Steering Singapore's energy transformation in an uncertain world

I don’t have to elaborate on the profound impact a fragmenting world will have on a small, open and trade-dependent country like Singapore.

- Tan See Leng

After many years of building multilateral global bridges, it seems like walls are sprouting up in many parts of the world, and bilateral bridges are being selectively and narrowly constructed. The post-Cold War global compact is wavering, and the role of global institutions is coming under scrutiny.

Significant challenges lie ahead, but Singapore's future is still ours to shape. In this year’s National Day Rally, Prime Minister Lawrence Wong talked about charting the next bound of Singapore’s journey and challenged Singaporeans to boldly push new frontiers.

Let me share some reflections from the past five years steering our energy transformation, and how we are planning for our next frontier amidst a fragmenting world.

SINGAPORE’S ENERGY TRANSFORMATION

Our energy system seeks to strike the right balance between security, cost-competitiveness and sustainability. It is designed based on three Es: energy security, efficiency and emissions.

Energy is an existential resource for Singapore. It powers critical facilities such as water desalination plants, data centres, wafer fabs and MRT trains - all requiring significant amounts of energy. Around the world, energy demand is growing rapidly to keep up with higher standards of living.

Singapore has one of the most reliable electricity systems in the world, attracting valuable industries such as advanced manufacturing, pharmaceuticals, digital infrastructure and financial services. This hard-won blessing was secured by our predecessors through decades of careful forward planning and investments. We cannot take this reliability for granted and must continue anticipating future needs and potential disruptions to secure our energy systems.

Second, efficiency. Managing scarce and strategic resources requires efficient allocation across competing needs and incentivising prudent consumption.