SINGAPORE: A heavy downpour on Monday morning (Jan 8) caused flash floods in several areas of Singapore.

In a series of tweets from 9.20am, national water agency PUB warned of flash floods at Jalan Nipah, at the junctions of Sim Avenue and Eunos Road 8 as well as Tanjong Katong Road. 

PUB also issued flash flood warnings for Arumugam Road, the junction of Bedok Road and Upper Changi Road East, the junction of Upper Changi Road and Bedok North Avenue 4 and the junction of Tampines Avenue 12.

A video submitted by a Channel NewsAsia reader also showed floods near Paya Lebar Square where a car can be seen partially submerged.

Many also shared on social media photos and videos of flooding at several areas in Singapore.

Part-time Uber driver Melvin Lau said he was driving along Bedok North Avenue 4 at around 9am when he encountered flash floods.

“My car was almost stuck in the waters. I had to engage the first gear and slowly move out,” he told Channel NewsAsia. 

SINGAPORE: Along with sustainability, energy security is another household term which anyone can say something about.

In news reports and commentary, energy security typically refers to the availability of energy resources.

The inaugural Singapore-International Energy Agency Forum held on the sidelines of the Singapore International Energy Week last October presented an increasing concern on energy security in the ASEAN as one of four insights. 

The forum identified a surge in importing energy resources and costs due to a lack of availability of energy resources in the region as a key challenge, a combined effect of decreasing domestic supply of and increasing demand for energy resources.

In a similar vein, a recent commentary by KPMG on Channel NewsAsia interpreted energy security as increasing energy supply by utilising solar photovoltaic technologies and building up access to liquefied natural gas. 

Diversification of energy resources and supply sources make up a frequently cited definition in the discussion of energy security.

But the discipline of economics defines energy security as “an adequate and reliable supply of energy resources at a reasonable price”.

It seems energy security has many connected dimensions and failing in any one criteria suggests our energy security may be at threat.

AFFORDABILITY

Narrowly defining energy security as national access to energy resources might assure us that Singapore has the means to import or grow its own sources of energy on the surface. 

Sufficient wealth to import energy resources like natural gas, petroleum, crude oil and coal for a resource-scarce country like Singapore is indeed a critical prerequisite.

But there are other conditions that must be fulfilled in the translation pathway to ensuring Singapore can confidently and sustainably harness energy to grow our economy and power Singaporeans’ day-to-day electricity needs.

Recent news that electricity tariffs will increase by an average of 6.3 per cent or 1.26 cents per kWh from Jan 1 to Mar 31, 2018 compared with the previous quarter illustrates the importance of ensuring affordability to households and businesses, even as energy sources are readily available at a national level.

SP Group attributed the increase to “the higher cost of natural gas for electricity generation, which increased by 14 per cent compared to the previous quarter”.

If the fuel to power our economy gets more expensive, it may dampen economic growth and increase our cost of living. In such a scenario, it is hard to argue that we have energy security.

COSTS OF DELIVERING ENERGY

Affordability aside, even if we have reserves of energy resources on Singapore soil, we must also have the proven technologies to harness and deliver energy to the end-user.

About ten years ago, the discovery of large reserves of shale rock formations in the US spurred excitement about the prospects in achieving the country’s goal of energy self-sufficiency. But the boom in shale was only realised after the wider adoption of fracking that allowed for the extraction of deeply buried shale reserves.

China in comparison, hasn’t been able to afford the expensive fracking technology to exploit its shale reserves and continues to rely on energy imports. Today, it remains the world’s largest net importer of petroleum and is currently the largest foreign buyer of US oil.

These two examples illustrate an important question: Recent advancements in the field of energy has allowed countries to harness previously unknown and untapped sources of energy but are countries like Singapore applying these technologies widely enough?

I would argue that it was only when Singapore recently moved to proliferate solar photovoltaic cells and testbeds that we can truly say we are one step closer to leveraging solar energy and ensuring our energy security. 

Funding by the Government for urban solutions and sustainability through energy research and develop under the Research, Innovation and Enterprise 2020 plan may also provide a much needed boost.

POLITICISATION

One factor we have taken for granted in Singapore is public trust and acceptance in the way our energy needs are being met.

The story elsewhere can be different, especially in countries where debates on nuclear plants and “dirty coal” make energy security a politically charged issue.

Despite many years since the Fukushima nuclear disaster, many Japanese citizens have lost faith in nuclear safety regulation and a majority favours phasing out nuclear power. Pressing energy needs combined with fresh impetus to meet Paris Agreement obligations have put additional pressure to double down on efforts to rev up otherwise idle nuclear reactors.

In Europe, although coal can generate greater energy compared to oil and natural gas, many countries shun coal given its negative environmental impact, a charge led by strong climate change lobby groups.

Closer to home, in some larger Southeast Asia countries, the need to build extensive distribution networks across the country to deliver natural gas has led to the Myanmar government taking back large tracts of land. 

Similarly, recent years have seen the Laos government clearing land near the Mekong to build dams for hydropower. 

