Laos–Singapore Power Proposal Targets 500 MW, but Transit Deals Remain Open

Singapore’s Tuas Power, Lao state electricity company Électricité du Laos and Phongsupthavy Group signed a memorandum of understanding on October 30 to explore supplying Singapore with up to 500 megawatts of electricity from Laos. The proposed arrangement would run for five to 15 years, according to The Straits Times and the Laotian Times. It is a proposal, not an approved supply contract.

Under the plan described by Tuas Power to The Straits Times, supply would start at 100 MW in the first contract year, rise to 300 MW in the second and reach 500 MW thereafter. Hydropower would provide most of the electricity. Tuas Power chief operating officer Michael Wong told the newspaper that solar and wind power could supplement it when hydropower availability falls in the dry season.

Before electricity can reach Singapore, the partners need buyers, regulatory approvals and agreements to move power across other countries’ networks. Phongsupthavy Group managing director Somlath Mek Akath identified cross-border agreements as a challenge, according to Nation Thailand’s account of The Straits Times report. Wong said the companies are working toward securing buyers, approvals and the necessary certification by 2027; The Straits Times reported that Singapore’s regulator also requires an electricity import licence.

The proposal would build on the Laos–Thailand–Malaysia–Singapore Power Integration Project, which began in 2022 with permission for Singapore to import up to 100 MW of Lao hydropower through existing regional networks, according to Nation Thailand. Enerdata says the project’s trading capacity was subsequently raised to 200 MW. The proposed 500 MW supply would exceed that permitted capacity, making additional transmission arrangements a condition of the larger plan.

The Straits Times put 500 MW at slightly more than 4% of Singapore’s current 12 GW generation capacity. For Laos, the supply profile also has a seasonal test: the companies must show that power from hydro and other sources can be delivered through the dry season, while securing a route across the intervening grids.