Channel NewsAsia 2 Jul 08;
SINGAPORE: Even as households are bracing for higher electricity bills, with the latest hike in power tariffs, some are puzzled over a spike of another kind in their monthly statement for June.
While they have not changed their lifestyle, those who approached Today said their electricity consumption has jumped significantly — at least, going by the usage graphs on the back of their SP Services bills.
Secretary Betty Ho, for example, received a bill that showed her family had used 726 kilowatt-hours (kWh) last month, an almost 50-per-cent jump from the 490kWh monthly average from January to May.
Ms Ho, who shares her five-room flat in Chai Chee with her husband and teenage son, said the household had kept to pretty much the same routine in the past few months.
When she called SP Services for an explanation, she was told the hot weather contributed to the spike in consumption.
“I only turn the airconditioning on at night when I sleep. Nothing has changed. They said the airconditioner ‘knows’ the weather is hot and has to absorb more energy to maintain the same degree of coolness,” said Ms Ho, adding that she was not convinced by the explanation.
Others who are affected also wonder if there were glitches in the billing system or in the way calculations were done. The company is expected to change to a new billing system by next month.
When contacted, eletricity retailer Singapore Power said there was nothing wrong with the way consumption was calculated and how consumers were billed.
“There is no glitch in the billing system, which has been in operation since the year 2000,” said an SP Services spokesperson. Consumption is usually higher from April to September due to the hotter months, she noted. “When the weather is hot, consumers tend to use more water and air-conditioning, which lead to higher energy use. Moreover, during the hotter months, air-conditioning consumes more power to maintain the same temperature as compared to cooler months.”
For some, this proves frustrating. Cleaner Teo Meow Eng, 60, has been conscientious about using less energy, with fuel prices pushing up power tariffs steadily since early last year. Mdm Teo, who lives in a fiveroom apartment, has stopped keeping the night light on and only turns on the water heater once a day, in the morning.
But while her consumption went down for April’s meter reading and May’s estimated reading — hovering just above the national average of 417kWh — it spiked to 681kWh in June when an actual reading was next done.
“I find it strange that my electricity consumption continued to rise after showing a drop for two months despite my taking steps to cut usage,” Mdm Teo said.
Bills are estimated in alternate months based on the previous actual meter readings. The spokesperson noted that spikes in some bills could be due to adjustments made to make up for “under-billing” the month before.
On Tuesday, the price of electricity went up nearly 5 percentage points to 25.07 cents per kWh, having risen for four consecutive quarters on soaring fuel prices.
Those living in five-room HDB flats can expect their bills to go up by an average of $5, while those living in one-room flats could see their bills increase by about $1.20. - TODAY/ra
Why the sudden surge?
Reader’s electricity bills jumped by almost 100%despite being away for a week
Letter from YAN DAWEI, Today Online 4 Jul 08;
I REFER to the article, “As temperatures rise, so do power bills” (July 3).
As with other Singaporeans, I was shocked when I received my electrical bill last month, and I believe I’m not alone. Our electrical usage had jumped by almost100 per cent in a single month!
The average monthly consumption of electricity for my household was around 300-plus kilowatt hours for the past few months and there has not been any change to our lifestyle for May and last month. In addition, we were away from home for a whole week last month, which means the electrical usage should actually be less.
Also, we have kept to Singapore Power’s (SP) advice and adjusted our air-conditioning thermostat to 25 to 26 degrees Celsius a few months back. Surely that would at least have kept our bills constant, despite the increasing electrical tariffs.
I have to relate a contrary incident that happened more than a year back. After noticing that the electrical reading for my household had dipped substantially over a few months’ period, SP informed me that my electrical meter was faulty andproceeded to replace it with a new one.
Furthermore, SP chased me for additional payment based on my household’s average monthly usage recorded before the readings started dipping.
In view of the above, I would like SP to look into the sudden increase in our electrical usage.
No lifestyle change, but bill soaring
Letter from CLAIR ELAINEJERUSHA DEVAN, Today Online 4 Jul 08;
I HAD a rude shock when I saw the figure in my power supply bill last month, and was wondering what had gone wrong.
So when I saw your article, “As temperatures rise, so do power bills” (July 3), I felt a bit relieved that I was not alone in this predicament.
My electricity usage in April was 512kWh ($130.41) and for no justifiable reason, it shot up to an unbelievable 997kWh ($241.70) in May.
We are a family of four; my husband works very long hours and I have a full-day job, my mother is staying with us but does not have an air-conditioning unit in her room and my son is doing National Service and is seldom home.
We have not bought any new appliances, nor have we changed our lifestyle habits and in fact during the month of May, my husband and I were away on a three-day trip to Malacca.
We always turn off all unused appliances and main switches and normally keep one fan or two running in the day. I only turn on the air-conditioning at night when the heat is unbearable. My son has the air-con on during the day when he is back from camp, but he has been doing this without incurring such exorbitant electricity charges.
How does SP Services justify this sudden spike in electricity charges?
If the weather is hot, I can understand perhaps a 20 per cent or at most 30 per cent increase. But almost double the amount is quite hard to believe.
