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Laos-Singapore renewable power trade resumes
Laos-Singapore renewable power trade resumes
Singapore, 15 January (Argus) — Three southeast Asian national utilities have settled terms to send 100MW of renewable energy generated in Laos to Singapore, the firms announced on 14 January, resuming cross-border power trade that ended in 2024. Power from Laos will be transmitted through existing interconnections in Thailand and Malaysia before reaching Singapore, under a two-year agreement between Malaysia's Tenaga Nasional Berhad, Laos' Electricite Du Laos and Thailand's Electricity Generating Authority of Thailand signed on 14 January and effective as of the same day. A similar scheme titled LTMS-PIP existed in 2022-24, and about 280GWh of hydropower was transacted as of late 2023. The new scheme LTMS-PIP 2.0 had been under discussion but was not fully implemented until now. Total capacity traded under LTMS-PIP 2.0 will be up to 200MW, with 100MW of additional supply from Malaysia announced in 2024. Malaysia also has a separate scheme, Enegem, for selling renewable power to Singapore. The first 50MW deal was signed in 2024. A second auction round of undisclosed capacity opened late last year, and the results have not been announced. By Liang Lei Send comments and request more information at feedback@argusmedia.com Copyright © 2026. Argus Media group . All rights reserved.
Viewpoint: Coal plant extensions not always easy
Viewpoint: Coal plant extensions not always easy
Houston, 14 January (Argus) — US generators are starting this year with more coal-fired power plants open than previously planned, following a series of US Department of Energy (DOE) emergency orders, but maintaining generation from these facilities might not be easy. Since late May, US energy secretary Chris Wright has signed orders to keep at least parts of five coal plants running beyond their planned 2025 retirement dates. These facilities have a combined generating capacity of 2,128MW. Wright also has indicated he may continue issuing such orders to address near-term reliability issues and potential energy supply shortages in the next few years. While some power plant operators may welcome the orders, others are more reticent. "I think the executive orders make for lots of questions in our current environment," one market participant said. "As with anything, there are lots of legal challenges that will arise, and it all could change again in a few years" under a new administration. The nature of the orders also raises logistical concerns that some power plant operators warned could affect their ability to comply. Last year, Wright issued the orders shortly before the facilities were scheduled to close. That kind of timetable can be challenging for plant operators who typically have spent months winding down fuel orders and making other preparations to permanently close a facility. The orders also have 90-day limits that can be extended, and Wright has not shied away from renewing directives to keep plants operating. Several coal plants that were either scheduled to close recently or are slated to be retired in the near future have not received adequate maintenance and upgrades in the last few years that would allow them to keep running sustainably long-term, one operator told Argus . That suggests operators could face higher rates of unexpected coal unit outages this year or more frequent planned outages as companies catch up on maintenance. For example, unit 1 of the Craig Station coal plant in Colorado, the most recent unit ordered to stay on line for another 90 days, has been out of service since 19 December, following a mechanical failure of a valve. The plant will need repairs and additional investments to continue running into 2026, Tri-State Generation & Transmission — one of the co-owners of the plant — said on 31 December. Some of the utilities that have received emergency orders to keep coal plants open also warned that delaying the facilities' closures could interfere with previous energy transition plans and investments. But Indiana utility NiSource, which received an order to keep its RM Schahfer coal plant on line until at least 23 March 2026, said "our long-term plan to transition to a more sustainable energy future remains unchanged". Other utilities also remain committed to transitioning from coal-fired generation. One operator said the recent emergency orders have merely put the coal industry on "life-support", rather than providing a substantial lifeline beyond the next few years. Many other coal market participants asserted that DOE's orders only require the plants to remain available during their extension periods and, at least so far, have not specified a minimum capacity factor at which they must run. Most of the plants operating in compliance with the emergency orders may just run as peaker plants, only operating at maximum capacity during extreme periods of generation demand. Still, the prospect of keeping the facilities open for an unknown period of time can be a challenge for planning fuel purchases. While some plants that received a DOE order still have a small quantity of coal stockpiled on site, those volumes will only sustain a few more weeks of coal burn, necessitating additional shipments. Other utilities are faced with buying more coal and deciding whether to purchase enough for just the extent of existing orders or to enter into longer-term agreements. Some operators have already opted into multi-year deals because they expect DOE's emergency orders on their plants will keep getting renewed well into the back half of this decade. Many utilities, especially by the end of 2025, found pricing in longer-term purchases to be more stable and economical because constrained supply in most US basins had prompted producers to offer spot coal at higher prices. Tight US coal supply also has led producers to be less willing to agree to options in newer coal contracts that would allow buyers to opt out of taking all of their volume commitments. Because of this, some utilities that have received orders from DOE have limited their additional coal purchases to deliveries only in 2026. Some utilities also said that they can not justify issuing longer-term requests for proposals to state regulators and ratepayers, since the DOE orders are only issued for 90 days. The US House of Representatives in mid-December passed a bill that aims to address some utility concerns. The Power Plant Reliability Act of 2025 would authorize the US Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) to require an owner or operator to continue running a power plant for up to five more years if the commission finds that its closure could threaten grid reliability. The bill would protect plant operators from penalties for potentially violating state or federal environmental laws while FERC's order is in place. And it would authorize FERC to renew an order by another five years if requested by a transmission organizer, state commission or public utility. The US Senate has not yet scheduled any action on the bill. And even if the measure is enacted, it will only address some of the uncertainties power plant operators face. By Anna Harmon Send comments and request more information at feedback@argusmedia.com Copyright © 2026. Argus Media group . All rights reserved.
