Higher electricity bills starting July to September as tariff increases by 1.2%

SINGAPORE - Consumers in Singapore will pay more for electricity in the July-September quarter, with the tariff increasing by an average of 1.2 per cent from the previous quarter.

For households, the electricity tariff before goods and services tax (GST) will increase from 27.43 cents to 27.74 cents per kilowatt-hour (kWh) from Saturday (July 1) to Sept 30, said grid operator SP Group on Friday.

Taking into account the GST rate of eight per cent since Jan 1, the new tariff will be 29.96 cents, up from 29.62 cents between April and June.

This means the average monthly electricity bill for families living in four-room Housing Board flats will increase by $1.14 before GST.

The electricity bill now for a four-room HDB flat is $100.62 before GST, for an average monthly consumption of 366.84kWh. It will be $101.76 for the same usage from July.

This is the first quarter that the electricity tariff has risen, after three consecutive quarters of decreasing tariffs. The tariff had been decreasing since October 2022.

The increase is due to higher energy costs, SP said, adding that its energy costs have increased by 0.31 cents per kWh, while other costs have remained the same.

These costs, which are paid to power generation companies, are adjusted quarterly to reflect changes in the costs of fuel and power generation.

Energy cost accounts for 75.7 per cent of the tariff, while the remainder comprises the expense of transporting electricity through the power grid, and operations.

Meanwhile, City Energy, the producer and retailer of piped gas, also announced on Friday that the gas tariff for households before GST will increase by 0.23 cent per kWh, from 21.68 cents per kWh to 21.91 cents per kWh for the period from Saturday to Sept 30.

The revised tariff after GST is 23.66 cents per kWh.

It attributed the increase in gas tariff to higher fuel costs as compared with the previous quarter.

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