Singaporeans may be paying one of the highest charges for electricity in the world

by Leong Sze Hian/

On 30 Dec, the Straits Times reported that the Electricity tariffs will go up in the next three months. The report said: “Households will pay more for electricity in the new year, with tariffs rising by an average of 6.3 per cent.”

According to Singapore Power’s annual report 2016/2017 – its profit for the year ended 31 March 2017 was $948.8 million. This is an increase of 2.7 per cent over the previous year’s $923.5 million. Singapore PowerAssets’ profit was $433.6 million.

The annual reports of Singapore Power and Singapore PowerAssets for 2014/2015 showed that their combined profits for the year was $1.5893 billion. That was an increase of $197.2 million or 14.2 per cent over 2013/2014’s combined profits of $1.3921 billion.

What about the profits of the power generating companies – some of which have been sold to foreign companies? So, in totality – how much profits are being made from providing electricity to the people?

Is there something not very right with our electricity system, which may make Singaporeans pay one of the highest charges for electricity in the world (after adjusting for purchasing power parity and relative wages)?