Households to see average rise of about 22% in electricity bills from Oct

By Channel NewsAsia
29 September 2008 1035 hrs

SINGAPORE: Higher oil prices have pushed up electricity prices for this quarter by about a fifth.

SP Services said on Monday households will see an average increase of 21.46 per cent in electricity bills, when average electricity tariffs go up by 5.38 cents per kilowatt-hour.

On average, all SP Services customers will face a 21.89 per cent increase.

For the period from October 1 to December 31, tariffs have been pegged to a higher "forward fuel oil price" of S$155.14 per barrel.

This price is 38.06 per cent higher than the S$112.35 per barrel in this current quarter.

The electricity tariff is reviewed quarterly and adjusted in line with fluctuations in the cost of electricity, and approved by the Energy Market Authority.

At a news conference on Monday, the Authority's chief executive Khoo Chin Hean said that the increase is the highest so far this year.

- CNA/yb