The sixth Singapore Electricity Roundtable on 28 and 29 October at the Suntec Singapore International Convention & Exhibition Centre sparked great interest. This is the third year that EMC has partnered with the Energy Market Authority and Energy Studies Institute, hosting the Roundtable as part of the Singapore International Energy Week (SIEW).

Over 200 participants attended the Roundtable, including representatives of our market participants, the electricity, energy and gas industries, power generation suppliers, financial institutions, consultancies and local government ministries and agencies. Journalists were also invited to attend the Roundtable, and the event was covered in the media. 

Participants hailed from diverse industries and many countries, including Australia, Hong Kong, Philippines, Malaysia, China, Taiwan, Thailand, European countries, as well as the U.S. EMC thanks everyone for their support of the Roundtable.  The strong interest shown by both new and returning participants inspires us each year.

High-profile speakers and panellists from four continents shared their insights. EMC Chairman Wong Meng Meng welcomed the attendees, noting that the Roundtable and the SIEW continued to offer an excellent opportunity to facilitate closer cooperation and the exchange of ideas among governments, businesses and academics on a regional and global basis.

Arne Eik, Manager European Carbon Market, Point Carbon, presented on the European Union emission trading scheme (EU ETS) and touched on the lessons learned from the scheme. He spoke about the emission allowance (EUA) price developments in the scheme and wound up his presentation with the scheme's impact on the European power market.

Dr Pallapa Ruangrong, Commissioner, Energy Regulatory Commission of Thailand, touched on the developments in Thailand's electricity sector. She provided an overview of the Thailand electricity industry, covering topics like the components of the market, Thailand's renewable energy promotion plans, tariff structure, electricity pricing structure, energy generation mix and Thailand's power development plans for the future.

Paul Sell, Director, Energy Market Consulting Associates, presented on the deployment of smart metering (AMI) and how benefits are being realised with such an infrastructure. He touched on the components, costs and benefits of the smart metering infrastructure and the planning that goes into such an infrastructure deployment – that is, the risks and costs involved and how to optimise the benefits from such an infrastructure.

Mark R. Landis, Managing Director, MRL Management Services, provided his perspectives on the Australian electricity derivatives market. Mr Landis gave a comprehensive presentation on the derivatives market covering the development of the market, financial market participants, the non-exchange and exchange-listed products traded, major disruptions to the market, the effect of large customers entering the market, the impact of environmental and renewable products on the market, and the lessons learned.

Professor Dr Dong Jun, School of Economics and Management, North China Electric Power University, gave an update on the electricity market in China. She presented an overview of the status and outlook of the electricity market in China, and detailed the market reforms of the electricity sector in China. China, like Thailand, is focused on renewable energy and has a series of strategies in place to manage their response to climate change. The update on China's electricity market also had the participants in awe as demand and supply growth were not in megawatt but gigawatt and terawatt.

We thank all participants for their active engagement in this year’s event and we hope to see you again at the Singapore Electricity Roundtable 2011.