Singapore Revs Up Renewables Push Amidst Solar And Carbon Tax Uncertainties

It has trialled the Open Electricity Market and announced a carbon tax, but operational doubts persist.

- Danielle Mae V. Isaac

When Singapore held the soft launch of the Open Electricity Market in Jurong, it enabled households and firms to buy electricity from their chosen retailer, and in a way represented the promising direction the country was taking in renewables as the initiative is expected to bolster solar power developers that can now reach a wider base of consumers to purchase their green electricity. OEM is expected to be rolled out to the rest of the country from the Q4 of 2018, but programme implementation has seen its share of challenges.

In April, Soh Sai Bor, assistant chief executive of the Singapore Energy Market Authority’s economic regulation division, said the agency has banned door-to-door sales or marketing activities at or near residential premises in order to protect consumers from aggressive marketing tactics.

“We will not hesitate to act against retailers if they engage in dishonest marketing practices,” he said, in response to a public letter claiming the EMA had adopted a “hands off approach” towards the OEM as retailers begin to jockey for a slice of the electricity market.

Retailers pull marketing gimmicks

“Some retailers have resorted to gimmicks, like free electricity and cash rebates. This may not benefit customers in the long run, and serve to confuse and encourage wasteful habits. In addition, the retailer who gets the most business may not be the cheapest or the most eco-friendly; just the one with the most marketing savvy,” the public letter read.

The OEM hiccups—when taken together with what analysts have cited as larger uncertainties surrounding the country’s focus on large-scale solar systems despite the lack of physical space and the long-term impact of the looming carbon tax scheme—serve to illustrate Singapore’s growing pains in its drive to become a renewables leader in Southeast Asia.