{"id":21141,"date":"2022-06-15T04:00:51","date_gmt":"2022-06-14T20:00:51","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.99.co\/blog\/singapore\/?p=21141"},"modified":"2022-07-08T14:41:30","modified_gmt":"2022-07-08T06:41:30","slug":"open-electricity-market-oem-plan","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.99.co\/singapore\/insider\/open-electricity-market-oem-plan\/","title":{"rendered":"Open Electricity Market: Which OEM Plan should homeowners take?"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Update as of 20 October 2021:<\/strong> <\/em>Best Electricity has announced that it is exiting the consumer open electricity market<\/a> as well.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Update as of 16 October 2021:<\/strong> <\/em>Two OEM electricity providers – iSwitch<\/a> and Ohm Energy<\/a> – have recently announced that they will be exiting the electricity market in Singapore. Some reasons include the volatile electricity market that made pricing plans lower than the regulated tariff unsustainable and rising fuel costs<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

There’s also a Reuters report<\/a> stating that SilverCloud Energy, which supplies power to commercial, industrial and residential buildings have similarly announced its exit from the market.<\/p>\n\n\n

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\"Silvercloud<\/a><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n

Also, it is understood from this report<\/a> that Diamond Electric<\/a> currently only features a 0% discount off the prevailing regulated tariff (with a note saying that ‘this plan is temporarily not available’<\/b>) while Best Electricity’s website<\/a> is now defunct (as of June 2022).<\/p>\n\n\n

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\"Diamond<\/a><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n

Original article (with updates as of 14 June 2022):<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

When the Open Electricity Market (OEM) officially rolled out across the country<\/a> between 2018 to 2019, Singaporeans were no longer restricted to purchasing their power solely from SP Group. What\u2019s the rationale behind the OEM? How do you switch to another electricity provider? What type of plans are available?<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

In this article, we cover all those questions and more, so you can decide whether to make the switch.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

What is the Open Electricity Market (OEM)?<\/b><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

The Open Electricity Market is an initiative that was launched in 2018 by the Energy Market Authority (EMA). The OEM allows you to choose between electricity retailers in the same way you can choose between, say, telcos. But it\u2019s not necessary to switch if you don\u2019t want to; you can keep buying from Singapore Power Group (SP Group).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Also, note that SP still maintains and operates the power grid, so reliability is unaffected when you switch to a retailer.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

How does the Open Electricity Market work?<\/b><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Under the OEM, consumers can now shop for electricity plans from a wide range of providers. The goal of this initiative is to liberalise the local retail power market, and allow consumers to benefit from \u201ccompetitive pricing\u201d and \u201cinnovative offers\u201d.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Prior to the OEM, only businesses with monthly electricity consumption of 2,000-kilowatt-hours (kWh) and above could decide which provider to purchase their electricity from.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

When will I get to switch my electricity provider?<\/b><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

After a successful soft launch of 108,000 homes and 9,500 businesses in the district of Jurong, households and businesses with postal codes 58 to 78 \u2014 about 350,000 accounts \u2014 can choose to switch to an electricity retailer of their choice from 1 November 2018 onwards.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Subsequently, the OEM will be progressively rolled out across the country. The phased roll-out will be done in four batches, and the second batch will get to choose their energy retailer from 1 January 2019 onwards.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The diagram below illustrates the rest of the roll-out; by 1st May 2019, all consumers in Singapore will be able to switch their energy providers.<\/p>\n\n\n

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\"open<\/a>
The OEM will be rolled out across Singapore progressively.  Source: Energy Market Authority (EMA)<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n

What’s the point of switching providers?<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

In a broad sense, competition helps to keep prices low, as each retailer is fighting to get customers. It also encourages innovation and productivity among the competing companies, so we customers can get a better deal.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Most plans offered by electricity retailers are 12 to 24-month contracts, although some retailers differ. For example, Tuas Power has a plan that\u2019s only 6 months so you can test it out.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

If you’re interested, check what you have to pay after 6 months and see if it\u2019s lower than your usual bill.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

About 49% of household accounts and 47% of business accounts have switched to buying electricity from a retailer of their choice as of 30 April 2021.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

What are the different electricity plans available?<\/b><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

The Energy Market Authority (EMA) stipulates that electricity providers offer two standard price plans. That said, there are three types of price plans available, which you can pick to suit your needs:<\/p>\n\n\n\n