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<TABLE cellSpacing=0 cellPadding=0 width="100%" border=0><TBODY><TR><TD height=8></TD></TR><TR><TD class=msgtxt>Tariff hike goes against common sense
I REFER to the report yesterday, 'Electricity bills to go up 21%'.
We import almost everything, so we are subject to the vagaries of supply and demand. While we are basking in the new limelight of Formula One races and world attention, only those with high net worth can continue to spend.
A reputed local pub reported earnings of $800,000 over the three-day weekend. Did anyone compute the amount spent on electric lights during the three days of F1 races?
How can the mathematics of the forward pricing of such a commoditised product as electricity be computed with such flawless accuracy that we now face a 21 per cent price hike from today - the highest one-time increase in seven to eight years - citing reasons of higher oil prices.
Associated Press reported that, as of Monday, oil prices sank by more than US$5 (S$7) to almost US$101 a barrel on concerns that economic growth will slow across the globe, despite a tentative agreement in Washington on a US$700-billion bailout package to stabilise the United States financial system.�
This information goes against common sense; no wonder a book called The 10 Commandments Of Common Sense is among the bestsellers in the non-fiction category in Singapore.
I urge the authorities to review the current mechanics and methodology used to price electricity tariffs.
We speak about the liberalisation of energy markets and being more market- oriented, yet we fail consumers on basic issues like this.
With this latest tariff revision, households in three-room flats will see their utilities bill go up by $14.
Families in five-room flats will pay about $23 more a month, on average, with the price of electricity going up from about 25 cents per kilowatt-hour to about 30 cents.
To the man in the street, in these difficult and challenging times, where even basic financial institutions are shaken, every dollar and cent counts.
Michael Leong
</TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE>
I REFER to the report yesterday, 'Electricity bills to go up 21%'.
We import almost everything, so we are subject to the vagaries of supply and demand. While we are basking in the new limelight of Formula One races and world attention, only those with high net worth can continue to spend.
A reputed local pub reported earnings of $800,000 over the three-day weekend. Did anyone compute the amount spent on electric lights during the three days of F1 races?
How can the mathematics of the forward pricing of such a commoditised product as electricity be computed with such flawless accuracy that we now face a 21 per cent price hike from today - the highest one-time increase in seven to eight years - citing reasons of higher oil prices.
Associated Press reported that, as of Monday, oil prices sank by more than US$5 (S$7) to almost US$101 a barrel on concerns that economic growth will slow across the globe, despite a tentative agreement in Washington on a US$700-billion bailout package to stabilise the United States financial system.�
This information goes against common sense; no wonder a book called The 10 Commandments Of Common Sense is among the bestsellers in the non-fiction category in Singapore.
I urge the authorities to review the current mechanics and methodology used to price electricity tariffs.
We speak about the liberalisation of energy markets and being more market- oriented, yet we fail consumers on basic issues like this.
With this latest tariff revision, households in three-room flats will see their utilities bill go up by $14.
Families in five-room flats will pay about $23 more a month, on average, with the price of electricity going up from about 25 cents per kilowatt-hour to about 30 cents.
To the man in the street, in these difficult and challenging times, where even basic financial institutions are shaken, every dollar and cent counts.
Michael Leong
</TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE>
