HOUSEHOLD bills for electricity and gas are set to rise in the first quarter of 2024 amid rising energy costs, a jump in the carbon tax and the upcoming increase in goods and services tax (GST).

Electricity tariffs after GST are expected to go up by 5.1 per cent to 32.58 Singapore cents per kilowatt-hour (KWh), from 31 cents previously. This comes as the GST rate rises to 9 per cent from 8 per cent.

Singapore’s state energy suppliers on Friday (Dec 29) announced increases in tariffs for both electricity and gas.

Town gas tariffs post-GST will increase by 4.2 per cent to 25.23 Singapore cents per kWh, from 24.214 cents per kWh.

City Energy attributed the rise in gas tariffs to higher costs compared with the previous quarter.

The electricity tariff rate will apply only to consumers who buy electricity directly from SP Group at the regulated tariff, and not those on standard fixed-price plans with electricity retailers.

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SP Group estimates that the average monthly electricity bill for families living in Housing and Development Board four-room flats will go up by S$4.39 before GST, it said in a separate release.

Including tariffs for non-households, electricity tariffs will rise by an average of 4.3 per cent or 1.18 Singapore cents per kWh compared with the previous quarter, before GST.

The amount of electricity tariffs payable by consumers will also include carbon tax, which will be raised to S$25 per tonne of emissions from S$5 previously.

The increase in carbon tax also contributed to the rise in electricity tariffs for Q1, the Energy Market Authority (EMA) noted.

Energy costs, paid to generation companies, comprise 77.5 per cent of the Q1 electricity tariff. This will increase by 1.19 Singapore cents per kWh in the coming quarter.

The other components contributing to the overall electricity tariff – network costs and market support services fee, as well as the market administration and power system operation fee – will remain unchanged.

To cushion the impact of GST and carbon tax increases, eligible Singaporean HDB households will receive an additional S$20 per quarter of U-Save rebates from January 2024 to December 2025, said the Ministry of Finance in September 2023.

Both SP Group and City Energy review tariffs quarterly, based on guidelines set by the EMA.