Indonesia gas supply cut unlikely to have much impact on Singapore electricity prices in short term: Tan See Leng

Indonesia gas supply cut unlikely to have much impact on Singapore electricity prices in short term: Tan See Leng Global gas prices are a bigger factor in costs, says Minister for Energy, Trade and Industry (Energy and Industry) Tan See Leng. SINGAPORE: Electricity prices in the short term are unlikely to be affected by Indonesia cutting natural gas exports to Singapore, said Minister for Energy, Trade and Industry (Energy and Industry) Tan See Leng on Sunday (Oct 25). Speaking to reporters after the People’s Action Party (PAP) conference, Dr Tan reiterated the reduction only amounts to less than 2 per cent of Singapore’s total daily gas needs. "In the short term, the prices would not really affect that much. In fact, if anything at all, we should be looking at the world prices because a lot of our gas, the unit price is actually pegged to the movement of some of the key global index itself," he said. "We have always looked at energy as a very critical part of our entire country's economy, sustainability, and also our survival. Energy is existential for all of us, so we have put in place contingency measures, insurance measures, to ensure that our energy supply is diversified." Indonesia on Saturday began reducing natural gas exports to Singapore, in order to divert more supplies to domestic electricity needs. In response to media queries, an EMA spokesperson said on Saturday the total reduction of 31 million standard cubic feet of gas a day amounts to 17 British thermal units per day over a period of 18 days. Dr Tan added that Singapore has multiple layers of defence in place, including diversifying sources of natural gas from around the world, maintaining its standby LNG facility, and ensuring that Singapore Gas Co is ready to import more LNG whenever required. "I would like to urge all of our fellow Singaporeans: keep calm and carry on. We have dealt seamlessly with such reductions in the past, without any incident, and the government will continue to ensure the reliability and the resilience of Singapore's energy supply," he said. Beyond gas, Singapore is also looking at alternative energy sources, including biomethane, geothermal and solar. It is also studying the use of nuclear energy, although no decision has been made on that yet. Prime Minister Lawrence Wong said at the conference on Sunday that Singapore expects all parties who have signed commercial gas contracts to “honour their commitments”. He added that Singapore’s gas importer will take the necessary steps to protect its rights and interests. Singapore imports natural gas through pipelines from Indonesia and Malaysia, as well as liquefied natural gas (LNG) shipped in from international suppliers. In 2025, piped natural gas accounted for 43 per cent of Singapore's total gas imports, while LNG made up the remaining 57 per cent. Dr Tan added that Singapore has very good relations with Indonesia at the highest level of government, particularly between President Prabowo Subianto and Mr Wong. This was built through "many, many decades of very good, solid partnerships", said Dr Tan. "We understand that they may have some domestic supply needs and bottlenecks, which we can understand," he added. "The exact details moving forward, I think these are still early days, and we will continue to monitor the situation very closely."