Out-Law News 1 min. read

Singapore starts importing renewable energy from Laos via Thailand and Malaysia


Singapore has started to import renewable energy from Laos, with the energy being transmitted through Thailand and Malaysia, the first such import into Singapore, according to the Energy Market Authority (EMA).

The development follows the execution of a power purchase agreement between Singapore’s Keppel Electric and Laos’ state-owned Electricite du Laos (EDL) back in September 2021.

Up to 100 megawatts (MW) of renewable energy will be imported via the Lao PDR-Thailand-Malaysia-Singapore power integration project (LTMS-PIP). It is the first multilateral cross-border electricity trade involving four ASEAN countries, as well as and the first renewable energy import into Singapore, the EMA said.   

The imported power capacity equals about 1.5% of Singapore’s peak electricity demand in 2020, according to a local report said

William Stroll, energy expert at Pinsent Masons MPillay, the Singapore joint law venture between MPillay and Pinsent Masons, said: “Electricity imports are forming a key part of Singapore’s energy policy and will assist Singapore in meeting its COP 26 climate change pledges as well assisting with energy security.”

The LTMS-PIP is one of the trials that the EMA has been working on as part of its goal to import up to 4 gigawatts (GW) of low carbon electricity by 2035, which was announced in October 2021.

Keppel Electric is the first entity to receive a licence from the EMA as an electricity importer. The EMA also plans to import electricity from other sources.

In October 2021, the EMA announced that a Singapore-based power generation company, YTL PowerSeraya, and electricity retailers would conduct a two-year pilot project to import 100MW of electricity from Malaysia. The pilot is expected to start in 2022 however it is limited to conventional energy sources as a result of limitations imposed by the Malaysian government.

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