Buying electricity in Singapore

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Singapore’s energy market was liberalised on 1 November 2018. The Electricity Open Market (EOM) initiative by the Energy Market Authority (EMA) was initially tested in Jurong. Following its success in Jurong, the EOM initiative will be applied in stages throughout Singapore until May 2019.

Background

The EOM initiative was first tested in Jurong in April 2018 as a test programme to gather resident responses. The test was meant to determine if energy liberalisation would be officially rolled out across the whole of Singapore. The test was considered a success as more than 30% of the total number of households and businesses in the area switched to an alternative energy retailer.

Following the first test in April 2018, energy liberalisation was conducted in stages across different parts of Singapore according to postal codes.[1] The dates for the various stages are as such:

Dates Postal Code
1 November 2018 Households and business companies with postal codes that begin from 58 to 78.
1 January 2019 Households and business companies with postal codes that begin from 53 to 57, 79 to 80, 82 and 83.
1 March 2019 Households and business companies with postal codes that begin from 34 to 52, and 81.
1 May 2019 Households and business companies with postal codes that begin from 1 to 33.

Before the electricity market was liberalised, SP Group was the sole electricity provider that supplied electricity islandwide. SP Group is a company that provides electricity and gas transmission and distribution services in Singapore. Consumers bought electricity from SP Group at a regulated tariff that changes every 3 months of the calendar year.[2]

EOM retailers

SP Group still remains responsible for delivering power to consumers. However with the Electricity Open Market (EOM), consumers now have a choice of buying from energy retailers other than SP Group. Consumers have the option of either continuing to purchase electricity from SP Group or changing to another retailer. As of 2019, there are 13 electricity retailers participating in the OEM. These are - Best Electricity Supply,  Environmental Solutions (Asia) Pte Ltd, iSwitch, Keppel Electric, Ohm Energy, PacificLight Energy, Sembcorp Power, Senoko Energy Supply, Geneco by Seraya Energy, Sunseap Energy Group, Tuas Power Supply, Union Power Ptd Ltd, Diamond Electric.[3]

Red Dot Power was one of the 14 retailers that participated in the test launch in Jurong.[4] However, as compared to other retailers, the company was charging higher rates and got significantly lower customers. In early 2019, electricity retailer Red Dot Power left the EOM, citing financial difficulty as the reason for their departure. The customers under Red Dot Power were be transferred back to SP Group. The existing security deposits were used to pay their latest electricity bill and the remaining amount were subsequently refunded.

The price plan offered by SP group is the highest among all retailers. As compared to the retailers who have lower production costs, SP Group has to transmit the electricity and maintain their equipment, which results in a higher production cost that is passed on to consumers in the form of higher tariff prices.[5] Electricity retailers also implemented non-price strategies such as solar energy plans and special promotions and packages.

Electricity consumption in Singapore

Electricity consumption habits differ from family to family. Consumers may visit the OEM website (official website) when calculating and considering the most suitable energy retailer and plan. As of December 2018, the average electricity consumption (kWh) levels according to housing type are as such[6]:

Housing type Average electricity consumption (kWh)
HDB 1-Room

HDB 2-Room

HDB 3-Room

HDB 4-Room

HDB 5-Room

HDB Executive

125

164

244

324

376

454

Condominium 471
Terrace 808
Semi-Detached 1,052
Bungalow 2,143

Regulated tariffs are subjected to change every 3 months of the calendar year. The changes in regulated tariffs can be viewed on the Energy Market Authority Website (official website).

Electricity tariffs consist of fuel cost, which changes according to market conditions, and non-fuel cost.[7] The non-fuel cost is inclusive of the cost of power generation cost, grid charge, market support service (MSS) fee and power system operation and market administration fees. The tariff rate from 1 January to 31 March 2019 is $0.2552/kWh, inclusive of GST.

