Speaking to reporters, EMA CEO Khoo Chin Hean said that the recent experience of large-scale blackouts in the US, UK, Sweden, Denmark and Italy had highlighted the increased importance of energy security.
The EMA is currently studying the use of LNG in electricity generation - expected for completion by the end of this year or the beginning of next, said Khoo.
Yesterday, he also provided the clearest indication yet that the role of Singapore Power Services, currently Singapore's 'default' provider of electricity, will be eroded further in the future.
"SingPower in the long-term will have to exit from retailing. Right now they're still holding on to the non-contestable customers until we're ready to open them to contestability," says Mr Khoo.
Singapore's electricity market has been open to retail competition since the beginning of this year. Consumers who use large amounts of power - described in the industry as contestable customers - are free to choose which power retailer they want to buy electricity from.
If they do not choose, then SingPower will continue to be the default seller. Non-contestable customers are the small users, and, as yet, they are not allowed to choose their suppliers.
Khoo also hinted that the upcoming full retail contestability of the domestic market, scheduled for end-2003 to early 2004, is to go through a major rethink.
Unlike large industrial and commercial consumers who make up more than 75 per cent of Singapore's energy demand, Singapore's 1.1 million domestic consumers use small amounts of electricity and are ill-positioned to benefit much from the liberalisation.
"We do not have to rush into this, we can take our time," says Mr Khoo.
While denying that the EMA will not eventually liberalise the residential market, Mr Khoo said that many of the benefits for consumers have already been realised through a more efficient energy market since January. For example, he cited that efficiency gains had brought about a 9.5 per cent reduction in electricity prices between Jan 2002 and 2003.
This would have translated into a real fall in electricity prices had the gains not been offset by a larger rise in fuel prices over the same period.
