Singapore households will pay 25% less for their electricity bills from Jan-Mar 2009. The Energy Market Authority (EMA) said because of the global downturn, fuel oil prices have fallen by as much as 40%. Households and small businesses will pay 24.54 cents per kilowatt hour. This is the first fall in electricity tariffs since April 2007.
Singapore's electricity rates are calculated using a formula pegged to fuel oil prices, reviewed every three months. A barrel of fuel oil was US$115 in Jul 2008, falling to US$63 in October. Fuel oil prices only account for 50% of the final tariff - power generation, delivery and other fees account for the rest. EMA said there's no guarantee that electricity tariffs will not go up after March 2009. It said that the best thing for Singaporeans to do is to practise energy saving habits such as switching off appliances when not in use.
- This mirrors the ongoing fall in NYMEX crude oil prices, falling from the $147.27 record in Jul 2008 all the way down below $60, $50, and then below $46 recently. While the oil markets continue to look for a bottom, consumers should continue to be cautious. This is no time to be celebrating lower oil or electricity prices as we head into what is looking more like a global economic collapse than just a severe recession.