Deciding On The Most Suitable Electricity Provider In Singapore

Electricity Provider

Finally, all Singaporeans are able to get cheaper electrical bills!

With the full roll-out of the Open Electricity Market (OEM) in place since 1st May 2019, electricity consumers – who until now bought their electricity from SP Group – now have the liberty to choose who they want to buy electricity from.

There is no reason for Singaporeans not to jump from SP Group to one of the 13 retailers available in the market. Aside from enjoying significant savings on their electricity bills (i.e. between 20% and 30% monthly), the disruption-free process is simple and fast. But the question is, out of all the retailers, which one is the one you should pick?

Step-by-Step Decision Making Process

Disclaimer: Please note that a plan which is suitable for one household or business might not be the best or most cost-effective for another. This is because the amount of electricity consumed and how it is consumed (e.g. patterns, habits, timings) affects the type of plan that one should opt for.

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1st Step: Estimate your electricity consumption

By consolidating and reviewing your electricity bills for the recent months, you are able to figure out how much electricity, in kWh, your household or business consumes. Even between households of the same profile (e.g. 4-room vs 4-room), this figure will differ due to the appliances used, frequency and usage and other relevant indicators.

2nd Step: Settling on a plan

As per Energy Market Authority’s guidelines, retailers mainly provide two kinds of standard plan: Fixed Price Plan and Discount-off-the-Regulated-Tariff Plan.

While the former requires consumers to pay a fixed price throughout the contract duration, the latter provides the consumers with a fixed discount on the regulated tariffs prevailing at that point of time.

The deciding factor here is whether you would want a constant predictable electricity bill or one that is always lower than regulated tariffs.

A decrease in electricity tariff will make discount-off-the-regulated-tariff plans cheaper. An increase in electricity tariff will make the fixed price plans the cheapest options.

3rd Step: Verifying  extra fees and hidden costs

There are multiple charges that might accumulate and tip over the ideal image you have of a cheaper bill. Transmission Loss Factor charges (TLF), Market Development and  Systems Charge (MDSC) and security deposits are examples of this.

The charges are specific to each retailer. For example TLF charges are handed to Pacific Light consumers and a few others, but it is absorbed by others such as Geneco and Tuas Power Supply.

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Paper bills is another aspect of these hidden fees. Retailers such Senoko Energy and Sunseap Energy pass this fee of around $1.60 to their consumers; among other retailers who does the same too. While others either absorb, or provide e-bills instead.

4th Step: Other considerations

Discounts! Bonuses! Rebates! Retailers usually have incentives like these to entice consumers to switch. A common incentive that could be seen throughout different providers is a discount based credit card partnerships. An example is a 1% cash rebate for Best Electricity, Ohm Energy, iSwitch, Geneco, Tuas Power Supply and Union Power consumers is provided if they pay their bills using the POSB Everyday Card.

However, do be aware that some of these offers are time-sensitive and might not be sustainable. So a good approach is to calculate your bills without all these offers, to see if the deal provided is still a good one.

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