The two-week exercise was officially launched on 15 February 2025 by Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Trade and Industry, Mr Gan Kim Yong, at the Total Defence Day Commemoration Event held at the Singapore Business Federation Center.

Speaking at the event, Deputy Prime Minister (DPM) Gan Kim highlighted how everyone has a role to play in total defence. “Through this exercise, we hope that everyone will be more aware of potential disruptions, and be more familiar with the contingency plans that will allow them to go about their daily routines and live their lives normally,” he added.

As the co-lead of Exercise SG Ready, EMA has various resources to equip Singaporeans and businesses on preparing for and responding to power outages. Chief Executive of EMA, Mr Puah Kok Keong said, “Although Singapore has one of the most reliable power systems in the world, we should not take our electricity supply for granted."

EMA’s resources include a guide to help businesses prepare and respond to power outages.

For individuals, EMA has also put together handy tips that they could take to prepare for a power outage, such as making sure they have their Emergency Ready Bag with essential items such as battery-operated torchlights, backup power sources such as power banks as well as maintaining a list of emergency contact numbers. Individuals are also advised to visit official channels of EMA and SP Group for updates on power restoration, and not to fall for fake news.

At the Commemoration Event, guests were treated to a showcase of various agencies’ capabilities in managing different disruptions.

For example, SP Group showcased one of its mobile generators, which could be deployed as a temporary measure while power restoration works are underway. The generator is capable of powering four HDB blocks for up to eight hours. When a power fault is detected, the first course of action is to disconnect the affected equipment from the network and reconnect it remotely to an alternate supply. Other methods of restoring power include remote switching where SP Group will dispatch officers to electricity substations to manually isolate and reconnect affected equipment. If no alternate supply source is available, mobile generators – capable of powering up to four HDB blocks – could be deployed to provide temporary electricity while the network issue is being resolved.

Besides the showcase by SP Group, SCDF’s Disaster Assistance and Rescue Team was also present at the Commemoration Event to demonstrate its lift entrapment rescue capabilities in the event of an emergency.

Over the two weeks of Exercise SG Ready, more than 1,000 organisations comprising schools, businesses, communities, and government agencies will simulate different disruptions or preparedness activities to strengthen their business continuity plans for power disruptions or phishing attacks.

Let us stay ready for any power disruption and be in the know of what to do if it happens.

As DPM Gan puts it, “By embracing the spirit of Total Defence, we can look ahead with confidence that we can navigate a more unpredictable and turbulent future, seize the opportunities that lie ahead, and build an even stronger Singapore together.”