Open Electricity Market to roll out in Jurong in April 2018

COME April 2018, households and businesses in Jurong will be the first in Singapore to have the option of choosing their electricity retailers in the soft launch of a fully liberalised power market.

The rollout of the Open Electricity Market includes a total of 108,000 households and 9,500 businesses in Jurong with postal codes starting with 60-64, the Energy Market Authority (EMA) said on Friday. These areas pertain to Jurong East, Jurong West, Pioneer, Tuas and Boon Lay.

Consumers involved will be notified in the first quarter of 2018, and may still choose to continue purchasing from SP Group directly at the regulated tariff, the EMA added.

"Our main objective of introducing the Open Electricity Market is to promote greater competition in the electricity market. With competition, consumers stand to benefit from competitive pricing, enhanced service standards and innovative packages from electricity retailers," said EMA's chief executive Ng Wai Choong.

He added that consumers can be assured of the reliability of their electricity supply regardless of which retailer they choose, as they will continue to receive electricity supply through the national power grid operated by SP Group.

The Open Electricity Market will be extended to the rest of Singapore in the second half of 2018, and will involve 1.3 million accounts mostly from households. Once the market is fully opened, consumers can choose to purchase electricity via three ways: from a retailer, the wholesale electricity market, or SP Group.

Since 2001, the EMA has progressively opened up the retail electricity market to competition. Businesses with an average monthly electricity consumption of at least 2,000 kWh (equivalent to a monthly bill of at least S$400) already have the option of purchasing electricity from a retailer, or to remain with SP Group. This includes around 90,000 business accounts, which represents about 80 per cent of the total electricity demand in Singapore.

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