OEM Singapore is short for the Open Electricity Market, the Energy Market Authority scheme that lets every household pick which company sells them electricity instead of being stuck on SP Group's default. It has been live nationwide since 2019, and as of 1 October 2026 about 39.01 percent of residential accounts had moved onto a retailer plan while 60.93 percent still sit on the regulated tariff. Switching changes only the price you pay and who bills you. SP Group still owns the grid, the meter and the supply, so nothing physical changes and your power never cuts out during a switch. The benchmark you are trying to beat is the regulated tariff, which is 31.16 cents per kWh including 9 percent GST for 1 October to 31 December 2026. This guide covers what OEM actually is, the three plan types, how to switch with just one bill, whether you keep U-Save, and the contract terms that quietly cancel the discount.
Before 2018 every home in Singapore bought electricity from SP Group at one price set by the regulator. The Open Electricity Market changed that. The Energy Market Authority opened retail supply to licensed competitors, and from 1 November 2018 the scheme rolled out by region until it reached the whole island on 1 May 2019. Since then any household can choose a retailer, switch back, or do nothing and stay on the default tariff.
The part that confuses people is what does not change. You are not buying a different kind of electricity, and no one runs a new cable to your flat. SP Group keeps operating the national grid, reads your meter, and guarantees supply no matter whose name is on your plan. The retailer simply buys electricity wholesale and resells it to you at a contracted rate. If a retailer ever folds, SP Group catches you on the regulated tariff automatically, so the lights stay on.
OEM is voluntary and has no deadline. Roughly three in five households have stayed on the regulated tariff, which is a reasonable call if you use little power. The case for switching is purely financial: a retailer plan can shave a few cents off each kilowatt-hour, and over a year of a typical HDB electricity bill that adds up to a real, if modest, saving.
Update, 13 October 2026: the regulated tariff for October to December 2026 is 31.16 cents per kWh including GST, down from 34.78 cents in July to September and up from the 29.72 cents this guide quoted for April to June. Whether a retailer plan saves you money is measured against one number, the regulated tariff that SP Group charges by default. The EMA reviews it every quarter to track the actual cost of generating power, which in Singapore is dominated by imported natural gas. For 1 October to 31 December 2026 the residential tariff is 31.16 cents per kWh including GST, or 28.59 cents before the 9 percent GST is added (SP Group).
The tariff has two parts: a fuel cost that moves with gas prices, and a non-fuel cost covering generation capacity, grid maintenance and billing. Because the fuel half floats, the regulated tariff can swing several cents a quarter. That volatility is exactly what a fixed retailer plan protects you from, and what a discount-off-tariff plan rides along with.
| Quarter | Tariff with GST | Tariff before GST |
|---|---|---|
| Apr to Jun 2026 | 29.72c per kWh | 27.27c per kWh |
| Jul to Sep 2026 | 34.78c per kWh | 31.91c per kWh |
| Oct to Dec 2026 | 31.16c per kWh | 28.59c per kWh |
Every OEM retailer sells variations of three structures. Picking the right structure matters more than chasing the lowest headline number, because a cheap rate on the wrong structure can cost you more than the tariff you left.
You lock one rate per kWh for the whole contract, usually 6, 12, 24 or 36 months. If the regulated tariff rises above your locked rate you win; if it drops below, you lose. This is the plan for anyone who wants a flat, predictable bill and does not want to think about quarterly tariff news. In June 2026, when the tariff was 29.72 cents, common fixed rates sat a little under it, roughly 29.0 cents for 12 months and 28.6 to 28.8 cents for 24 to 36 months, before any sign-up rebate. Check the official comparison tool for today's rates against the 31.16 cent tariff.
Instead of a fixed number you pay the prevailing tariff minus a set discount, so your rate moves every quarter with SP. You always sit below the tariff by the same margin, which feels safe, but the discounts are usually small. Senoko's LifeSteady range is one example, on 24 to 36 month terms. This suits people who want to stay below the default without betting on where gas prices go.
You get a cheap overnight rate and an expensive daytime rate. Off-peak windows from retailers like Geneco, Senoko, Keppel and PacificLight have dipped to around 17 to 22 cents per kWh, but the peak rate climbs to roughly 36 to 37 cents. This only saves money if you genuinely shift heavy use, such as laundry, water heating or EV charging, into the off-peak window. If most of your usage stays in the day, a time-of-use plan costs more than the tariff.