Price plans[8]

The 2 main plans for all EOM retailers (subjected to name changes for different companies) are the ‘Fixed Price’ plan and ‘Discount-off-tariff’ plan. The ‘Fixed Price’ plan allows customers to pay a fixed amount regardless of the amount of electricity used. The ‘Discount-off-tariff’ plan provides customers with discounts off their regulated tariff bill.

Calculating the cost (SGD) of each plan

Case study: If 100kWh of electricity was used in a month

Fixed price plan

($0.1958/kWh)

100kWh (electricity consumed) x $0.1958/kWh (price/kWh) =

$19.58

Discount off tariff plan

(15% off regulated tariff)

100kWh (electricity consumed) x $0.2552/kWh (regulated tariff rate) x 0.85 (discount off tariff rate) =

$21.692

The specific plans and contracts for each EOM retailer are as such:

Best Electricity Supply (Official Website)

Plan Contract Cost
BEST Home Fixed 6 months

12 months

24 months

$0.1958 per kWh (with GST)

$0.1900 per kWh (with GST)

$0.1798 per kWh (with GST)

BEST Home Saver 12 months

24 months

15% off regulated tariff

21% off regulated tariff

BEST Home Saver Upfront 24 months Up to 17% cash rebates

Diamond Electric (Official Website)

Plan Contract Cost
Freedom - 20% off regulated tariffs
Sure save plus rebate- res 12 months 24% off regulated tariffs

Environmental Solutions (Asia) Pte Ltd (Official Website)

ES Power provides Carbon Neutral electricity to households, encouraging consumers to use more sustainable forms of energy.

Plan Contract Cost
G Locked (Fixed) 12 months

24 months

$0.1799/kWh (with GST)

$0.1794/kWh (with GST)

G Freedom (DOT) 12 months

24 months]

36 months

23% off regulated tariff

23.20% off regulated tariff

23.40% off regulated tariff

G Flexi 12 months

24 months

23% off regulated tariff

23.50% off regulated tariff

Geneco by Seraya Energy (Official Website)

Plan Contract Cost
Get it fixed 12

Get it fixed 24

Get it fixed 36

12 months

24 months

36 months

$0.2033/kWh (with GST)

$0.1798/kWh (with GST)

$0.1788/kWh (with GST)

Get it less 24 24 months 22% off regulated tariff
Get free sundays - $0.2250/kWh (with GST. Mon to Sat)

$0 (Sun)

Give us a try 6 months 20% off regulated tariff

iSwitch (Official Website)

Plan Contract Cost
‘Chope’ the rate 12 months

24 months

$0.17655/kWh (with GST)

$0.1755/kWh (with GST)

Super Saver Discount 12 months

24 months

22.8% off regulated tariff

23% off regulated tariff

iPromo- iPad 36 months 5% (w/o GST) off regulated tariff

Keppel Electric (Official Website)

Plan Contract Cost
Fixed12

Fixed24

Fixed36

12 months

24 months

36 months

$0.1871 /kWh (with GST)

$0.1798 /kWh (with GST)

$0.1798 /kWh (with GST)

DOT3

DOT24

24 months

24 months

22.0% off regulated tariff

22.0% off regulated tariff

KNIGHT 24 months $0.2020 /kWh (with GST): Peak rate for 7am to 11pm

$0.1616 /kWh (with GST): Off peak rate for 11pm to 7am

Ohm Energy (Official Website)

Plan Contract Cost
Fixed Ohm 6, 12, 24 months $0.1798/kWh
Simply Ohm - $0.1739/kWh
Market Ohm - $10.70/month
Ohm Discount 6, 12 months Up to 255 off regulated tariff

PacificLight Energy (Official Website)

Plan Contract Cost
Stick to it 12 months

24 months

$0.2008/kWh (with GST)

$0.1892/kWh (with GST)

Confirm save 12, 24 months 16% off regulated tariff

16% off regulated tariff

Save while sleeping 12, 24 months 21% off regulated tariff (11pm to 7am)

11% off regulated tariff (7am to 11pm)

