Singapore grants first conditional approval for electricity import

Singapore’s Energy Market Authority (EMA) has granted its first conditional approval for electricity import, which will allow Keppel Energy to import 1GW of electricity from Cambodia to Singapore.

The imported electricity will utilise solar, hydropower and potentially wind energy, and be supported by battery energy storage systems (BESS) or pumped storage hydropower (PSH), according to a statement by the EMA. The imported electricity will be transmitted from Cambodia to Singapore via a direct link of over 1,000 kilometres of new subsea cables.

Energy expert William Stroll of Pinsent Masons MPillay, the Singapore joint law venture between MPillay and Pinsent Masons, said: “The proposed subsea cable will travel through multiple jurisdictions and will be one of the world’s longest cross-border subsea interconnectors when completed. This represents a significant development in the market and is a significant step towards the ASEAN [Association of Southeast Asian Nations] power grid vision.”

The EMA will issue a conditional licence to Keppel Energy if its proposal meets the requirements in the conditional approval. These requirements include obtaining the relevant regulatory approvals and making the final investment decision before getting a full importer licence.

In July 2022, the EMA issued its second request for proposal (RFP), following its first RFP in 2021, to invite interested importers to submit proposal to import up to 4GW electricity. RFP participants whose projects are initially assessed as ‘technically and commercially viable’ will be granted conditional approval. The submission for RFP2 will close on 29 December.