Singapore Electricity Tariff Rises 17 Percent, Gas Follows

SINGAPORE - Households in Singapore must prepare to pay more for electricity from July to September. Electricity tariffs rose 17 percent, while city gas tariffs rose 7.1 percent.

Citing a report by The Straits Times, Tuesday, June 30, the Energy Market Authority or EMA stated that this increase was triggered by a surge in natural gas prices due to the conflict in the Middle East.

Natural gas prices have risen sharply since late February and remained high from April to June. The impact was immediately felt on the cost of electricity production and city gas in Singapore.

SP Group said that household electricity tariffs rose 4.64 cents per kilowatt-hour compared to the previous quarter. The new tariff is 31.91 cents per kWh before goods and services tax or GST.

For a four-room HDB household, the increase means an additional electricity bill of an average of 17.14 Singapore dollars per month before GST.

Overall, electricity tariffs, including for non-household customers, increased by an average of 17.5 percent or 4.66 cents per kWh compared to the previous quarter.

The increase also occurred in city gas. City Energy stated that the household gas tariff increased by 1.56 cents per kWh to 23.48 cents per kWh before GST.

Electricity and gas tariffs in Singapore are reviewed every quarter by SP Group and City Energy based on EMA guidelines. Changes in global fuel prices are the main factor that makes tariffs go up and down.

The tariff is determined based on the gas price in the first two and a half months of the previous quarter. Therefore, the increase in fuel prices is usually only seen in the next quarter's electricity tariff.

This happened in the period from April to June. At that time, the electricity tariff only rose slightly because it only took into account the increase in fuel prices since the Middle East conflict began on February 28 to March 15.

EMA said consumers with retail electricity contracts could face higher prices when renewing contracts as long as fuel prices remain high.

"The situation in the Middle East is still uncertain," the EMA said.

The authority stated that fuel prices could fall if the situation improves. If that happens, the tariffs for electricity and city gas in the fourth quarter have the opportunity to fall.

EMA also stated that it would continue to monitor fuel supplies and work with the industry to maintain supply security.