Big hike in power bills from clean imports seen as unlikely

Clean power will mostly be purchased by firms looking to slash emissions: Observers

- Cheryl Tan

The average consumer will likely not face a marked increase in his electricity bills when Singapore begins its renewable energy imports over the next few years, said observers. They added that the clean power will mostly be purchased by companies looking to slash their emissions.

The imported electricity produced from sources such as solar, wind and hydropower – is expected to be priced at a premium, as a result of the hefty price tag that comes with the necessary battery storage solutions and electricity transmission cables.

In September, Singapore raised its electricity import target for 2035 from four gigawatts to 6GW, after greenlighting an extra 1.4GW of solar power from Indonesia.

Seven companies will be importing around 3.4GW of solar energy from Indonesia, five of which are expected to start commercial operations for their projects from 2028.

In response to queries from The Straits Times, a spokesman for the Energy Market Authority (EMA) said the cost of low-carbon electricity imports may not be more expensive than other sources of low-carbon electricity.

Renewable imports aside, Singapore is considering a host of other clean energy options such as geothermal, green hydrogen, and carbon capture and storage technologies.

"In evaluating the various electricity import proposals, EMA considers a range of factors, including price-competitiveness and source diversity. (The agency) is actively collaborating with importers to optimise their projects and reduce costs, such as by optimising landing sites and sea corridors,” said the spokesman.