SINGAPORE (Bloomberg): Singapore is doubling its power import capacity under a regional trading agreement in a bid to meet growing energy demand.
Phase two of the Lao PDR-Thailand-Malaysia-Singapore Power Integration Project, the cross-border trade deal known as LTMS-PIP, will see electricity flows increase to as much as 200 megawatts, Singapore’s Energy Market Authority and Keppel Ltd. said in a joint statement.
The move marks progress toward a long-held vision of a regional “supergrid” that allows all 10 members of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations, or Asean, to trade electricity. Pooling power over a large area means that shortfalls in one place can be eliminated by a glut elsewhere.
The capacity boost will bring additional power from Malaysia to Singapore, according to the statement. The energy authority also granted an extension of Keppel’s electricity import license for another two years.
LTMS-PIP was started in June 2022 to bring as much as 100 megawatts of hydropower from Laos to Singapore via Thailand and Malaysia. It marked the first time electricity had travelled across four Southeast Asian countries. – Bloomberg
