SINGAPORE Law and Practice Contributed by: Adam Moncrieff, Karthik Kumar, Lynette Lim and Kelly Choo, Orrick, Herrington & Sutcliffe LLP
based on EMA’s published information on its website, natural gas accounted for 93.1% of Singapore’s fuel mix, of which other energy products (such as munici- pal waste, biomass and imports) accounted for 3.0%, and solar PV accounted for 2.5%. As a comparison, in 2019, natural gas accounted for 95.6% of Singapore’s fuel mix. 2.4 Market Concentration Limits See 2.5 Surveillance to Detect Anti-Competitive Behaviour . 2.5 Surveillance to Detect Anti-Competitive Behaviour Competition in the wholesale electricity market or the retail electricity market in Singapore is regulated by the EMA under the Electricity Act. The principal electricity sector competition law is Part 7 of the Electricity Act, which prohibits anti- competitive agreements and abuse of dominance in any wholesale electricity market or the retail electricity market in Singapore. The Singapore Electricity Market Rules are also important because they govern whole- sale operations of the National Electricity Market of Singapore and establish the Market Surveillance and Compliance Panel market-monitoring and compliance framework. In addition, the sector-agnostic Compe- tition Act 2004 of Singapore is administered by the Competition and Consumer Commission of Singapore and prohibits anti-competitive agreements, abuse of dominance and mergers that substantially lessen competition. The Electricity Act prohibits agreements, decisions and concerted practices that have as their object or effect the prevention, restriction or distortion of com- petition in any wholesale electricity market or the retail electricity market in Singapore. Examples include price-fixing, limiting or controlling electricity genera- tion, limiting market development or investment, shar- ing markets or sources of supply, applying dissimilar conditions to equivalent transactions, tying unrelated obligations to contracts, and providing for acquisition of shares or assets of an electricity licensee. The Electricity Act also prohibits conduct amounting to abuse of a dominant position in any wholesale elec-
tricity market or the retail electricity market in Singa- pore if it may affect trade within Singapore. Examples include imposing unfair purchase or selling prices, limiting electricity generation or market development to the prejudice of consumers, applying dissimilar conditions to equivalent transactions, and imposing unrelated supplementary contractual obligations. The EMA may investigate where it has reasonable grounds to suspect an infringement of the foregoing prohibitions. During an investigation, the EMA may issue written notices requiring a person to produce specified documents or information relevant to the investigation. The EMA may also apply to the District Court for a warrant to enter premises where there are reasonable grounds to suspect that relevant docu- ments are on the premises and would not otherwise be produced or might be concealed, removed, tam- pered with or destroyed. After investigation, the EMA may decide whether an agreement infringes the Electricity Act and issue directions to address the infringement. The EMA may require the entity to modify or terminate an infringing agreement and, where the agreement concerns acqui- sition of shares or assets of an electricity licensee, require disposal of the relevant shares or assets within a specified period. For abuse of dominance, the EMA may require the entity to modify or cease the conduct. The EMA also has the power to impose a financial penalty for infringement, capped at the higher of SGD1 million or 10% of the annual turnover of the entity’s business in Singapore, ascertained from the latest audited accounts. 3. Generation Facilities 3.1 Constructing and Operating Generation Facilities The main legislation governing the electricity sector in Singapore, including the construction and operation of generation facilities in Singapore, is the Electric- ity Act. An entity operating a utility-scale generation facility will generally require a generation licence, while smaller grid-connected generating units may require a wholesaler licence, depending on nameplate capacity.
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