open electricity market Archives

Save With Certainty On Senoko Energy LifePower24 Fixed Rate Plan

The Open Electricity Market (OEM) has allowed households to switch from SP Group to other retailers to trim their electricity bills. While this has been a fantastic ride so far, it would be even better if households can make the switch with certainty on the following:

Knowing the unit rate to be paid across the entire duration of the contract
Enjoying the highest saving rate across the type of plans available

With so many fixed rate plans being offered in the market, consumers actually need to look no further than Senoko Energy LifePower24 Fixed Rate Plan to get the most bang for their buck. It offers one of the highest cost savings for a fixed price 24-month contract.

Senoko Energy LifePower24 Fixed Rate Plan

Senoko Energy LifePower24 Fixed Rate Plan is a 24-month fixed price contract where consumers pay only 17.78₵/kWh (price includes GST) instead of SP Group’s current regulated tariff of 24.39₵/kWh. This extremely low unit price is fixed for the entire duration of the contract. Furthermore, additional savings are thrown in as well:

$60 bill rebate;
Up to $50 one-time cash rebate for recurring payments made at Senoko Energy’s partner banks;
Up to 5% monthly bill rebate for recurring payments made with OCBC, Standard Chartered or UOB. Find out more about their bank partners here.

With such a low unit rate fixed across the duration of the entire contract, coupled with the excellent freebies thrown in, this makes Senoko Energy LifePower24 Fixed Rate Plan one of the lowest cost 24 months fixed rate plan in the market.

Highest savings amongst OEM Retailers for HDB 3/4/5 rooms, Condos and Landed properties

To illustrate why Senoko Energy LifePower24 Fixed Rate Plan is the lowest in town, let’s make a comparison across OEM retailers offering 24-month fixed rate plans based on SP’s average household electrical consumption.

Click on image to enlarge

Rates above are accurate as of 22^nd May 2019.

Comparison are based on 24-month fixed rate plans with bill rebates factored, applied on national consumption patterns by dwelling types. Bank rebates are not yet included.

As seen in the above table, a comparable household staying in a 4-room HDB will enjoy 30.3% savings in electrical bills by switching from SP Group to Senoko Energy LifePower24 Fixed Rate Plan. The most important conclusion is that whether you are staying in a HDB 3-room or a condo apartment or even a landed house, Senoko Energy LifePower24 offers the highest savings rate amongst the OEM retailers compared. More importantly, Senoko Energy does not collect a security deposit when you make the switch.

Sign Up Now for up to $110 Bill Rebate

To milk the most out of this opportunity, consumers should quickly sign up for this limited-time promotion to enjoy up to $110 rebate. Hurry to lock in both the unit rate of your electricity bill and the greatest possible costs savings available in the market. Give your household the peace of mind and sign up with Senoko Energy LifePower24 Fixed Rate Plan now!

Legal Disclaimer: It is still important to exercise due diligence when choosing your retailer, so be sure to read the fact sheets and fine print.

iSwitch: Stand A Chance To Win 1 Year Free Electricity For Your Household While Paying Less For Your Electricity Bill When You Switch To iSwitch.

With the first phase of the Open Electricity Market (OEM) rolled-out on 1^st November, households with postal codes that begin from 58 – 78 now have the opportunity to switch electricity providers. This means that you can now choose plans from electricity retailers like iSwitch instead of getting your power supply from SP Group alone, very much like choosing a mobile phone plan.

However, with the many retailers that debuted with the launch of OEM, it may be very confusing to select the right plan for your household. To make things simpler for consumers, iSwitch will be promoting the two most popular price plans – Fixed Price Plan and Discount Off Regulated Tariff (DOT).

Fixed Price Plan – Paying a fixed rate for electricity throughout your contract term with your selected retailer.
DOT – Enjoying a fixed discount off the existing tariff during your contract term.

