In 2004, Singapore had 7.4 gigawatts (GW) of installed generation capacity, all of which came from conventional thermal sources (primarily natural gas). More recent figures from the Singaporean government show that total installed generation capacity will surpass 10 GW by year-end 2006. State-owned companies continue to dominate Singapores electricity sector, although the restructuring and privatization process has begun. The three main generation companies - PowerSeraya, Senoko Power, and Tuas Power - together represent 90 percent of Singapores electricity generation capacity.
In April 2001, the government of Singapore created the Energy Markets Authority (EMA), a regulatory agency for Singapores electric utility sector. The EMA has worked on details of the electricity sector privatization, as well as efforts to maintain a secure and reliable electricity industry. Although liberalization has been delayed, the three big generation companies - PowerSeraya, Senoko Power, and Tuas Power - have all been divested to the Singapore governments investment arm, Temasek Holdings, in preparation for privatization. Temasek will proceed with the sale of the three once liberalization of the gas market, including adoption of a new Gas Market Code, is completed. This could come as early as year-end 2006. Liberalization of the electricity market began in January 2003, when, for the first time, power could be sold directly to industrial customers.
Reliability has become a large concern for Singapores electricity market. Singapore recently experienced five power outages in less than two years, which resulted mainly from natural gas supply disruptions. These outages occurred even though Singapores electricity market has abundant reserve margins. According to the EMA, the combined installed electricity generating capacity in the country will reach more than 10,200 MW by the end of 2006, almost double the peak demand of 5,200 MW. The government of Singapore established a high-level Energy System Review Committee (ESRC) to evaluate options for improving the reliability of the market. Short-term solutions include the use of natural gas-fired generation plans that can operate with diesel in the event of a prolonged natural gas disruption (cogeneration plants), the installation of additional independent power producers, and the establishment of two natural gas sources for each power plant. LNG imports are a longer-term option.
Despite overcapacity, new power stations have been introduced or are under construction. This appears to be an effort to introduce newer, more reliable power plants that burn natural gas rather than coal. The newest player in the electricity generating sector is SembCorp Cogen, which built an 815-MW power station in early 2002 that consists solely of natural gas-fired combined cycle gas turbine (CCGT) technology. Since that time, all new power plants in Singapore have been cogeneration CCGT facilities. Keppel Energy plans to commence operations at a 500-MW cogeneration CCGT plant by the end of 2006. In 2005, Tuas Power commissioned two new 360-MW CCGT units. Senoko Power, Singapores largest generating company, produces only 60 percent of its power from CCGT plants and has been the slowest to bring new cogeneration units on-stream.
On 12 April 2006, Environment and Water Resources Minister Yaacob Ibrahim announced that Singapore had ratified the Kyoto Protocol to help tackle global greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. However, Singapore is a non-Annex I party to the agreement and therefore is not legally bound to a specific emissions target. Singapore has established its own targets as part of its National Climate Change Strategy (NCCS). The country aims to reduce its carbon intensity by 25 percent compared to 1990 levels. In 2005, Singapores carbon intensity was at 22 percent below 1990 levels. The NCCS is part of a larger ten-year environmental initiative known as the Singapore Green Plan 2012. Aside from its GHG emissions targets, the government has set out to introduce energy efficiency labels for home appliances, reduce per capita water consumption, improve waste management services, and other goals.