For the period from Oct 1 to Dec 31, electricity tariffs will increase by an average of 2.1 per cent, or 0.48 cent per kilowatt hour compared with the previous quarter.

Energy utilities provider SP Group said yesterday that the increase was mainly due to the higher cost of natural gas for electricity generation, as compared with the previous quarter.

For households, the electricity tariff will increase from 23.65 cents to 24.13 cents per kwh for the last quarter of this year. This means that the average electricity bill for families living in four-room Housing Board flats will increase by $1.76 a month.

SP Group said that it reviews the electricity tariffs quarterly based on guidelines set by electricity industry regulator Energy Market Authority.

The electricity tariff consists of four components: energy costs, network costs, a market support services fee, and a market administration and power system operation fee. The energy costs component is adjusted quarterly to reflect changes in the cost of power generation. The network costs and the market support services fee are reviewed annually.

The market administration and power system operation fee is reviewed annually to recover the costs of operating the electricity wholesale market and power system.

Timothy Goh

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