LiveMore support for firms, households amid Mid-East conflict; inflation expected to go up

Singapore is ramping up energy negotiations with counterparts: Tan See Leng

Singapore is ramping up negotiations and discussions with its counterparts on energy supples, says Minister-in-charge for Energy and Science & Technology Tan See Leng.

He is responding to WP chief Pritam Singh (Aljunied GRC), who asked if the Government is in touch with Indonesia and Malaysia, which supplies close to half of our piped liquefied natural gas (LNG), to potentially increase supplies. He noted the country’s LNG contracts with Indonesia will expire in 2028.
 

No immediate risks on seafood supply: Zaqy Mohamad

Mr Saktiandi also asks the Government for its view on food resilience, especially with some concerned about seafood and fish supply – with the risk that diesel shortages for fishermen in the region may affect supply.

In response, Senior Minister of State for Sustainability and the Environment Zaqy Mohamad says the Government does not see any immediate risks on seafood.

Singapore has diversified food imports and has local production of seafood readily available, but the main risk lies with agriculture on fertiliser. “In the short term, no impact, but we think there could be a secondary impact, as you shared, with diesel and other energy prices,” he says.

Mr Zaqy adds that the Government is monitoring the situation and will share updates as they happen.

Mr Saktiandi also asks the Government about its monetary policy plans to control inflation, citing the upcoming policy statement coming from the Monetary Authority of Singapore later in April. This will be taken in the next bucket of questions, says Speaker of Parliament Seah Kian Peng.

No upstream disruptions in piped natural gas supply at this point in time: Tan See Leng

Kicking off the clarifications from MPs, Mr Saktiandi Supaat (Bishan-Toa Payoh GRC) who chairs the Government Parliamentary Committee for finance, trade and industry asks several groups of questions.

Globally, Singapore is a price taker and very concerned about inflation passing through, he notes. He asks for the HCMC and Government's view about the risk of export restrictions on energy supplied by all partners, especially in the region.

Minister-in-charge for Energy and Science & Technology Tan See Leng responds, first by noting that 95 per cent of Singapore’s electricity comes from imported natural gas.

“At this particular point in time, there is no upstream disruptions from the piped natural gas supply,” he says.

He references Singapore GasCo, which was established “quite presciently” in 2025 to centralise the procurement and supply of natural gas, that allows Singapore to source for LNG supply from around the world.

Singapore has now diversified its LNG supplies beyond the Middle East. “We source them from Australia, from the US, from Mozambique, and even as we speak, we continue to look for new markets for us. Diversification has always been one of the key strategies.”

Dr Tan also says that Singapore has ensured that its generation system can run on both natural gas and on diesel, and can switch if needed.

There are also stockpiles established – “But as I've also shared before, given the constraint of land that we have within our country, there is a fiscal limit as to how much stock piling we can do.”

MPs can now ask questions on ministerial statements; Speaker sets out guidelines

Speaker of Parliament Seah Kian Peng reiterates that MPs can seek clarification on the ministerial statements, but no debate is allowed, based on Parliament’s standing orders on such statements.

He reminds them to keep their clarifications clear and concise, and reminds ministers to do the same.

He has asked MPs to group their clarifications by theme: 

• Energy and trade, including petrol and electricity and their impact on trade and economy
• Impact on local businesses and households and the support measures for them
• General security issues

Singapore deliberately does not reveal size of fuel reserves and food stockpiles, has sufficient buffers: Shanmugam

Singapore does not reveal the extent of its fuel reserves and food stockpiles, says Mr Shanmugam, noting questions raised by MPs on this. 

“That is deliberate. Disclosing such details would reveal where our limits lie, and that could be used against Singapore in times of crisis,” he says.

“What matters is that we have sufficient buffers and contingency plans in place,” he says, and these arrangements are regularly reviewed and strengthened.

Shanmugam says S’poreans should be flexible as food prices rise amid supply risks

Turning to food security, Mr Shanmugam says Singaporeans should be prepared for food supplies from some countries to be unavailable, and be flexible in choosing alternatives.

He adds that Singapore is only able to maintain stockpiles of essential food types and is working to strengthen its supply chains.

The main concern is the inflationary impact on food products, he says.

Natural gas, a key feedstock for fertilisers, is facing supply disruptions, pushing up fertiliser prices. This raises the price of food crops, animal feed and imported food products. Higher fuel costs will also increase expenses for transporting and storing food products.

Nuclear energy, among others, being considered to diversify Singapore’s energy sources: Shanmugam

Singapore must press on with efforts to diversify its energy sources, says Mr Shanmugam.

He notes good progress on domestic solar energy deployment, with the Republic achieving the 2030 target of 2 gigawatt-peak in 2025.

In the near term, Singapore will continue to deploy solar energy domestically and explore regional electricity imports.

In the medium to long term, other sources of energy – such as nuclear – are being assessed to diversify the country’s fuel mix.

Advanced nuclear energy technologies can provide safe, reliable and clean baseload power, but requires very careful study before deployment in or around Singapore, says Mr Shanmugam.

Nuclear fuel is energy-dense and can be efficiently stockpiled, he adds. Five uranium pellets – each roughly one inch tall – can generate the same amount of electricity as one Olympic-sized swimming pool of natural gas.

He adds that Singapore has been building up the technical expertise to evaluate the technology as it develops, while partnering overseas governments and companies that are leaders in the field.

Singapore to continue playing role as refining hub, says Shanmugam

On energy security, Mr Shanmugam says the Republic will continue to play a key role as a major refining hub.

It will keep working with its refineries to improve their energy efficiency and reduce carbon footprint.

Some countries supply crude oil and other essential products to Singapore and, in turn, the Republic provides them with refined products, creating mutual interdependence.

This keeps Singapore relevant in the energy trade and ensures continued access to crude oil, he says.

Addressing questions on the role of refineries given the nation’s green transition, Mr Shanmugam says that Singapore is committed to decarbonising its economy, but the path to net zero will depend on technological breakthroughs and sustained international cooperation.

“For now, the priority worldwide is energy security. Countries everywhere need to keep the lights on,” he says.

As renewable energy cannot yet meet all demand, fossil fuels remain part of the global energy mix.

Prices will go up despite low probability of disruptions to Singapore’s energy and electricity supply: Shanmugam

Despite a “low probability” risk of disruptions to Singapore’s domestic energy and electricity supply, prices will go up, says Mr Shanmugam.

Potential disruptions cannot be ruled out, particularly if more suppliers fail to deliver fuel or gas.

“However, this remains a low-probability scenario for now, though we continue to monitor developments closely,” he says.

He noted that gas costs make up nearly half of the regulated tariff, but so far, only part of this has been passed on.

If the conflict is prolonged, electricity prices could rise much more sharply, he adds.

The Energy Market Authority put in place stronger regulatory requirements on electricity retailers in 2023, he says.

This ensures the retailers are sufficiently hedged and will be better able to handle an extended period of gas price volatility, says Mr Shanmugam.

“The position we put ourselves in before the crisis and the steps we have taken since the crisis have helped us remain relatively stable,” he adds.

Power generation firms can be directed to secure additional fuel, though this may be affected by force majeure

Singapore is prepared if needed to direct power generation companies to exercise their legal rights to additional fuel, says Mr Shanmugam, though this may be subject to force majeure events.

These supplies may still be disrupted, if sourced from overseas.

The Energy Market Authority requires power generation companies to have pre-arranged contractual access to additional fuel.

Fuel suppliers are required to deliver the fuel to the power generation companies within a set number of days upon activation.