Gas power in Asia and Pacific Light

SINGAPORE - It's the city of bright lights, fast and efficient trains underground, the regional headquarter of many big multinationals from the West and the host of one of Formula 1's famous races held at night because it can afford to brighten the road tracks as if it is daytime.

- Bienvenido S. Oplas Jr.

Singapore is the richest Asian country in terms of per capita income. In 2023, Singapore has a per capita GDP at current prices of $84,734, fifth highest in the world behind Luxembourg, Ireland, Switzerland and Norway. But at per capita GDP at purchasing power parity (PPP) values, Singapore is the second highest at $127,544 just behind Luxembourg's $133,973.

The per capita GDP at PPP values of other East Asians in 2023 were: Taiwan $67,044, Hong Kong $64,538, South Korea $54,103, Japan $54,103, Malaysia $34,864, China $22,078, Thailand $21,608, Indonesia $14,014, Vietnam $13,499 and the Philippines $10,165 (Source: IMF, World Economic Outlook database Oct. 2024).

One wonders what powers or what sustains the heavy use of electricity in Singapore. Well, in 2023, Singapore was the most natural-gas intensive country in the world. Here is the percentage share of natural gas in total power generation in terawatt-hours: Singapore used about 90 percent of 57 TWH, Iran used 84 percent of 383 TWH and Egypt used 81 percent of 220 TWH.

Other Asians have these numbers: Thailand with 68 percent of 190 TWH, Taiwan with 40 percent of 282 TWH, Malaysia with 37 percent of 188 TWH, Japan with 32 percent of 1,013 TWH, S. Korea with 27 percent of 618 TWH, Indonesia with 17 percent of 351 TWH, Philippines with 14 percent of 118 TWH (Source: Energy Institute, 2024).