OEM Electricity Providers vs SP Services : Which one should I choose?

Electricity prices are heading up again in Singapore.

It was announced that the electrical tariff will increase to 28.7 cents per kWh (without GST) for the period of October to December 2023. With GST, that amount will be 31 cents per kWh. 

Rising electricity prices would mean rising utility bills. Luckily, in Singapore, you have the option to switch from the national electrical provided SP Services to OEM Electricity Providers.

Back when OEM was launched in 2019, we had jumped on the bandwagon and had signed up with Geneco for 2 consecutive terms of 2 years each. It had made perfect sense as the published rates at that time were 20% cheaper than SP services. Moreover, with inflation, due to our lock-in rate, we had saved a whopping 60% during our final year with Geneco.

In early 2023, we decided to switch back to SP services as prices had risen, and there was not much incentive to switch. At that time, Geneco was offering a rate of 30.8 cents per kWh, which was a tad too high, and it may come down. The decision was right, as tariffs have dropped by about 6% to 28.98 cents per kWh for 12 months and 24 months.

We switch to OEM Electricity Providers, and here's why

Expected prices to remain elevated or higher

For the last quarter, it was announced that Electrical tariffs would be adjusted upwards again. This time around, we decided to switch back to Geneco and here are the reasons why. The current Price offered by OEM electricity is less than 7 quarters by SP Services.

A check with past prices shows that the current rate offered by Geneco is less than SP Powers rates for 7 quarters. The average is 30.8. Given the high interest rate environment and the sticky inflation price, rates should stay the same for the next few quarters.

At today's rate, you will already receive immediate savings if you switch to OEM Electricity Supplier.

Why did we choose Geneco?

We did a comparison of the tariff offered by the OEM Electricity Providers in Singapore. Based on the rates provided, Geneco offers the cheapest rates in Town.

In addition, Geneco offers rebates to offset your bill as follows

• Bill Rebate

- $60 bill rebate for 2 years contract
- $10 bill rebate for 1 year contract

• Referral rebate

$20 referral rebate if you have a referral code.
Don't have one, use our code 96950900

• Credit Card Rebate

Various banks have additional rebates with Geneco when you use the card for monthly payments. Here is the list.

You can stack the rebates to get more discounts.

Additionally, we had used Geneco before and it was a fuss-free experience, so we decided to stick to what we are familiar with.

Why we choose a year contract

While the current electricity tariff is not the highest, it is not the lowest either. As 2 years can be a relatively long time, we decided to go for 1 year instead. While we may lose out on the rebates ( $60 vs. $10 rebate), we would rather chance it in anticipation that rates may drop after a year. 

The one and two year offers the same rate at 28.98 cents per kWh.

How much will we save?

Assuming the electricity tariff holds steady at an average of $30.8, we can save up to 5.9%.

If your monthly electricity bill is at $350 (or $4200 annualised), you can save around $250 per year.

While the savings may not be a lot, together with the rebate, it is almost a free month of electricity. In today's inflation environment, every dollar saved goes a long way.