Singapore legislation
Section 41
Section 41
Contestable consumers
(1)
The Authority may, with the approval of the Minister, make regulations prescribing the circumstances in which a consumer becomes, or ceases to be, a contestable consumer (including upon the grant of an application made by the consumer to be or to cease to be such).
(2)
A market support services licensee must provide market support services to a contestable consumer in accordance with this Act and its licence, and on terms and conditions approved by the Authority.
(3)
A contestable consumer is to purchase electricity for consumption on the consumer’s own premises in accordance with any one of the following options:
purchase electricity from a retail electricity licensee on mutually agreed terms and conditions;
subject to subsection (4), purchase electricity directly from any wholesale electricity market at prevailing market prices;
purchase electricity indirectly from any wholesale electricity market through a market support services licensee at prevailing market prices.
(4)
A contestable consumer must not purchase electricity directly from any wholesale electricity market unless the consumer is granted a licence by the Authority to do so and is registered as a market participant in accordance with the market rules.
(5)
A consumer has the option to, within a period of 30 days from the date on which the consumer is classified under subsection (1) as a contestable consumer (or such further period as the Authority may determine) —
commence purchasing electricity under a contract with a retail electricity licensee; or
commence purchasing electricity directly from any wholesale electricity market.
(6)
If a consumer commences purchasing electricity under subsection (5)(a) or (b) and has an existing agreement under which any person supplies and sells electricity to the consumer, that agreement ceases to have effect from the date on which the consumer commences purchasing electricity under the relevant option.
(7)
If a consumer does not commence purchasing electricity under subsection (5)(a) or (b), the consumer is deemed to commence purchasing electricity indirectly from any wholesale electricity market through a market support services licensee at prevailing market prices with effect from the date immediately after the expiry of the period referred to in that subsection.
(8)
Where subsection (7) is applicable and the consumer has an existing agreement under which any person supplies and sells electricity to the consumer, that agreement ceases to have effect from the date immediately after the expiry of the period referred to in subsection (5).
(9)
Despite subsections (5) and (7), a contestable consumer may, at any time after the expiry of the period referred to in subsection (5), enter into an arrangement to purchase electricity for consumption on the consumer’s own premises under any one of the options specified under subsection (3).
(10)
At such time when —
a contestable consumer does not, cannot or no longer wishes to purchase electricity from a retail electricity licensee or directly from any wholesale electricity market; or
a retail electricity licensee is unable or refuses to retail electricity to a contestable consumer for any reason,a market support services licensee must (if the contestable consumer remains as such under this section) provide the contestable consumer access to any wholesale electricity market for the purpose of allowing the consumer to purchase electricity indirectly from that market through the licensee at prevailing market prices.
(11)
Nothing in subsections (6) and (8) has the effect of extinguishing any right or liability of any party under the existing agreement referred to in those subsections where such right or liability had accrued on the date the agreement ceased to have effect under those subsections.
(12)
A market support services licensee must not discontinue the provision of market support services to any contestable consumer except in accordance with its licence.
(13)
Nothing in this section is to be taken as requiring a market support services licensee to procure a supply of electricity to the premises of any contestable consumer if —
it is prevented from doing so by circumstances not within its control;
circumstances exist by reason of which its doing so would or might involve the market support services licensee or any other electricity licensee being in breach of this Act, and the market support services licensee or other electricity licensee has taken all reasonable steps to prevent the circumstances from occurring and to prevent them from having that effect; or
any building on the premises has been erected in contravention of any written law or is in a ruinous or dangerous condition.