Mr Lim has been the President and Chief Executive Officer of Tuas Power for the past nine years. He joined Tuas Power in 1996 and has taken on key positions such as General Manager (Operations) and Deputy CEO. He has successfully led the generation team through challenges brought about by the newly-liberalised electricity market in Singapore and integrated the core businesses of Tuas Power to realise synergies among its business units. Tuas Power serves about 20% of Singapore's electricity needs. Under his leadership, the company has expanded into new areas, providing utilities such as steam, cooling water and oil tankage services to industrial customers.
1. Since its incorporation in 1995, Tuas Power has expanded its business into managing utilities, developing green energy solutions, waste treatment and solutions, as well as asset management and maintenance services. What other areas can we expect Tuas Power to expand into? What about other markets in the region?
Mr Lim Kong Puay: Our business comprises two core areas, power generation and utilities. In Singapore we have an installed generation capacity of 2,670MW. To grow our business, we have steadily built up our second core business of providing utilities to industrial customers in Tuas and Tembusu, Jurong Island.
With the increasing focus on environmental sustainability, I believe the business will shift from mere provision of electricity and utilities to bundled services that include energy efficiency monitoring and enhancements. This can be seen in some of the work we have embarked on with our customers – a highly efficient tri-generation plant to provide electricity, steam and chilled water for some specialised industry; energy efficient lighting solutions; and automated meter readers for commercial buildings.
In Singapore, we will continue to provide bundled services to our customers in the electricity market and develop our utilities business in Jurong Island. In the next phase of growth, we will explore opportunities in the electricity and utilities sector in the region, leveraging on our core experience and tapping on the vast expertise of the China Huaneng Group.
2. Energy consumption in Singapore and the rest of Asia have been steadily increasing over the past decade and are expected to rise further. In your opinion, what is needed to help Asia with energy savings and efficiency?
Mr Lim Kong Puay: I believe that subsidies, where they are applied, should gradually be reduced so that the price of electricity reflects its true cost. This will spur efficient usage of electricity.
Public education and the implementation of energy savings and efficiency measures will also help. This can take the form of easy-to-implement measures such as energy efficient lighting, centralised monitoring of energy consumption and making changes to processes using more efficient equipment such as variable speed drives.
3. Tuas Power is the first company in Singapore to develop large-scale trigeneration plants for manufacturing facilities, including pharmaceutical and petrochemical plants. How can you continue to lead and influence others in the power, oil and gas industry to reduce their energy consumption and improve energy efficiency?
Mr Lim Kong Puay: We need to continue to develop efficient energy solutions that are tailored to meet the specific needs of our customers. These can be bundled as a package to customers in our electricity retail business. For industries located in clusters, we will continue to provide centralised services such as the Tembusu Multi-Utilities Complex (TMUC), where we provide integrated utilities such as steam, cooling water and wastewater treatment.
Some of the energy enhancement measures require significant initial capital outlay and genco-retailers may see this as an opportunity to offer customers long-term bundled electricity packages.
4. The construction of the Tembusu Multi-Utilities Complex on Jurong Island will make a major contribution to the diversification and security of Singapore's energy supplies. How do you see the role of alternative energy sources such as biomass increasing in importance in energy generation and what role do you foresee it playing in Singapore's energy mix?
Mr Lim Kong Puay: The Tembusu Multi-Utilities Complex uses a range of fuel types from biomass, coal, diesel and natural gas to meet the energy needs of the customers. It is this diversity that contributes to the security of supplies. While we are still predominantly dependent on gas to meet energy needs in Singapore, we see scope in the greater use of alternative energy sources such as biomass and photovoltaics (PV). However, the growth of alternative energy will be constrained by limited land space in Singapore.
5. The energy sector in Singapore requires a steady influx of new talent. How do you think energy jobs can be made attractive to young Singaporeans? What is Tuas Power's strategy to attract and retain employees?
Mr Lim Kong Puay: An initiative led by the Energy Market Authority (EMA) and with the participation of the industry players is in progress to raise the awareness of the power sector among young people, and to highlight interesting developments and opportunities available. We should highlight the meaningful contribution that young people who join the energy sector can make to society and businesses, while providing them with a robust training framework, competitive remuneration and a clear career path. At Tuas Power, we provide ample opportunities for our staff to upgrade their knowledge and skills through company-sponsored training program and scholarships at tertiary institutions. These include technical and management training either locally or overseas. We regularly review our remuneration packages to ensure that they remain competitive.