SP Group announced on Dec. 30, 2019 that electricity tariffs are set to rise in the first quarter of 2020, marking the highest rate tariffs have risen to in more than five years.

Tariffs to rise to 81 cents per kWh before GST

In a media release, SP Group stated that from Jan. 1 to Mar. 31 in 2020, electricity tariffs will increase by an average of 3.5 per cent, excluding 7 per cent GST.

This is equivalent to an increase of 81 cents per kilowatt hour (kWh), compared to the last quarter of 2019.

This latest increase for the first quarter of 2020 will mark the highest rate of tariffs, exceeding that of 24.22 cents per kWh from July to September 2019, which was the previous highest rate in five years.

The increase was due to higher energy costs, according to SP Group.

Here's how the tariffs have changed over the months.

Breakdown of tariffs by household

For households powered by SP Group, tariffs will rise from 23.43 to 24.24 cents per kWh during this period.

The electricity bill for four-room HDB flats will thus increase by S$2.76 before GST.

Here's the complete breakdown for tariff rates according to types of housing.

Breakdown of electricity tariff

About 95 per cent of Singapore's electricity is generated from natural gas.

In its media release, SP Group stated that it reviews the electricity tariffs quarterly based on guidelines set by the Energy Market Authority (EMA), which is the electricity industry regulator.

The latest tariffs have been approved by the EMA.

If you're wondering what comprises your tariffs, here are the components:

• Energy costs which reflect the changes in the cost of fuel and power generations. This is paid to the generation companies.
• Network costs, which recover the cost of transporting electricity to the power grid. This is paid to SP PowerAssets.
• Market Support Services fee, which recover the costs of billing and meter reading, data management, retail market systems. This is paid to SP Services.
• Market Administration and Power System Operation Fee, which recover the costs of operating the electricity wholesale market and power system. This is paid to the Energy MarketCompany and Power System Operator.

Top photo from Erwin Soo / Flickr