The launch of the electricity futures market in 2015 facilitated the entry of more independent retailers, hence increasing retail competition and bringing benefits to consumers. The electricity retail market considerably expanded with the entry of four new retailers in 2017. These were (i) Union Power, (ii) Energy Supply Solutions, (iii) Just Electric and (iv) Ohm Energy.
In 2017, the market share of SP Group stood at 27.7%. Keppel Electric had a 13.8% market share, while that for Tuas Power Supply stood at 13.6%. These were closely followed by Seraya Energy (12.2%) and Senoko Energy Supply (11.6%). SembCorp Power and PacificLight Energy accounted for market shares of 10.9% and 6.1% respectively, with the remaining 4.0% distributed among the smaller and newer entrants.
Since 2001, EMA has progressively opened the retail electricity market to competition to allow business consumers more options to manage their energy cost. Instead of buying from SP Group at the regulated tariff, eligible consumers can choose to buy from a retailer at a price plan that best meet their needs, or buy from the wholesale electricity market at the half-hourly wholesale electricity prices. Those who exercise this choice are termed as contestable consumers.
Currently, business consumers with an average monthly electricity consumption of at least 2,000 kWh (equivalent to a monthly electricity bill of at least $400) are eligible to become contestable. Around 90,000 business accounts, making up about 80% of the total electricity demand, are eligible to exercise this choice and flexibility in their electricity purchases.
Since 1 April 2018, the soft launch of the Open Electricity Market (OEM) in Jurong has provided consumers with choice and flexibility in their electricity purchases. Households and businesses in Jurong can choose to buy electricity from a retailer at a price plan that best meets their needs, or continue buying electricity from SP Group at the regulated tariff.
The soft launch of Open Electricity Market will allow EMA, SP Group and electricity retailers to gather feedback and fine-tune processes where necessary, to enhance the consumer experience of buying electricity in a competitive market. This choice and flexibility is expected to be extended to the rest of Singapore from the fourth quarter of 2018. Please visit www.openelectricitymarket.sg for more information.
contestability & sector
Singapore's total electricity consumption rose by 2.1% from 48.6 TWh in 2016 to 49.6 TWh in 2017. Contestable Consumers (CCs) made up the bulk of consumption, accounting for 76.3% of the total consumption in 2017. The rest were from non-CCs.
The majority of CCs' consumption was attributed to those in the Industrial-related sector (55.1% or 20.9TWh), followed by the Commerce & Services-related sector (37.8% or 14.3 TWh).
Households accounted for the bulk of total consumption by non-CCs (62.1% or 7.3 TWh), while consumption by Commerce & Services-related sector constituted another 29.8% (3.5 TWh).
Total electricity consumed by Households decreased by 3.9% from 7,589.4 GWh in 2016 to 7,295.8 GWh in 2017. About 58.8% (4,287.2 GWh) of total consumption was by public housing units, while another 41.1% (2,999.3 GWh) was attributed to private housing units.
The average monthly household electricity consumption decreased by 6.6%, from 475.6 kWh in 2016 to 444.3 kWh in 2017. The average monthly Households' electricity consumption for public housing units registered a 5.9% decrease to reach 361.1 kWh in 2017 while that for private housing units fell by 8.8% to 661.3 kWh in 2017.
The average monthly household electricity consumption of a 4-room public housing unit was 372.9 kWh in 2017. The average monthly electricity consumption of 1-room/ 2-room and 3-room units were 54.7% and 26.0%, respectively, lower than that of a 4-room unit. On the other hand, the average monthly household electricity consumption of a 5-room & executive flat was 21.7% more than that of a 4-room unit.
End-users'¹ consumption of NG increased by 5.8%, from 56,949.2 TJ in 2016 to 60,226.6 TJ in 2017. Industrial-related consumption, which comprised the bulk (i.e. 88.9%) of NG's end use, increased from 49,968.5 TJ in 2016 to 53,525.0 TJ in 2017, catalysing the rise in overall NG consumption.
Households' consumption of NG rose 2.2% to 2,604.3 TJ in 2017. In contrast, the Commerce & Services-related sector declined 3.9% to 3,706.9 TJ in 2017.
Households use NG in the form of town gas, which is manufactured by City Gas and subsequently sold to households and other end-consumers. The average monthly household town gas consumption fell by 1.4%, from 78.3 kWh in 2016 to 77.2 kWh in 2017.
In 2017, the average monthly town gas consumption of a 4-room public housing unit was 75.6 kWh. The average monthly household town gas consumption of a 1-room/ 2-room and a 3-room unit is about 31.5% and 17.2% respectively less than that of a 4-room unit. On the other hand, a 5-room & executive flat consumed on average, about 6.5% more town gas than that of a 4-room unit on a monthly basis.
Total oil consumption amounted to 9,006.4 ktoe, in 2016, about 6.7% lower than the 9,657.2 ktoe recorded in 2015.
In 2016, Industrial-related activities accounted for almost three quarters (i.e. 72.8% or 6,554.3 ktoe) of total oil consumption while another quarter was attributed to the Transport-related sector (i.e. 26.1% or 2,349.0 ktoe).
Singapore's Total Final Energy Consumption (TFEC) decreased by 3.5%, from 15,246.4 ktoe in 2015 to 14,714.6 ktoe in 2016.
Almost two-thirds (i.e. 65.7% or 9,670.3 ktoe) of TFEC was accounted for by the Industrial-related sector. This was predominantly in the form of Petroleum Products (i.e. 6,554.3 ktoe). Consumers in the Transport-related and Commerce & Services-related sectors accounted for 17.6% (i.e. 2,587.1ktoe) and 11.5% (i.e. 1,691.3 ktoe) of end-user energy consumption respectively. The Transport-related sector consumed mainly Petroleum Products (i.e. 2,349.0 ktoe), while the Commerce & Services-related sector consumed mostly electricity (i.e. 1,521.9 ktoe). Households accounted for 5.0% (i.e. 739.2 ktoe) of total energy consumption, which was primarily in the form of electricity (i.e. 652.6 ktoe) and NG by way of town gas (i.e. 60.9 ktoe).
