong Island.Dr Tan, who is also Manpower Minister, explained that this is largely due to new investments in energy-intensive sectors such as advanced manufacturing and data centres.
“Singapore’s power system has been in an overcapacity situation over the last decade. This was due to the over-bullish investments by generation companies,” he said.
“Over the years, as electricity demand has grown and older generation plants have retired, our reserve margin has come down.
“By 2025, it will reach our required reserve margin of 27 percent, which is the margin needed to ensure grid reliability given our current portfolio of generation sources.”
The minimum required reserve margin is based on the reliability standard of three loss of load hours per year, he said.
The Keppel Sakra Cogen Plant, which will be located in the Sakra sector of Jurong Island, is expected to be completed in the first half of 2026.
It will produce up to 600 megawatts of electricity, or about 8 per cent of the country’s peak electricity demand in 2022.
“As electricity demand will continue to increase, we will need more generation capacity while ensuring that the power sector transitions to a net-zero future,” said Mr Ngiam Shih Chun, chief executive of the Energy Market Authority.
“The hydrogen-ready Keppel Sakra Cogen Plant is a good example of the infrastructure we need, and we encourage other generation companies to make similar investments.”
