When the electricity market is fully open to competition in the second half of next year, all households will be able to shop for it the way people do for a mobile phone plan.
But some households may be able to do so earlier, as the Energy Market Authority (EMA) is considering running a trial to ease the transition. EMA had in 2015 said it will fully open up the electricity retail market to competition.
With the liberalisation, customers can shop around for the best deals based on their usage patterns or preferences. For example, those who work in the day could sign up for options that allow them to take advantage of lower electricity tariffs at night.
It is not mandatory for a supplier of green electricity to have its generation sources audited. Those that have, like home-grown electricity retailer Sunseap, do so voluntarily.
The National University of Singapore’s Solar Energy Research Institute of Singapore is part of an inter- agency initiative led by the Ministry of Trade and Industry to address this issue, Dr Thomas Reindl, its deputy chief executive. An independent verification process is critical for consumer confidence, especially with the rising number of transactions when the electricity retail market fully opens to competition, said Dr Reindl.
EMA said retailers are prohibited from misrepresentations to consumers under the Code of Conduct for Retail Electricity Licensees.
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Source: The Straits Times, 1 August 2017