Sembcorp Power (Official Website)

Plan Contract Cost (with GST)
No contract plan - $0.1755/kWh
Fixed price plan 12 months

24 months

$0.1856/kWh

$0.1798/kWh

Discount off tariff plan 12 months

24 months

21% off regulated tariff

21.80% off regulated tariff

Flat fee 300 plan

Flat fee 450 plan

Flat fee 600 plan

Flat fee 900 plan

Flat fee 1250 plan

12 months

24 months

12 months

24 months

12 months

24 months

12 months

24 months

12 months

24 months

$0.5599/kWh

$0.5299/kWh

$0.8299/kWh

$0.7999/kWh

$1.0999/kWh

$1.0699/kWh

$1.6399/kWh

$1.6099/kWh

$2.2699/kWh

$2.2399/kWh

Sunshine Plan 12 months $0.2140/kWh (7am to 7pm)

$0.2531/kWh (7pm to 7am)

Senoko Energy Supply (Official Website)

Plan Contract Cost (with GST)
LifePower12

LifePower24

12 months

24 months

$0.1795/kWh

$0.1894/kWh

LifeSave12

LifeSave24

12 months

24 months

14.5% off regulated tariff

17.25% off regulated tariff

Sunseap Energy Group (Official Website)

Plan Contract Cost
(Fixed Plan)

Sunseap-One

Sunseap-50

Sunseap-100

6 months

12 months

24 months

24 months

24 months

(with GST)

$0.1803/kWh

$0.1848/kWh

$0.1798/kWh

$0.2161/kWh

$0.2301/kWh

(Discount off tariff)

Sunseap-One

Sunseap-50

Sunseap-100

6, 12, 24 months

24 months

24 months

23% off regulated tariff

15% off regulated tariff

10% off regulated tariff

Tuas Power Supply (Official Website)

Plan Contract Cost (with GST)
PowerDo 6 months

24 months

18% off regulated tariffs

21% off regulated tariffs

PowerFix 18, 25, 36 months $0.1798/kWh

Union Power Ptd Ltd (Official Website)

Plan Contract Cost (with GST)
Dual Value Saver 24 months 22% off regulated tariffs

References / Citation

  1. Tang, See Kit. “Singapore to open up retail electricity market from November: What it means for consumers”. Channelnewsasia. Updated October 1, 2018. Accessed on 30 January 2019. Retrieved from: https://www.channelnewsasia.com/news/singapore/singapore-to-open-up-retail-electricity-market-from-november-10766440
  2. Tang, See Kit. “Singapore consumers can choose electricity provider from November”.Channelnewsasia. Updated September 24, 2018. Accessed on 30 January 2019. Retrieved from: https://www.channelnewsasia.com/news/singapore/electricity-price-plans-choose-open-market-sp-group-10743764
  3. “Retailers”. Energy Market Authority. Updated January 4, 2019. Accessed on 30 January 2019. Retrieved from:  https://www.ema.gov.sg/retailers.aspx
  4. Teh, Cheryl. “Red Dot Power exits electricity market in Singapore”. Straitstimes. January 5, 2019. Accessed on 30 January 2019. Retrieved from:  https://www.straitstimes.com/singapore/red-dot-power-exits-electricity-market-in-singapore
  5. “Why electricity retailers' rates are better”. Straitstimes. January 23, 2019. Accessed on 30 January 2019. Retrieved from: https://www.straitstimes.com/forum/letters-in-print/why-electricity-retailers-rates-are-better
  6. “Tariff rates”. SPgroup. Accessed on 30 January 2019. Retrieved form:  https://www.spgroup.com.sg/what-we-do/billing
  7. “Electricity Tariffs”. Energy Market Authority. Updated December 31, 2018. Accessed on 30 January 2019. Retrieved from: https://www.ema.gov.sg/Residential_Electricity_Tariffs.aspx
  8. Prices and plans were accurate at time of writing and may be subjected to change in the future.