Written reply to PQ on Lessons from Batam and Johor power outages for Singapore grid resilience, and safeguards against cascading failures and nationwide disruptions

Question:

Ms Valerie Lee: To ask the Minister for Energy, Trade and Industry (Energy and Industry) in light of the recent major power outages in Batam and Johor (a) what lessons have been identified for Singapore's electricity grid resilience; and (b) whether existing safeguards and contingency plans are sufficiently robust to prevent cascading failures and prolonged nationwide disruptions arising from multiple simultaneous faults.

Written Answer by Minister for Energy, Trade and Industry (Energy and Industry) Dr Tan See Leng

1.       The underlying causes of the recent power outages in Batam and Johor are under investigation by Indonesian and Malaysian authorities respectively. We will study the incidents when more information is available to identify lessons for Singapore.

2.       Singapore adopts a multi-layered approach to safeguard the reliability and resilience of our power system.

3.       First, we have stringent measures in place to protect our critical electricity and gas infrastructure against physical and cyber threats. This includes infrastructure hardening, access controls, fire detection and suppression systems, and cybersecurity monitoring.

4.       Second, we plan and build the system with buffers to ensure reliable and secure electricity supply. We account for planned and unplanned outages in planning for power generation capacity. The Required Reserve Margin ensures that there is sufficient spare generation capacity above peak system demand. Our grid is designed such that if parts of the network become unavailable, there are alternative paths for electricity to flow to consumers.

5.       Third, the Energy Market Authority’s Power System Operator (PSO) and SP Group’s Electricity Distribution Control Centre monitor the nation-wide electricity transmission and distribution systems round the clock. These efforts enable them to detect any abnormal conditions promptly and to take immediate action to minimise impact to the system. Actions could include utilising spare capacity from power plants or activating fast-start generating units to provide additional supplies. If there is a gas supply disruption, PSO can also direct generation companies to switch to diesel and draw on their fuel reserves as needed to continue generating electricity. Generation companies are required to regularly test their generating units’ ability to switch from natural gas to diesel to ensure operational readiness.

6.       These safeguards have contributed to Singapore having one of the most reliable power systems in the world. In 2025, each customer experienced on average less than 19 seconds of electricity supply interruption for the entire year, with interruptions occurring very infrequently, averaging just 0.02 times per customer per year.