The online sphere is abuzz with discussions on which 12 operators provide the best pricing as Singapore residents living in the North / Western regions having postal codes of 58 to 78 are able to choose their electricity retail supplier.
Although cheaper pricing is important as much as 40% cheaper than current SP tariff, there are 4 other important factors that you would need to consider when choosing the right package. This is especially in the case of longer contracts of 24 months.
1. Transmission Loss Charges is a charge added on to the meter reading charges. Currently, a 230V has a transmission lost factor of 1.034390, in this case, the addition charge should be around 3.4% more. Some retailers are absorbing these while some don’t. You will have to do a proper research.
2. Carbon Tax, which would come into effect next year (2019), is expected to affect consumers as generation companies have said they will pass on the costs; the government has said that it will result in a one percentage point increase in total electricity and gas expenses on average. Again, some have promised not to while some have explicitly said that they will transfer the cost to customers.
3. Security Deposit again is usually refundable but some may not like the idea of parking a hundred odd dollars just to setup an account. Again some retailers do and some don’t.
4. Termination Charges. Most people only go after rewards, referral fees but have forgotten about the termination charges involved. Similar to telco packages, if customers terminate before the contract expires, they will have to pay a hefty penalty fee. Some retailers slap a single sum while some charges a S$40 to S$50 multiply the number of outstanding months. On top of that, most of the retailers employed a tier system. If you live in a 2 room flat, you only pay a smaller amount compared to those living in a private condominium or bungalow. See chart below.
So, before you go and signup for the package, keep an open mind and scrutinize every condition and sign or click if you are comfortable with the terms & conditions.
Attached are some pricing spreadsheet create by fb users (information is best effort and accurate as at 1st Nov). The other charts are termination charges of some of retailers.
