Impact of Prolonged Heat Wave on Power Grid and Deployment of Electric Vehicle Charging Infrastructure

Miss Cheryl Chan Wei Ling asked the Minister for Trade and Industry with the impending prolonged and intense heat (a) whether demand for cooling needs will overwhelm the power grid; and (b) whether there is a likelihood of this competing demand slowing down the deployment of electric vehicle charging infrastructures across Singapore.

Electricity consumption is likely to be higher during the hotter months of April and May. This year, peak electricity demand increased by about 8% from 7.3 gigawatts in February to 7.9 gigawatts in May.

We have sufficient generation and grid capacity to meet the increased electricity demand arising from higher temperatures. The existing installed capacity of Combined Cycle Gas Turbines used for power generation is 9.4 gigawatts, higher than the peak electricity demand we experienced.

Changes in climatic conditions are taken into consideration when Energy Market Authority (EMA) updates its annual electricity demand forecasts. These forecasts also include projected demand from different sectors of society and the economy, including the growth of the electric vehicle population and the deployment of electric vehicle charging infrastructure. EMA uses the forecasts to plan for investments in electricity infrastructure.

First, the forecast guides generation capacity investments. EMA announced earlier that it will introduce a centralised tender approach this year to facilitate and guide private investments in new generation capacity. Should there be inadequate interest from the private sector to plant new capacity, EMA will build the required new capacity. This is to ensure that there is sufficient generation capacity to meet forecasted electricity demand.

Second, the forecast also guides investments by SP Group to upgrade our power grid network to meet projected electricity demand and the stringent grid reliability standards set by EMA.