Comparison between Singapore and OECD's Electricity Tariffs

Mr Leon Perera asked the Minister for Trade and Industry (Industry) for each year from 2011 to 2016, what has been the price difference between Singapore's regulated electricity tariff and that of OECD countries which use gas as the main fuel for power generation.

The Minister for Trade and Industry (Industry) (Mr S Iswaran): Mdm Speaker, Singapore uses imported natural gas to generate 95% of its electricity needs. There are only a handful of OECD countries that rely on natural gas as their main fuel source for power generation. These are Mexico, the Netherlands, Ireland, Turkey and Japan, which use gas for 40% to 57% of their electricity needs.

Based on the latest available data for these five countries, Singapore's regulated electricity tariffs were on average about 1% higher over the period from 2011 to 2015.

However, it is more meaningful to compare our regulated electricity tariffs with Ireland, Turkey and Japan, which rely mainly on imported natural gas, similar to Singapore. When compared to these countries, Singapore's regulated electricity tariffs were on average 13% lower over the period from 2011 to 2015.

11.40 am

Mdm Speaker: Order. End of Question Time. Introduction of Government Bills.