Photo 1. AEO8 Team with Singapore Officials during Country Visit to Singapore

On 12 March, 2024, the ASEAN Center for Energy (ACE) conducted a consultation visit to Singapore as part of the 8th ASEAN Energy Outlook (AEO8) development. The country visit was a follow-up to the first AEO8 Workshop in Bogor, Indonesia, last November. The country visit aimed to share and consult on the initial modelling results. During these visits, ACE invited energy officials and relevant stakeholders from AMS to gain additional input and check for the modelling, such as detailed data, assumptions, and initial findings.  

As with all country visits, the first presentation is about the current progress of AEO8, given by Rika Safrina, Senior Analyst of Energy Modelling and Policy Planning (MPP) and AEO8 Team Leader at ACE. The presentation highlighted the improvements from AEO7, including two additional historical years until 2022, updating more realistic formulas and equations in the model, as well as the integration with other energy studies in the region, such as the RE Long Term Roadmap and ASEAN Interconnection Masterplan Study (AIMS). Among the planned topics to be evaluated in the upcoming AEO8 Report, Singapore’s officials suggested expanding the analysis on electricity to include the potential capacity of each AMS to further export power to neighbouring countries in the region. 

The next session discussed the next cycle of the ASEAN Plan of Action for Energy Cooperation (APAEC), moderated by Amira Bilqis, Analyst of MPP at ACE. As the current phase is due to end in 2025, this year’s country visit allowed ACE to also inquire AMS about their energy priorities in the future to be considered by the APAEC Drafting Committee (ADC). The ACE team noted a lot of inputs from Singapore’s representatives, for instance, about the importance of subsea power cables and more cross-sectoral alignments. 

The next session focused on the data and initial findings of the modelling. During the data discussion, which was led by Amira Bilqis, ACE reconfirmed the collected data and policies related to Singapore’s energy sector. Almost all essential policies are taken from the Singapore Green Plan 2030, which supports Singapore’s aim to achieve net zero emissions by 2050. 

The next session presented the initial findings of the Baseline Scenario and the AMS Target Scenario (ATS), which were given by Michael Petalio, Energy Modeller of ACE. The group discussed the assumptions, scenarios, and methodology in more detail. One of the key inputs from the participants was to ensure that the modelling technique for demand projection is not merely based on GDP growth since many other factors may affect it. 

The meeting then ended with the last discussion about the two other scenarios: the Regional Approach Scenario (RAS) and the Carbon Neutrality Scenario (CNS), which was also led by Michael Petalio. During this session, ACE inquired about the new emerging technologies that Singapore would consider in the short-, mid-, and long-terms. Participants then highlighted the Future Energy Fund which was just established to support Singapore’s infrastructure investments, mentioning hydrogen as the country’s potential energy fuel. 

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AEO8 development is supported by several partners, including the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry (METI) Japan, the Norwegian Government through the ASEAN Climate Change and Energy Project (ACCEPT) Phase II, the USAID through Smart Power Programme (SPP), Australian Government through Partnerships for Infrastructure (P4I), Energy Foundation China, and many technical partners.​