SINGAPORE - Most households will see higher electricity bills for at least the next three months, with the electricity tariff for the next quarter going up by 5.6 per cent on the back of rising fuel prices.
The electricity tariff for the period Jan 1 to March 31 will be 25.44 cents per kilowatt-hour (kWh) excluding the goods and services tax, said grid operator SP Group on Thursday (Dec 30). This is up from the current rate of 24.11 cents per kWh.
SP Group said households living in a four-room Housing Board flat – which typically consumes about 354 kWh of electricity a month – can expect their average monthly electricity bill to go up by $4.70.
A global fuel shortage has been nudging up the prices of electricity over the past few months.
About 95 per cent of Singapore’s energy mix comes from natural gas, all of which is imported into the country via pipes from its neighbours or in liquefied form from all over the world.
But there are a number of factors that are affecting the supply of gas into Singapore and causing prices to spike.
For instance, pandemic-recovery economic activity and countries entering the cooler seasons are nudging up demand for the gas.
Electricity tariffs in Singapore are calculated from four components.
Fuel costs – or the cost of imported natural gas – make up about half of the tariff. The rest covers other costs related to activities such as maintenance of power plants, meter-reading and transporting electricity through the grid.
The regulated electricity tariff set by SP Group is reviewed each quarter, and approved by the Energy Market Authority (EMA).
https://www.straitstimes.com/singap...rease-for-next-three-months-amid-rising-costs
