Household electricity prices rise by over 10%; nervous Singaporeans ask if and when they’ll come down

SINGAPORE: Electricity prices in Singapore have already gone up, as per media reports late last week.

People who renew their contracts are paying more at present than before the conflict in the Middle East began on Feb 28, when the United States and Israel started bombing Iran. The price increase can be as much as 11 per cent, according to the report, translating to around S$4 to S$12 more on monthly bills.

Retailers are still offering discounts and rebates, though these are not as generous as they were before, and some plans have been discontinued. However, these companies do need to protect themselves due to the uncertainty of costs in the future and need to balance affordability for their customers with their own business sustainability.

Although electricity prices usually take three to four months to go up, industry experts told CNA that this time, prices went up almost immediately due to the volatility of the situation.

With the conflict in the Middle East, Singapore, like many other countries in Asia, has been vulnerable, since 95 per cent of electricity comes from natural gas. Because the city-state imports fuel, when the limited supply of oil caused fuel prices to rise, the price of electricity has risen as well.

As early as March 12, Minister-in-charge of Energy and Science and Technology Tan See Leng warned in a social media post that Singaporeans should expect electricity prices to increase “in the coming months,” but assured everyone that the government is ready to step in with measures if needed.

“As the situation in the Middle East is evolving, we are watching closely, especially for secondary effects of disruption. This conflict is a reminder that we live in an unpredictable world, and we cannot take our energy security for granted. We must therefore do what we can to economise on our use of energy, and everybody has a part in this,” he wrote.

Online, Singaporeans reacting to the report expressed dismay, especially with the increase in prices coming so soon. Others expressed fears about everything else, such as the prices for food and transport, going up as well.

“Not even a 1-month war looks like everything starts to increase. What will happen if it is prolonged to 6 months and beyond?” a commenter asked.

Some seemed to take the increase in electricity prices in stride but asked if and when the prices would be going down and how soon would it be.

“It is not the going up that is scary. It is the not coming down that is scary,” wrote a Facebook user.

“The scary part is way up and up till no limit, without coming down,” added another.

“I can only hope it will come down at the same speed when war is done,” a Reddit user wrote. /TISG

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