<TABLE cellSpacing=0 cellPadding=0 width="100%" border=0><TBODY><TR>Spike in power prices due to gas supply cut
</TR><!-- headline one : end --><TR>Households unaffected by Nov incident, while 10% of firms briefly hit </TR><!-- Author --><TR><TD class="padlrt8 georgia11 darkgrey bold" colSpan=2>By Jessica Cheam
</TD></TR><!-- show image if available --></TBODY></TABLE>
<!-- START OF : div id="storytext"--><!-- more than 4 paragraphs -->ELECTRICITY prices shot through the roof briefly in November last year, after a severe thunderstorm caused a gas supply shutdown for eight hours.
The Straits Times understands that the disruption, which has now been confirmed by the Energy Market Authority (EMA), was the first major disruption to Singapore's gas supply since December 2006.
The November disruption had not been disclosed to the public.
Market analysts said that although the shutdown was brief and households were not affected by the price hike (=> U believe?), the high prices reached highlight the vulnerability of Singapore's energy supply.
It is believed that some commercial power customers were affected.
On Nov 4 at about 3.10pm, an onshore receiving facility operated by Conoco-Phillips on Jurong Island was affected by the storm - causing a gas supply shutdown.
Supply was back to normal by 11.30pm but not before spot prices for electricity - which change every half an hour, based on market supply and demand - shot up from around $100 per megawatt hour to about $400 per MWh for about an hour.
Households in Singapore were not affected, however, as electricity tariffs for this group of consumers are pre-determined by a formula pegged to fuel oil prices - reviewed every three months.
=> So one can imagine the obscene profit margin exacted on Sporns by the Familee!
This means, for example, that electricity prices for the January to March quarter are based on the average daily trading price of oil futures last October.
Business users, which use more electricity, are free to negotiate their contracts with power retailers.
The Straits Times understands that about 90 per cent of such users choose fixed price contracts, which minimise the volatility of electricity prices.
This means about 10 per cent of business users, whose electricity contracts follow spot prices, were affected by the recent gas supply disruption.
Power generation companies (gencos) PowerSeraya and Tuas Power were hit by the disruption, but declined to disclose the names of clients which were affected. Both companies told The Straits Times that there was minimal 'operational and financial' impact.
The affected facility is owned by Semb- corp Gas, which imports natural gas from Indonesia's West Natuna fields.
EMA said such disruptions were 'very rare', citing only a few cases since Singapore started receiving piped natural gas from Malaysia and Indonesia.
About 80 per cent of Singapore's electricity is generated by gas-powered plants, the rest by oil.
In December 2006, there was a brief 45-minute disruption, involving gas being delivered from Malaysia, caused by a technical fault. Prior to that, another technical fault cut off the Indonesian gas supply to Singapore in June 2004, plunging half the island into darkness, underscoring the Republic's dependence on Indonesian gas.
Tuas Power chief executive Lim Kong Puay said that when such disruptions occur, the genco switches to diesel to generate electricity, thus ensuring no interruptions to supply to consumers and clients.
Diesel is more expensive than gas, which means higher operating costs, but he said the disruption was over a very short period, and affected very small numbers, so the impact was minimal.
Industry experts, such as editor of energy news portal EnergyAsia.com, Mr Ng Weng Hoong, said that although households were not affected, the incident highlights Singapore's dependence on fuel from its neighbours.
'If this source is cut off one day, what will happen in Singapore? This underscores our need to really diversify our energy sources.'
EMA said that there are contingency measures in place for disruptions. Gencos are required to have 90 days of fuel in stock to use for supplying power in case of disruptions.
Singapore is currently building its first $1 billion liquefied natural gas plant on Jurong Island, which is scheduled to begin operations in 2012. [email protected]
</TR><!-- headline one : end --><TR>Households unaffected by Nov incident, while 10% of firms briefly hit </TR><!-- Author --><TR><TD class="padlrt8 georgia11 darkgrey bold" colSpan=2>By Jessica Cheam
</TD></TR><!-- show image if available --></TBODY></TABLE>
<!-- START OF : div id="storytext"--><!-- more than 4 paragraphs -->ELECTRICITY prices shot through the roof briefly in November last year, after a severe thunderstorm caused a gas supply shutdown for eight hours.
The Straits Times understands that the disruption, which has now been confirmed by the Energy Market Authority (EMA), was the first major disruption to Singapore's gas supply since December 2006.
The November disruption had not been disclosed to the public.
Market analysts said that although the shutdown was brief and households were not affected by the price hike (=> U believe?), the high prices reached highlight the vulnerability of Singapore's energy supply.
It is believed that some commercial power customers were affected.
On Nov 4 at about 3.10pm, an onshore receiving facility operated by Conoco-Phillips on Jurong Island was affected by the storm - causing a gas supply shutdown.
Supply was back to normal by 11.30pm but not before spot prices for electricity - which change every half an hour, based on market supply and demand - shot up from around $100 per megawatt hour to about $400 per MWh for about an hour.
Households in Singapore were not affected, however, as electricity tariffs for this group of consumers are pre-determined by a formula pegged to fuel oil prices - reviewed every three months.
=> So one can imagine the obscene profit margin exacted on Sporns by the Familee!
This means, for example, that electricity prices for the January to March quarter are based on the average daily trading price of oil futures last October.
Business users, which use more electricity, are free to negotiate their contracts with power retailers.
The Straits Times understands that about 90 per cent of such users choose fixed price contracts, which minimise the volatility of electricity prices.
This means about 10 per cent of business users, whose electricity contracts follow spot prices, were affected by the recent gas supply disruption.
Power generation companies (gencos) PowerSeraya and Tuas Power were hit by the disruption, but declined to disclose the names of clients which were affected. Both companies told The Straits Times that there was minimal 'operational and financial' impact.
The affected facility is owned by Semb- corp Gas, which imports natural gas from Indonesia's West Natuna fields.
EMA said such disruptions were 'very rare', citing only a few cases since Singapore started receiving piped natural gas from Malaysia and Indonesia.
About 80 per cent of Singapore's electricity is generated by gas-powered plants, the rest by oil.
In December 2006, there was a brief 45-minute disruption, involving gas being delivered from Malaysia, caused by a technical fault. Prior to that, another technical fault cut off the Indonesian gas supply to Singapore in June 2004, plunging half the island into darkness, underscoring the Republic's dependence on Indonesian gas.
Tuas Power chief executive Lim Kong Puay said that when such disruptions occur, the genco switches to diesel to generate electricity, thus ensuring no interruptions to supply to consumers and clients.
Diesel is more expensive than gas, which means higher operating costs, but he said the disruption was over a very short period, and affected very small numbers, so the impact was minimal.
Industry experts, such as editor of energy news portal EnergyAsia.com, Mr Ng Weng Hoong, said that although households were not affected, the incident highlights Singapore's dependence on fuel from its neighbours.
'If this source is cut off one day, what will happen in Singapore? This underscores our need to really diversify our energy sources.'
EMA said that there are contingency measures in place for disruptions. Gencos are required to have 90 days of fuel in stock to use for supplying power in case of disruptions.
Singapore is currently building its first $1 billion liquefied natural gas plant on Jurong Island, which is scheduled to begin operations in 2012. [email protected]
