Electricity tariffs to increase by 6.3% in first quarter of 2018

ELECTRICITY tariffs are set to go up by an average of 6.3 per cent per kilowatt hour (kwh) in the first quarter of next year (2018), due to the higher cost of natural gas.

SP Group, in a statement on Friday, said that electricity tariffs will cost an average of 1.26 cents more per kwh from Jan 1 to March 31, as compared with the previous quarter.

The increase is due to the higher cost of natural gas for electricity generation, which went up by 14 per cent, as compared to the previous quarter, the statement said.

Households will see their electricity tariffs rise to 21.56 cents per kwh for the first quarter of the year.

From October to December 2017, this figure was 20.30 cents per kwh.

This means that the average monthly electricity bill for families living in four-room HDB flats will increase by $4.78, the statement said.

The amount is based on an average monthly consumption of 379.49 kwh per customer.

SP Group said that electricity tariffs comprise four components, including energy costs, which are paid to generation companies and adjusted quarterly to reflect changes to the cost of power generation.

Other components such as network costs, market support services, and market administration and power system operation fees are reviewed annually.

In the first quarter of 2018, energy costs will make up 73.5 per cent of the tariff, according to the statement.

SP Group said that it reviews the electricity tariffs quarterly based on guidelines set by the Energy Market Authority (EMA), which regulates the electricity industry.

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