LNG

The Philippine government is regulating electricity rates to counter the risk of LNG-linked price inflation of up to 16 percent, amid Middle East shipping disruptions. Energy Secretary Sharon Garin is negotiating stable coal supplies from Indonesia to facilitate fuel switching and wants to temporarily cap spot power prices.

Fitch Rating reckons utilities in Asia Pacific can only a absorb a “short-lived fuel-supply disruption” linked to the Iran conflict. KEPCO and KOGAS rely heavily on imported LNG, so sustained shortages persist will weigh heavy on utilities balance sheets, analysts warn.