Singapore Plans Five Gas Power Plants and Bigger Grid in Energy Expansion

Singapore has announced a five-year programme to expand its electricity infrastructure as demand rises from data centres, semiconductor manufacturing and the electrification of transport.

The Energy Market Authority said on October 26 that five new natural-gas-fired power plants are expected to be operating between 2026 and 2031. Together, they would increase generating capacity by about 26% from the current level of roughly 12 gigawatts. The agency is separately evaluating proposals for additional plants that could operate by 2032.

Peak electricity demand stood at 8.6 gigawatts in August 2026, according to the authority. By 2031, it could reach between 9.9 and 13 gigawatts, depending on how quickly major new industrial and transport projects come online. The wide forecast range underscores that demand growth is not guaranteed at the upper end.

The plan also calls for an expansion of liquefied natural gas handling. Regasification capacity would rise from 10 million to 15 million tonnes annually when a second terminal at Jurong Port begins operating by 2030. Natural gas currently accounts for about 95% of Singapore's electricity supply, making fuel security a major consideration.

The authority projects up to S$5.3 billion in power-grid investment over 2025–2029, supporting seven new transmission substations by 2031 and an expansion of high-voltage transmission cables from about 7,700 kilometres to 9,100 kilometres by 2030.

Singapore also plans to pursue 4 gigawatts-peak of installed solar capacity by 2035, beyond its earlier 3-gigawatt-peak target for 2030, and to increase energy-storage capacity from about 350 megawatt-hours to more than 1 gigawatt-hour by 2030.

These are infrastructure plans and targets, not completed installations. The government says the programme will be reviewed as electricity demand and energy-market conditions evolve.