Open electricity market goes island-wide in stages from Nov 1

Singapore

THE open electricity market will be extended to all consumers in Singapore, zone by zone, starting from Nov 1, the Energy Market Authority (EMA) announced on Friday.

In this final phase of electricity market liberalisation, some 1.3 million household accounts and 67,000 business accounts will be given the option of buying electricity from any of 12 authorised retailers.

This follows the soft launch of the open electricity market in Jurong in April, involving 120,000 household and business accounts, of which more than 30 per cent switched. Households which switched paid an electricity rate 20 per cent lower than the regulated tariff on average.

The take-up rate in Jurong was higher than that seen in other cities and countries which have opened up their electricity markets, Minister for Trade and Industry Chan Chun Sing told reporters on Friday.

The EMA has been progressively opening up the electricity market since 2001. As of July, more than half the 95,000 eligible business accounts had switched to a retailer, accounting for 77 per cent of total electricity demand.

The island-wide rollout will happen progressively across four zones: postal codes beginning with 58 to 78 on Nov 1; postal codes starting with 53 to 57, 79 to 80, and 82 to 83 on Jan 1, 2019; those starting with 34 to 52 and 81 on March 1, 2019; and the remaining postal codes starting with 1 to 33 on May 1, 2019.

Retailers must offer at least one of two standard price plans, on six-, 12- or 24-month contracts: a fixed price plan, and a plan offering a fixed discount off the regulated tariff. They can also offer non-standard plans.

Over the last six months in Jurong, fixed-price plans have yielded lower rates than the discount plans, said EMA in response to media queries.

A peak and off-peak price plan, offered in the soft launch, is no longer one of the standard price plans due to a low take-up rate of under 1 per cent in Jurong. It may still be offered as a non-standard plan by retailers.

Consumers who choose to remain with SP Group and buy electricity at the regulated tariff will not need to take any further action. There is no deadline for switching to a retailer. Consumers will receive the same electricity supply regardless of their supplier, as SP Group will continue to operate the national power grid and deliver electricity island-wide.

A price comparison tool is available at http://compare.openelectricitymarket.sg, allowing businesses and households to compare retailers' standard price plans.

If a retailer exits the open electricity market for any reason, their customers will be transferred to SP Group by default. Businesses with an average monthly consumption of under 4,000 kilowatt-hours (kWh), and all households, will buy electricity from SP Group at the regulated tariff.

Businesses with an average monthly consumption of at least 4,000 kWh will buy electricity indirectly from the wholesale electricity market through SP Group at wholesale prices. Consumers who want to be transferred to another retailer will have to make a request to their new retailer. (see amendment note)

Four retailers from the soft launch - Diamond Electric, Red Dot Power, Sun Electric and Sunseap - will not be part of the nationwide launch. However, they will continue to honour contracts with their existing Jurong customers, who total about 500. They can also continue to sell electricity to businesses with an average monthly consumption of at least 2,000 kWh.

These retailers "have various reasons for not participating at this stage", said the EMA. These include their wanting to reassess their business plans or to develop certain products or platforms.