Why Choose iSwitch?

iSwitch offers a seamless switching process, and for those who wishes to switch to iSwitch, the application process can be easily done online. Simply select the plan of your choice, fill up all information needed in the application process and the iSwitch team will do the rest. This online sign up takes less than 2 minutes to complete!

iSwitch prides themselves in excellent customer service where they have a dedicated team for consumers to contact them through email, hotline and Facebook for those that happen to face any issues during application. Customer service is an important core in their business so you can set your mind at ease knowing you have a trusted retailer to rely on.

For those of you who wish to be play a part in environmental sustainability, this is for you! iSwitch is committed in carbon footprint reduction. Consumers who sign up through its website can proudly claim to use Green Certified Electricity at no additional cost. If you are wondering how they do that, iSwitch programme, ‘iSwitch2Green’, monitors your energy usage and calculates the amount of carbon emissions your household is responsible for. After doing so, they would then buy Carbon credits issued by United Nations certified projects on your behalf. In addition, iSwitch also goes green by offering only paperless billing where consumers are notified every month via email. For those who are keen to sign up with an environmentally friendly retailer that promotes green certified energy, iSwitch is one of the few to consider.

iSwitch Fixed/DOT Price Plans

iSwitch offers a comprehensive range of price plans with flexible contract periods, and if you are intending to make the switch, here are some price plans which may interest you:

Super Saver Discount (24 Months)

Enjoy 21% discount on your regulated tariff with the Super Saver Discount plan. This discount is limited to a 24 Months contract. Here is an example of how much you would save if you selected this option over a 24 Months period:

iPromo – iPad (36 Months)

iPromo – iPad is a time limited plan by iSwitch. The 1^st 500 sign ups in Zone 1,2,3 and 4 get a complimentary iPad and 5% (exc. GST) Discount Off Regulated Tariff! If you have been eyeing for an iPad, you should consider this unique and time limited plan! As of now, the plan is still available for sign ups, so fastest fingers first!

‘Chope’ The Rate (24 Months)

A Fixed Rate plan offers a lower rate of $0.1720/kWh (exc. GST) / $0.18404/kWh (inc. GST) for 24 Months.

All plans that iSwitch offers require a 1-month bill equivalent security deposit. iSwitch absorbs transmission loss and also absorbs carbon tax!

For those who sign up with iSwitch online, your plan also comes with a free green certified electricity at no cost, a free air-condition servicing and a free AIA Personal Accident Protection plan. Those who make payment through POSB Everyday Card would also get a 1% rebate.

Multiple Payment Options

Payment for your iSwitch plans can be easily made with the multiple payment options they offer such as AXS kiosks, credit or debit cards, or even GIRO, whichever suit your needs.

To easily track your usage and bills, iSwitch allows its consumers to log in personally into their iSwitch accounts or the iSwitch Mobile App to check them on the go.

iSwitch Rewards

Besides enjoying cost savings from your plan, iSwitch also have a point rewards system where you can earn points to receive rebates on your bill. Some examples where you can earn points would be selecting GIRO as a payment method which would let you earn 25 points (equivalent to $2.50) or renewing your plan (100 points or $10). Referring a friend will instantly earn you SGD 50 rebate off your electricity bill (limited to the first 500 referrals).

iSwitch ‘Switch & Win’ Campaign

In conjunction with the nationwide roll-out of OEM, iSwitch has launched a campaign for those who sign up with iSwitch would stand a chance to walk away with 1 year of free electricity. For those who think this is only for those in Zone 1, do not be disheartened as ‘Switch & Win’ would be selecting a winner from all 4 zones, that means there would be 4 winners! All sign-ups made between 1^st November 2018 to 30^th June 2019 will automatically be in the running to qualify for this promotion, so switch and win today!

For more information about ‘Switch & Win’ campaign, click here.

iSwitch, Your Electricity Retailer

iSwitch aims to place their consumers in the forefront, by providing as many lifestyle perks as they can like those in their price plans. For those who are intending to change to an electricity retailer but do not have an opportunity to due to the different zones, do keep iSwitch in mind as they would not disappoint with its deals and savings. And for those who falls under Zone 1 and wish to join iSwitch now, you may head over to their website to check out the savings, promotions and plans that they are currently offering!

