Interruptible Load Program, Singapore A data backed understanding
- Shailesh Gupta
- Mar 26
- 2 min read
The Interruptible Load (IL) Program enables Energy consumers to get paid to be available to curtail/shift load in the off-chance the grid needs support. This offers a fixed additional stream of revenue for the energy user. This document looks at the payouts from participating in the program, based on historical data published by EMC. All new IL participants are automatically signed up to provide contingency reserve A & are paid as per dynamic contingency reserve A prices (CONRESA, $/MwH). While participating in the program, has an assured payout (as long as load interruption obligations are met), the amount of payout would depend on the reserve prices.
Businesses have 3 approaches with which they can participate in the IL Program:
Curtail your load in the event of an activation, participate in the program with only the load volumes you are comfortable curtailing
Transfer your load from the grid to the battery, without curtailing
Hybrid approach
The price of batteries is now such, that even if the BESS (Battery Energy Storage System) was being used only to participate in the IL program, it results in a good payback period. In reality, when you add a BESS you would also use your BESS to participate in the demand response program, thereby reducing the payback period on the batteries/maximizing your payoffs.
Whether businesses choose to participate with BESS or without, also depends on what level of load interruptions are they comfortable with and for what durations.
In 2023, an ‘activation’ lasted for at most 2 periods (i.e. 1 hrs). Contractually, EMA has stated that the maximum duration of an IL activation would be 4 hrs.
Based on past data, the IL Program offers businesses a very lucrative RoI. There is no reason to believe, that the contingency prices would drastically reduce over the next few years, and hence the returns based on past data are expected to continue in the future.
