Now that more than half of Singapore is eligible to choose the electricity retailers, the bombardment of information has begun.

You’d probably find salespersons at heartland malls touting the “cheapest” price plans and throwing in free gifts if you sign up on the spot.

But are you really paying the cheapest rate? And have you read through those pages of legal jargon fondly called terms and conditions by marketing folks before putting pen on paper?

Here are some hidden costs all consumers need to take note of.

Administrative fee

Ah, the million dollar question: What is the ambiguous admin fee?

But alas, the term admin fee is as wide as it gets and like the devil, it comes in different forms.

Such as, service charge (some charge S$4.95 before GST); and billing fee if you opt for a paper bill (some charge S$1.605).

Security deposit

First things first, a security deposit doesn’t go into a black hole, never to return (we will get to that soon). We are highlighting this because a) we don’t want you to get a heart attack when you see your first bill and b) different retailers charge different amount for the deposit.

Asking for a security deposit is common practice in Singapore.

You might recall paying a security deposit when you opened an account with SP Group when you collected your keys to your BTO.

This, however, a percentage of it will be refunded as credits when you switch or terminate your account and will be used to offset your last bill.

That said, the amount of security deposit to be paid to the retailer varies from nada to a few hundred bucks (that’s why the chances of a heart attack) and is dependent on the size of your home (because logic dictates that the larger your home, the more electricity you will consume).

According to openelectricitymarket.sg, the maximum amount of security deposit your retailer can collect from you as a residential consumer is:

“Your retailer should not be collecting more than twice your average monthly electricity bill as a security deposit from you.”

As mentioned, different retailers ask for different amounts. So do read the fine print on how much you need to fork out upfront.

Carbon tax

As announced in last year’s Budget, carbon tax officially kicked in from Jan. 1, 2019.

The calculation of carbon tax, based on a consultation paper by EMA dated July 18, 2018, is as follows:

“Based on the carbon price of $5/tonne CO2-e effective from 1 January 2019 and emission factor of 50.03 kg CO2-e/GJ, the carbon price per MWh of generation output is $1.84/MWh.”

So how much is $1.84/MWh?

Taking the average of 366kWh per month for a 4-room flat in Tampines, it works out to around 61 cents monthly.

While it’s not a large amount (it still adds up, mind you), you must be glad that some electricity retailers actually absorb carbon tax.

Moral of the story

Besides doing your due diligence with the rates, it’s wise to check the terms and conditions and choose an upfront retailer before putting your John Hancock on paper.

Perhaps a reseller like Singtel Power

In partnership with Geneco -- itself a subsidiary of one of the most established energy company in Singapore, YTL PowerSeraya group, Singtel Power gives you the electricity without the T&Cs.

The most important thing?

It doesn’t require any security deposit; absorbs carbon tax; and there’s absolutely no other administrative fees.

Yup, they are pretty upfront. Even the asterisk appears quite prominently.

But wait, there’s more!

Singtel is a partner of Geneco, which means…

Yup, that’s right: bundle deals galore.

- If you buy a Geneco Plan with Singtel Power + any Combo 2 mobile plan and above you get $100 OFF your phone.

- If you buy a Geneco Plan with Singtel Power + any Combo 2 mobile plan and above + 1Gbps fibre broadband plan, you get up to $199.90 worth of perks (1 month of 1Gbps fibre broadband plan free (worth $49.90/mth) + $150 mobile phone voucher.

In addition, the Geneco Anniversary Deal, giving you up to $60 rebate off your power bill is happening for a limited time. $60 means the entire month's power bill for some of us.

Not bad at all. Click here to find out more.

Top photo adapted from rawpixel via Unsplash

This sponsored article by Singtel gives this writer enough power to power through the day.