Singapore 4th quarter electricity tariff up by 12.71%

Electricity tariff for Singaporean households will increase by US$0.017 per kWh to US$0.1534 per kWh. On average, taking into account the tariffs for all customer categories, the tariff increase is 12.71 percent.

The electricity tariff is influenced by movements in the fuel oil price. The tariff for the 4th quarter of 2009 is pegged to the average forward fuel oil price in the preceding three months of July to September 2009.

The fuel oil price during this period increased sharply by around 21 percent from US$51.64 per barrel to US$63.73 per barrel. This increase brings the oil price to around the level in the first quarter of 2009. Consequently, the tariff will have to be adjusted upwards, but the new tariff will still be lower than what it was at the beginning of the year.

The electricity tariff consists of both the fuel and non-fuel cost components. The increase in the cost of fuel is the key reason for the tariff increase in the 4th quarter of 2009. The other components of the tariff have remained largely unchanged from the previous quarter.