SINGAPORE, Dec 31 — For the first time in over a year, electricity tariffs here are set to fall in the first quarter of 2019, with the average household living in a four-room Housing and Development Board (HDB) flat to pay about S$1 (RM3) less for electricity from January to March.

Utility provider SP Group said in a press release that electricity tariffs for the next three months will decrease by an average of 1.2 per cent due to the "lower cost of natural gas for electricity generation” compared to the previous quarter.

For the period from January 1 to March 31, SP Group will be charging 0.28 cents less per kilowatt hour (kWh), bringing down the tariffs to 23.85 cents per kWh.

On average, households in one-room HDB flats will likely pay 0.36 Singapore cent less a month, while those in a terrace house could pay S$2.40 less. The average monthly bills for these two groups of households are estimated be about S$31 and S$204 respectively in the next quarter.

SP Group said that it reviews the electricity tariffs quarterly based on guidelines set by the Energy Market Authority, the electricity industry regulator.

Electricity consumers here have been able to choose their electricity suppliers from November, when the open electricity market was expanded to cater to them zone by zone around the island.

By May 2019, when the full roll-out is completed, 1.4 million households and small businesses will have the option of buying electricity from 12 different retailers. — TODAY