If your postal code starts with 58 to 78, thank your lucky stars as the Singapore Government has bestowed you an opportunity to redeem an early Christmas gift for your household. Household with these postal codes will be eligible to participate in the Open Electricity Market after the successful trial in Jurong earlier this year. In short, you no longer have to purchase your electricity plan from SP Services only. Instead, you can choose from several electricity retailers just like how choose mobile phone plans from various telcos. You would be able to score instant savings on your electricity bills when you switch out of Singapore Power. Savings are almost guaranteed as these retailers are throwing out insane promotions in an attempt to grab market share!
What Are The Types Of Price Plans?
The Open Electricity Market allows consumers more choices and flexibility when it comes to buying electricity. With more competition, price plans have become more competitive and innovative. Since Open Electricity Market is a new concept to consumers, it is important to first understand the types of price plans available in the market.
1. Fixed Price Plan
Consumers pay a fixed rate ($0.XX/kwh) throughout the duration of the contract. This plan gives you certainty as you will be unaffected by the volatility of electrical prices. Therefore, if you consume largely the same amount of electricity every month, your bill size should follow a similar trend. Generally, in an environment of higher oil prices, cost of producing electricity will increase.
Diagram 1: Graphical Illustration of Fixed Price Plan (Source: Open Electricity Market)
2. Discount Off The Regulated Tariff
Consumers enjoyed a fixed discount off the prevailing tariff throughout the duration of the contract. Note that the prevailing tariff is reviewed by Singapore Power Group quarterly and approved by the Energy Market Authority. If you simply opt for the Discount Off the Regulated Tariff, you will instantaneously save somewhere between 10% – 23% off your electricity bill compared to the status quo.
Diagram 2: Graphical Illustration of Discount Off Regulated Tariff Plan (Source: Open Electricity Market)
3. Peak and Off-Peak
Consumers pay a higher rate during the peak period compared to the rate for the off-peak period. Note that different electricity retailers may set different periods for peak and off-peak hours. Choose this plan in accordance to your lifestyle habits.
Diagram 3: Graphical Illustration of Peak and Off-Peak Plan (Source: Open Electricity Market)
Compare Electricity Price Plans Online
Given that there are about 13 electricity retailers in the market at this juncture, comparing prices is a herculean effort. Thankfully, there is no need to go to each electricity retailer (whether to each individual website or physical store) to compare prices. Heartland Boy simply went to Open Electricity Market’s website to compare prices online and find the best electricity plan for his household. After trying the online website, his review is that the user experience is really good. There are various filters which allow you to toggle between various critical factors:
- The type of price plan
- Contract duration
- Smart Meter
- Early Termination Charge
- Incentives, Bundled Offer
- Security Deposit
- Green Power
Diagram 4: Screen grab of the various filters on the price comparison website (Source: Open Electricity Market)
Remember to download the consumer fact sheet for a quick summary of the specific electricity price plan that you have chosen for a more detailed analysis. Always read the fine print as some retailers may disguise hidden costs such as carbon tax and transmission loss in the headlines 😀
Heartland Boy Chooses Discount Off The Regulated Tariff Plan
Heartland Boy would finally be receiving the keys to his BTO in 1Q2019 after a tremendously long wait of 4.5 years. He cannot wait to shop for the most value for money electricity price plan for his household. This is the likely consumption behaviour of his household:
- Heartland Baby is at home almost every hour and there will be a caregiver looking after her
- Heartland Girl has a flexible working schedule that allows her to be home on most weekdays
- Heartland Boy is out working from 9am to 6pm on weekdays
From these consumption behaviour, Heartland Boy confidently ruled out the Peak and Off-Peak price plan. That would have been more appropriate if there isn’t any baby at home. Given that this is the first time he is managing a household, he would need time to observe the electricity consumption. Therefore, to lock in some form of guaranteed savings first, Heartland Boy would be opting for a 6-month Discount Off The Regulated Tariff Price Plan. Based on the website’s filter and at the time of this article, Sunseap offers the most competitive price plan (23% off regulated tariff) Of course, plenty of things could change once 1Q2019 comes around, but Heartland Boy is already licking his lips at the thought of shaving 23% off his monthly electricity bills! Don’t forget that he had previously shaved $300+ from his annual expenditure by switching to a sim-only mobile plan!
Don’t forget to take advantage of this “bao jiak” savings and switch out of Singapore Power today if your household is eligible!
This article was published on 11 November 2018
is there any benefit with smart meter?
Since this is new, do you recommend anything like SIM+ONLY plan which is easy to switch?
Hi Andrew,
A Smart Meter does the following: “Advanced meters, also known as smart meters or Advanced Metering Infrastructure (AMI) meters, allow electricity consumption to be measured at half-hourly intervals. With these meters, manual reading and estimation of electricity consumption will no longer be required.” You can decide if it is important for you to read electricity consumption in half-hourly intervals.
My first and foremost recommendation is that every household should switch. If you think you may be hopping around different retailers, then go for <6M contracts or contracts where you can cancel with no financial penalties