Venezuela upheaval could crack open power sector
Venezuela upheaval could crack open power sector
Caracas, 9 January (Argus) — US intervention in Venezuela's oil market could open its electricity sector up to investment as dilapidated power infrastructure has long held back crude production. Interim Venezuelan president Delcy Rodriguez plans to propose changes to multiple laws, including one governing the electricity sector, she said on 7 January. "We want to update the national electrical service law," Rodriguez told her cabinet. "The Venezuelan we dream of is a Venezuela that demands an electricity service that is in better conditions." The US Department of Energy several hours earlier included as one of its aims in Venezuela "to improve the electricity grid, which is essential to increasing oil production, economic opportunity, and the daily quality of life for the Venezuelan people". The US on 3 January seized Venezuelan leader Nicolas Maduro in a dawn raid before taking him to New York to face drug trafficking charges. The supreme court later swore in vice-president and energy minister Delcy Rodriguez as the new president, with whom the US says it will hold sway in energy policy. Venezuela has seen increasing power outages in recent years, including one in neighborhoods near the site of the recent US raid. The outages have damaged refineries and hurt efforts to increase crude production , which at about 1mn b/d is less than a third of Venezuela's peak output. The situation first began to worsen after late former Venezuelan president Hugo Chavez nationalized multiple utilities and then consolidated this by changing the electricity law in 2010. Multiple private-sector and state utilities had participated in the market before then, although it was dominated by state-generating company Edelca and transmission, distribution and commercialization company Cadafe. But by 2010, Chavez declared Venezuela to be in a nationwide "electrical emergency", a designation that remains in place. Venezuela cut working hours in March 2025 to try to reduce power demand. Renewable in name Venezuela now depends primarily on the Guri hydropower plant with 10GW of nameplate capacity in southern Venezuela, which had provided about 60pc of demand before 1999. Thermoelectric generators such as Planta Centro and others provided more baseload power, but these are now mostly off line because of a lack of funds and fuel. While Venezuela's power generation on paper would appear to be almost fully renewable, the frequent outages mean that residents sometimes resort to fuel-burning generators when supplies are available or burn wood or trash for light or cooking. Of Venezuela's nameplate 34GW in generation capacity, only about 18GW are usable, a study from Venezuelan university the Universidad Metropolitana estimates. The electricity sector has also seen a series of leadership changes and corruption allegations, with many of the same hands in power. Nervis Villalobos, a trusted official under Chavez and the first president of Corpoelec and deputy electricity minister who left the government in 2007, is being tried for corruption and money laundering in Spain. He has also faced money laundering and similar charges in the US. The energy minister during Villalobos' time, Rafael Ramirez, is a fugitive of Venezuelan law. Alejandro Betancourt — tapped as president of the private-sector company Derwick to provide generation during the electrical emergencies — is also un investigated by Spanish authorities. But if Venezuela's power sector can improve, it will join a region increasingly focused on increasing regional cooperation and trade in electricity. Brazil had already resumed some power imports from Venezuela in early 2025, as Venezuela has excess power in some regions that it can more easily move to Brazil than internally. Brazil, Venezuela's neighbor to the south, is also expanding its efforts to better integrate the power grids of South America to reduce emissions and increase regional energy security, including with Boliva . By Carlos Camacho Send comments and request more information at feedback@argusmedia.com Copyright © 2026. Argus Media group . All rights reserved.
Brazil inflation slows to 4.26pc in Dec
Brazil inflation slows to 4.26pc in Dec
Sao Paulo, 9 January (Argus) — Brazil's headline inflation decelerated to an annual 4.26pc in December, mainly driven by power tariffs within housing costs. The consumer price index IPCA eased from 4.46pc in November, national statistics agency IBGE said Friday, after decelerating from 4.68pc in October. The annual figure was down from 4.83pc in December 2024 and marked the lowest year-end reading since 3.75pc in December 2018. The result came in below the 4.5pc forecast by the national monetary council CNM. Housing costs, personal expenses, education and healthcare were among the largest contributors to IPCA in December, accounting for 64pc of the annual result, IBGE said. Food and beverage costs, which weigh heavily on the index, decelerated to an annual 2.95pc in 2025 from 7.69pc a year prior. Food expenses at home decelerated to 1.43pc to end 2025 from 8.23pc in December 2024, driven mainly by lower rice and milk costs in the period. Housing costs accelerated to an annual 6.79pc in December 2025 from 3.06pc in December 2024, driven by recurring power tariffs from May-December. Power costs accelerated to 12.31pc in December after up to 21.95pc of tariff readjustments throughout the year. As for services, the index accelerated to 6.01pc in December 2025 from 4.78pc a year earlier. Brazil's central bank has kept its target interest rate stable at 15pc since June 2025. The central bank has said it plans to keep the rate steady to counter inflation. By João Curi Send comments and request more information at feedback@argusmedia.com Copyright © 2026. Argus Media group . All rights reserved.
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