At the 2018 peak there were a dozen retailers. After a brutal energy crunch in 2021 and 2022 several pulled out. As of October 2026 the market operator's residential list names seven retailers, all listed below. All are licensed by the EMA and bill against the same grid, so what differs between them is price, contract terms and sign-up perks.
If you want the full price-by-price ranking and the break-even maths, see our cheapest electricity retailer comparison. The list below is who you can actually sign with today.
Switching is mostly paperwork, and you can do it from your phone. There is no installation, no technician visit and no gap in supply. The whole change happens inside the Market Support Services database that SP Group runs, so your meter and supply carry on untouched while the billing relationship changes hands.
Start at the EMA's official price comparison tool rather than a retailer's own page, because the official tool shows every plan side by side without the marketing spin. Before you commit, work the expected saving against your real usage in our monthly budget calculator so the rebate does not distract you from a worse per-kWh rate.
Two worries stop people from switching. The first is the GST Voucher U-Save rebate that helps eligible HDB households with utilities. The EMA confirms you keep U-Save after switching to a retailer. The catch is the order it is used in: U-Save first pays down your water, gas and refuse charges, and only what is left goes to electricity, so if a retailer bills your electricity separately, little or none of it may reach that bill. The second is billing. Some retailers consolidate everything onto your existing SP bill, so you still get one statement for electricity, water and gas. Others bill you separately for electricity and leave SP to bill the rest, so you get two statements. Check which arrangement a plan uses before you sign if a single bill matters to you.
The headline rate is only part of the deal. The terms below are where an apparently cheaper plan quietly becomes more expensive than the tariff you left, so read the Fact Sheet line by line.
Run the maths on your own bill. Take your average monthly kWh, multiply by the gap between the regulated tariff and the plan rate, and that is your raw monthly saving before fees and rebates. A household using 400 kWh a month that moves from 31.16 cents to a 30 cent fixed plan saves about 1.16 cents per kWh, roughly S$4.64 a month or S$56 a year, plus any one-off sign-up rebate. Heavy users and off-peak shifters save more; light users barely move the needle.
If your bill is small, the honest answer is to stay on the regulated tariff and put your energy into cutting usage instead, since aircon alone is often 40 to 60 percent of a Singapore bill. Trimming consumption beats shaving a cent off the rate. A fixed plan sets your rate for the whole term, so the saving is known the day you sign, and you can park the difference somewhere useful using our compound interest calculator.
No. Switching is voluntary and there is no deadline. You can stay on SP Group's regulated tariff indefinitely, switch to a retailer whenever you want, and switch back later. As of October 2026 about 61 percent of residential accounts were still on the regulated tariff, which is a fine choice for low-usage homes.
No. SP Group continues to own and run the national grid, your meter and the physical supply no matter which retailer you choose. The switch happens entirely in SP Group's Market Support Services database, with no technician visit and no interruption. The only thing that changes is the price you pay and who sends the bill.
Yes. The EMA confirms that switching to a retailer does not affect your GST Voucher U-Save eligibility. The rebate is still credited to your SP utilities account in the usual quarters. It is used first on your water, gas and refuse charges and only then on electricity, so if your retailer bills electricity separately, little or none of it may land on that bill.
In practice you need just your latest SP electricity bill, which shows your account details and monthly kWh usage. Retailers use it to confirm your consumption and complete the sign-up online. No hardware, deposit cheque or in-person visit is required, though some plans ask for a refundable security deposit unless you pay by GIRO.
The Energy Market Authority reviews the tariff every quarter to reflect the actual cost of producing electricity. It has a fuel component tied to imported natural gas prices and a non-fuel component covering generation, network and billing costs. For 1 October to 31 December 2026 it is 31.16 cents per kWh including 9 percent GST.
This is general financial information for Singapore, not personal financial advice. Figures change, so verify current rates against the official sources above before acting. See our full disclaimer.
Junxiong-WFG Organisation is an authorised representative of AIA Financial Advisers Private Limited (Reg. No. 201715016G).