Singapore to End 3,000% Power Price Spikes That Sank Companies

(Bloomberg) -- Singapore plans to more aggressively regulate electricity markets as price jumps intensify, again threatening to hurt the retailers that sell it to businesses and households.

The Energy Market Authority will cap wholesale power prices from July 1 using a formula tied to natural gas and generation costs, it said in a document on its website. That comes after they jumped as much as 3,000% this year despite sharp drops in the cost of liquefied natural gas, the nation’s main fuel.

The regulator has been consulting with industry players and utilities on the best way to mitigate the jumps, which two years ago led to the bankruptcy of a slew of independent retailers. The volatility has also made utilities reluctant to invest in more generation capacity that would alleviate shortages, according to the EMA. 

Last month, prices reached as high as S$3,594 ($2,685) a megawatt-hour in daily trading after a power plant at Jurong Island shut for a turbine upgrade amid unusually hot weather. Meanwhile, the cost of LNG has fallen 86% since March 2022. 

Singapore intends to launch a request for project proposals in the second half of this year, and has said it may step in to build the capacity itself. 

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