For more information on iSwitch, do visit their website – https://iswitch.com.sg/residential/, or their Facebook page.

Switching To An Electricity Retailer? Here’s What You Need To Consider

Since April this year, households in Jurong have been able to choose who they wish to buy electricity from, thanks to the soft launch of Open Electricity Market by the Energy Market Authority. One early adopter who exercised his choice to switch to an electricity retailer is Mr Luqman Haniff, a 30-year old with seven family members staying with him. We share about his journey here.

1. Household Electricity Consumption

One of the first things to look at before switching to a retailer is to find out more about your past electricity usage. That was exactly how Mr Haniff started off his Open Electricity Market journey. By looking through his past electricity bills, he was able to estimate how much his electricity bill would come up to if he were to pay by the regulated tariff or by the rate offered by electricity retailers. This helped him to choose a price plan that best suit his household’s needs.

What is the regulated tariff?

Let us take a look at how the regulated tariff is derived. The regulated tariff is reviewed every quarter by SP Group and approved by the Energy Market Authority (EMA). It consists of two key components – fuel cost and non-fuel cost. Fuel cost reflects the cost of imported natural gas while the non-fuel cost reflects the cost of generating and delivering electricity to homes. Below is a snapshot of the historical tariff rates.

Electricity retailers’ standard price plans

On the other hand, electricity retailers are free to customise their price plans according to their business strategies, current market conditions and the level of competition in the market. That said, the two main types of standard price plans are:

1. - Fixed Price Plan– You pay a fixed rate throughout the duration of the contract. This rate may be higher or lower than the regulated tariff.
  - Discount Off the Regulated Tariff Plan – You enjoy a discount off the regulated tariff throughout the duration of the contract.The rate may change every quarter in tandem with the prevailing regulated tariff.

Besides visiting the retailers’ websites to check on their offers, Mr Haniff made use of the Price Comparison Tool on the Open Electricity Market website to compare the different standard price plans offered by retailers. Like him, you can make use of this tool to help you decide on the plan that would be most suitable for you.

2. Consumer Needs

Different households use electricity differently and may also have different ways of managing their electricity expenses. For instance, a family who prefers to keep their electricity bills as stable as possible may find the Fixed Price Plan more suited for them since they could better manage their overall household expenses.

On the other hand, another family may consider going with the Discount Off the Regulated Tariff Plan if they prefer the certainty of enjoying savings no matter how the regulated tariff changes.

Before Making the Switch…

Now that you are almost on your way to signing up with a retailer, do take note of the following as well:

Fact Sheet

Before you sign up for a plan, your electricity retailer will provide a Fact Sheet which summarises key contractual terms of your preferred price plan such as:

Contract duration
Type of price plan
Rate offered by the electricity retailer
Payment terms
Early termination charges, if any

Ask the retailer to explain any terms and conditions that you are unsure of.

Consumer Advisory

Electricity retailers will also need to obtain your acknowledgement on a Consumer Advisory notice which outlines what you need to be aware of before signing the contract.

Promotions and freebies

To draw more customers, electricity retailers may offer freebies such as vouchers and cash rebates. While they may entice you to sign up with them, one thing to remember is that these freebies are usually a once-off benefit. Hence, it is always better to think long-term and make sure you stand to benefit from switching to a retailer in the longer run.

From the get-go, there seems to be a wide range of standard price plans offered by electricity retailers. However, upon closer examination, the plans mainly differ in terms of contract duration and rates and come with different sets of terms and conditions.

As you review your choices, find out about your electricity consumption patterns, compare the different standard price plans by using our check-list and finally, be sure to take note of the things to consider before making the switch. You will be well on your way to benefit from Open Electricity Market, just like how Mr Haniff did!