STAGGERING swings in Singapore's spot electricity prices in July, which riled market players and drove up fixed-price plans for households, are under scrutiny by the industry's watchdog, along with possible anti-competitive practices. This latest development is happening even as electricity prices hit another multi-year high last week.

Veronica Rodriguez, senior vice-president of the industry's Market Assessment Unit (MAU) told The Business Times that a report on late July's "outlier" prices has been submitted to the Energy Market Authority (EMA) to assist the regulator, which prohibits sector-specific anti-competitive pacts and "abuse of a dominant position" in Singapore's wholesale or retail electricity market.

"When there is an unusual price event, the MAU prepares a report on the market conditions surrounding the price event," Ms Rodriguez said in response to BT queries.