Higher...higher....high off the ground

The Energy Market Authority of Singapore has approved yet another hike in electricity tariffs in the city state. Tariffs have been on an upward trend for 33 months!!

I compared the latest household tariffs across select countries and Singaporeans pay alot more than other countries to keep our food chilled or play Xbox.

In fact, only UK and Japan from the chart above registered higher tariffs. Hong Kongers and Australians pay significantly less than us.

With the exception of Russia and Malaysia, all the countries on the chart are net oil importers. That means the lame reason cited by SP Services that increased power generation costs due to higher oil prices are to blame is invalid.
Higher oil prices effect nearly every economy in the world and yet many of these economies have found ways to either produce energy more efficiently or increase subsidies.

In 2004, Singapore Power forked out S$6.3 billion to buy Australian assets of TXU Corp.
It gets better.
Of that amount, $2.2 billion came from SingPower's own cash hoard. The only way a power producer cum seller can make that obscene amount from a tiny market is profiteering.
It doesn't stop there.
In 2007, the company was at it again teaming up with Babcock to buy more Australia assets spending $6 billion in the process. In addition, the consortium agreed to assume $6.5 billion in Alinta's debt.
Babcock eventually collapsed in 2009 so it is not known how much bad debt is on the books of Singapore Power.
Are Singaporeans being overcharged to shore up accounts?

Then in 2008, they sold a power generator PowerSeraya to Malaysian company YTL Power.

It seems that Singapore Power has put shareholder interest way above consumers whom they have been sucking blood from all these years.

Also, do you know that Singapore Power exports electricity to Malaysia? It has excess power generation capacity of over 3000 megawatts.

So with overhanging supply, basic economics ceteris paribus, prices should be low.
Yet Singaporeans continue to get ripped off month after month because Singapore Power is a complete monopoly.

In any case, it is unlikely for oil futures to go much higher for the following reasons:

1) Unlike the 2008 oil crisis, there is a supply glut. Half the OPEC countries want to increase production and half don't. Supply is there for sure.

2) Slowdown in US and Eurozone to dampen oil consumption in medium term.

3) While the Japan disaster has affected nuclear programmes globally, it is still currently the only long term viable solution to energy-hungry developing states. So as countries diversify from oil into renewables, demand for oil may decrease in future.

So why isn't the PAP stepping up to protect the interest of Singaporeans?

I'm dedicating this song to the 60% who voted for higher electricity bills.