Both exercises have encountered resistance from affected residents in the area.

As Singapore matures into a developed country, who is to say that Singaporeans will not become more environmentally conscious? A party to the Paris Agreement, Singapore may be more keenly aware of our carbon footprint, which may see some Singaporeans demanding for clean energy.

And in a small country, where the built-up environment is dense, will residents accept living near the next power plant?

BETTER MEASURE OF ENERGY SECURITY

It seems we need a better, more comprehensive set of measures if we are to more credibly ascertain Singapore’s energy security.

Apart from availability of resources, we must also consider whether we have suitable technologies that can extract and deliver electricity in a manner that is cost- and carbon-efficient to households and businesses.

Singapore should therefore work on developing applicable energy technologies and making energy resources more affordable to households and business, even as it strives to increase our national access to energy resources.

Dr Chang Youngho is a senior lecturer at the School of Business at the Singapore University of Social Sciences.

SINGAPORE: Some days, she would find grains of salt and ashes on the front door and windows of her two-room flat in Block 55, Toa Payoh Lorong 5. On other days, she would find her laundry drenched in oil.

Mdm Lau Yoong Kin believes the culprit is her next-door neighbour, a woman in her 60s.

Mdm Lau said she and her husband have been tolerating their neighbour’s antics for the past 10 years.

“It’s like living in a horror house … is this fit for human living?” said the 78-year-old retiree. 

Pictures of the damage the woman allegedly caused to her common corridor have been making the rounds on social media.

When Channel NewsAsia visited the unit, the paint on the walls of the corridor had peeled off, exposing cement and brick at some parts. The floor was also damaged and uneven. 

“Sometimes, she’ll have some liquid that smells like urine and she splashes that too,” Mdm Lau said, adding that her own front door has corroded from daily exposure to water and salt. 

“We want to move out, but we cannot because we’re not mobile,” she added. “My husband just suffered a stroke and he cannot move much.” 

Her husband said the neighbour’s older brother visited them two to three years ago to “ask for tolerance and forgiveness” for his sister’s behaviour.

“He asked us to have kindness and to forgive her, but I told him to find a solution because his sister had been like this for many years,” he said. 

“He came again earlier today (Jan 7) to say the same thing after seeing the stories online,” he added. 

Mdm Lau and her husband are not the only ones affected by their neighbour’s alleged antics. 

Other neighbours Channel NewsAsia spoke with said the woman engages in daily “shouting sessions” in the morning, afternoon and evening. 

One neighbour who would only give her name as Ms Wong said the shouting has been going on for years, each time lasting up to 30 minutes. Other neighbours said she would stand and walk along the corridor to face the block opposite theirs and shout at it. 

“I cannot make out what she shouts about. Sometimes she says ‘Ah Choo ah’ and there are a lot of curse words in Hokkien and Cantonese,” she said. 

Another resident, Ms Theresa Kok, said: “Every morning at 7am she will start her nonsense. All the four-letter words. She always says the 13th floor, next block, has a person called Ah Choo. She says her husband had a girlfriend there.”

Mdm Lau recalled one incident when she confronted her neighbour for spilling oil on her doorstep, and she became aggressive, throwing several cans of air freshener at the retiree. According to Mdm Lau, the police came and took her away, but she was back at her unit the next day.

Mdm Lau and Ms Wong said they have reported their neighbour to the police, but her antics have persisted.

“I called the police because she was right outside my flat when I needed to go to work in the morning. And the police said that I wasn’t the first to call and report about her. They just gave her a warning and left,” said Ms Wong, who has been living there for more than 30 years. 

“When we ask her about the ashes and the salt, she will say it’s the other neighbours (Mdm Lau and her husband) who did it. But she was doing this even before they moved in 12 years ago,” Ms Wong added. 

Channel NewsAsia has reached out to the Singapore Police Force and Bishan-Toa Payoh Town Council for comment. 

SINGAPORE: A private bus caught fire at the East Coast Parkway (ECP) Changi exit along the Marine Coastal Expressway (MCE) on Sunday (Jan 7), forcing the authorities to close the exit lane. 

The Singapore Civil Defence Force (SCDF) said it was alerted to the incident at about 2pm. At around this time, the Land Transport Authority sent out a tweet alerting motorists of the fire and the exit’s closure. 

The fire involved the engine compartment of the bus, SCDF said, adding that the flames were put out using a single water jet.  

Channel NewsAsia understands passengers self-evacuated before the officers arrived. 

There were no reports of injuries, said SCDF. The cause of the fire is being investigated. 

SINGAPORE: A 66-year-old man was found dead at the foot of Fairmont Hotel at Bras Basah Road on Sunday (Jan 7). 

The man was pronounced dead by paramedics at the scene. 

The Singapore Civil Defence Force said it received a request for medical assistance at 11.10am, and it sent an ambulance and a fire bike to the scene. 

Channel NewsAsia understands that the man fell from the hotel. 

At 3pm, the area had been cordoned off and cleaners were seen arriving at the scene. 

Police are investigating the case as an unnatural death.