Singapore’s Volatile Power Market Beats Crypto’s Wild Swings

(Bloomberg) -- Singapore’s wholesale electricity prices have surged to a record high and slumped below zero in the span of a month, a level of volatility more nerve-wracking than Bitcoin’s.

Power generation companies were paying buyers to take electricity before dawn on Nov. 11, with prices going negative at about -S$5.05 per megawatt-hour, according to data from Singapore’s Energy Market Company. That’s the first time since 2019 that prices fell below zero, and is a sharp reversal from last month’s record-high rates above S$3,811.

Singapore’s wholesale power market operator said that demand at dawn is typically low and “generation companies might choose to make negative offers for operational or commercial reasons.” 

Energy crises have caused power prices to soar in many countries, including China, as industries restart, outpacing supplies of natural gas and coal. Volatile prices have bankrupted electricity companies from the U.K. to the U.S. In Singapore, at least five independent power retailers exited the market last month after being forced to buy electricity at record-high rates or risk defaulting on customers. 

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