Brief Summary

How network industries function in Singapore

Electricity

Potential issues?
Severe weather conditions, no sources,
What is in place to counter the issues?
What have other countries done?
USA – improving grid resilience through managing risks, consider cost-effective strengthening,
increase system flexibility and robustness, increase visualization and situational awareness, deploy
advanced control capabilities, and the availability of critical components and software systems
UK – addressing vulnerabilities through the Critical Infrastructure Resilience Programme by the
Natural Hazards Team (set up in the Civil Contingencies Secretariat at the Cabinet Office). Primary
role is to establish a cross-sector resilience programme between the government, regulators and
industry. They came up with sector-resilience plans that focus on each sector. Energy: the electricity
transmission and distribution companies in Great Britain have plans and cost options to provide a
target level of protection of a 0.1% annual flooding probability (1 in 1000yr) for critical assets. A
similar exercise is being conducted for gas infrastructure. In the price review for the period 2010-
2014, Ofgem, the energy regulator, permitted electricity companies to collect an extra £112 million
from customers for flooding resilience.

Gas
Source
•Liquefied Natural Gas
•Fuel Oil
•Natural Gas and Diesel
Power plants
•Steam plants
•Refuse
•Solar
•Combined cycle plants
Electricity
grid
•SP PowerGrid Ltd, SP PowerAssets Ltd
•Perfomance standards are in place
Consumers
•Households
•Commercial
•Industries

 Two separate gas pipelines; (1) town gas and (2) natural gas
 Town gas serves 50% of the households in Singapore, used mainly for cooking and
water heating, manufactured and retailed by City Gas Pte Ltd
 Natural gas is imported into Singapore as piped natural gas from Malaysia and
Indonesia via four offshore pipelines
 PowerGas Ltd is the licensed gas transporter in Singapore that owns and manages the
gas pipeline network for conveying natural gas and town gas. As the gas transporter,
it provides open and non-discriminatory access to the gas pipeline network.
 Adherence to performance standards set by EMA


Source Country /
Location Importer / Retailer Purpose
Malaysia Senoko Energy Ltd (Importer) Power generation
Malaysia Keppel Gas Pte Ltd (Importer) Mainly for power generation
Indonesia, West Natuna Sembcorp Gas Pte Ltd (Importer and Retailer)
Power generation and industrial
use
Indonesia, South Sumatra
Gas Supply Pte Ltd (Importer)
Gas Supply Pte Ltd & City Gas Pte Ltd
(Retailers)
Power generation and industrial
use
BG Portfolio BG Singapore Gas Marketing Pte Ltd
Power generation and industrial
use
Potential issues?
What is in place to counter the issues?
What have other countries done?

Water
Potential issues?
Flash floods, unable to meet the country’s demand,
What is in place to counter the issues?
 Expert Panel on Drainage Design and Flood Protection Measures on 30 June 2001
o Singapore’s achievements in flood management and prevention
o Rainfall intensities have increased over the past few decades, and are likely to increase in the future
o Urbanisation has undoubtedly led to an increase in storm water runoff in Singapore
o The Stamford Canal does not have the capacity to drain away the surface runoff generated by the storms
on 16 Jun 2010 and 5 Jun 2011
o Singapore now needs to move towards a more integrated risk-based approach based on dynamic
modelling and comprehensive monitoring
o A wider range of interventions is required to help Singapore secure a more adequate drainage system for
the future
o Improved engagement of stakeholders and the general public
o Flexible and adaptable systems to manage future uncertainty
 Inter-Agency Drainage Review Committee – convened by PUB to review existing capacities
of major drains and canals and also drainage design requirements for flood control
1

 Engagement of public and stakeholders
 Use of social media to inform the public about flood areas
What have other countries done?
USA – Community based resilience and preparedness programs (targeting the stakeholders), identify
and incorporate best practices for water service disruptions into emergency response plans (ERPs) and
continuity of operations plans
UK – Water: the water sector is particularly vulnerable to flooding due to the position of assets close
to lakes and rivers. The CIRP mapping exercise identified a total of 63 sites at a risk exceeding the 1
in 200 year standard. During the most recent price review in 2009, the water regulator Ofwat allowed
water companies to charge an additional £400 million to customer bills for investment in resilience.


1
See article titled overview_drainagemgmt PUB.pdf


Air space
Potential issues?
 MH370,
What is in place to counter the issues?
What have other countries done?

Ports
Potential issues?
 Oil spills, unanticipated natural disasters
 On January 29, following a collision between the departing Hong Kong-flagged chemical
tanker Lime Galaxy and the arriving China-flagged containership Fei He, the damaged
containership spilled about 280 metric tonnes of fuel oil 2.7 km south of Jurong Island.
 The next day, January 30, there was a collision between the Panama-flagged container ship
NYK Themis and the barge AZ Fuzhou, that caused the NYK Themis to spill about 400mt of
fuel oil at Singapore’s East Keppel Fairway.
 February 11, 2014 (ENS) – A containership and a chemical tanker collided in the Singapore
Strait Monday afternoon, spilling some 80 metric tonnes of bunker fuel, the Maritime and
Port Authority of Singapore reports.
What is in place to counter the issues?
What have other countries done?
Transport

LTA (regulator)
SMRT (operator)
SBS Transit
(operator)
Taxi companies
(6 of them)
Public Transport
Council (advisor)