Power Power Energy ( Generation) Energy ( Generation)

Address issues such as the rising demand for power, or join the search for sustainable sources of energy.

Power generation deals with the production of energy, its transmission and distribution to homes and properties, as well as its metering and sales.

This privatised industry’s locally regulated by Singapore Power, and major players tend to be companies with fully integrated structures that have the capability to generate, distribute and sell power.

Singapore’s strategic location within the Asian Sunbelt, as well as its strong logistics and R&D capabilities, have encouraged international companies to invest in clean energy research here as well.

Career overview

Commercial availability and profitability provide challenges on a daily basis as short-term solutions need to be implemented quickly and safely. Longterm solutions must then be developed for the future.

Circumstances can also change quickly, and engineers play a key role in managing this change. As a result, having mobility is often required and projects can last anywhere between days to years.

Typically, engineers work in small specialist teams, either in isolation or as part of a larger project group, and it’s common to work on numerous projects simultaneously.

Trends and developments

Although Singapore has an overcapacity in the market, the small nation may require new power generation capacity from 2025, as plants come to the end of their service life.

As the city-state imports almost all its energy, looking into alternative energy has become an increasingly prominent topic. Even though nuclear power is seeing a global resurgence as new energy generation assets are needed to avoid worldwide power shortages, Singapore’s small size means that it can’t be deployed safely.

Additionally, while climate change issues are pressuring engineers to use new sustainable energy solutions, the race is still on for reliable clean energy systems that can be set up on a national scale and at an affordable cost to consumers.

For example, despite investments in researching solar photovoltaic (PV) systems, Singapore may face difficulties generating a regular supply of solar energy due to rapid weather changes, and this unsustainability translates to increased cost for solar power. It’s problems like these that power generation engineers in the small nation and around the world are struggling to address.

Career highlights

Endless opportunities

Graduates looking to enter this industry will find themselves various opportunities to tailor their roles to personal preferences and interests. They may either be sent individually to address day-to-day technical issues, or integrated with other teams into a larger group for more complicated projects – such as the building of a new power plant. Some engineers, on the other hand, may end up taking on specialised consulting roles instead, offering their expert opinions on power generation projects.