How four Southeast Asian grids carried electricity to Singapore

The commercial sale used three physical interconnections

In 2022 Keppel Electric began importing power from Électricité du Laos. The route passed from Laos through Thailand, then Malaysia, then into Singapore. The first phase used links that were already in place, so the project combined access to existing grids with a new multilateral arrangement. Source 1 Source 3

Malaysia acquired a second role

Under the original route, Malaysia’s grid was part of the transit chain. EMA’s September 2024 announcement says the next phase adds electricity supplied by Malaysia. That additional source underpins the increase from a maximum of 100 MW to 200 MW. The 200 MW describes the enhanced project as a whole. Source 2 Source 3

The importer licence and power agreement cover different parties

The first agreement described in the launch release was between Keppel Electric and Électricité du Laos. Singapore’s EMA separately regulates the ability to import electricity. Its 2024 announcement extended Keppel’s importer licence to 2026 in support of the second phase. The contract, licence and grid access each address a distinct part of the trade. Source 1 Source 2

Capacity and delivered energy are different measures

An import limit is expressed in MW. A flow of 100 MW held for one hour would deliver 100 MWh, but the limit alone gives no evidence about how many hours the power actually flowed. EMA lists separate electricity import trials elsewhere on its regional grids page, so their figures should be tracked separately from this four-country project. Source 2 Source 3

Sources

• EMA and Keppel, start of Lao renewable power imports
• EMA and Keppel, phase two capacity and licence
• EMA regional power grids and separate import trials