In forceAmended2020 Revised Edition

Contents

Electricity Act 2001 · 2020 Revised Edition · Part 5 · Matters Relating to Electricity Licensees

41. Contestable consumers

Amended

Last amended by an amending law of 2018.

(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:

(a)

purchase electricity from a retail electricity licensee on mutually agreed terms and conditions;

(b)

subject to subsection (4), purchase electricity directly from any wholesale electricity market at prevailing market prices;

(c)

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) —

(a)

commence purchasing electricity under a contract with a retail electricity licensee; or

(b)

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)

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

(b)

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 —

(a)

it is prevented from doing so by circumstances not within its control;

(b)

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

(c)

any building on the premises has been erected in contravention of any written law or is in a ruinous or dangerous condition.

Terms defined in this Act

arrangement
Defined · s 30A
“arrangement” includes any formal or informal scheme, arrangement or understanding, and any trust whether express or implied;
Open s 30A
Authority
Defined · s 2
“Authority” means the Energy Market Authority of Singapore established under the Energy Market Authority of Singapore Act 2001;
Open s 2
consumer
Defined · s 2
“consumer” means a person —(a)to whom electricity is supplied and sold for consumption on that person’s own premises; or(b)whose premises are for the time being connected to any system for the purpose of purchasing a supply of electricity for consumption on that person’s own premises;
Open s 2
contestable consumer
Defined · s 2
“contestable consumer” means a consumer who is, in accordance with this Act, eligible to purchase electricity —(a)from a retail electricity licensee;(b)directly from any wholesale electricity market; or(c)indirectly from any wholesale electricity market through a market support services licensee;
Open s 2
electricity
Defined · s 2
“electricity” means electrical power when generated, transmitted, supplied or used for any purpose except the transmission of any communication or signal;
Open s 2
electricity licensee
Defined · s 2
“electricity licensee” means any person who is granted an electricity licence by the Authority;
Open s 2
market participant
Defined · s 2
“market participant” means a person —(a)authorised by an electricity licence; and(b)registered in accordance with the market rules,to trade in any wholesale electricity market and includes a transmission licensee and any department of the Government which generates electricity before 1 April 2001;
Open s 2
market rules
Defined · s 2
“market rules” means the rules made or modified under section 46;
Open s 2
market support services
Defined · s 2
“market support services” means any of the following activities in connection with the supply of electricity: (a)the reading of the register of any electricity meter and the management of data relating to meter reading;(b)the facilitation of access to any wholesale electricity market for the purposes of obtaining supply of electricity for contestable consumers and retail electricity licensees;(c)the provision of customer transfer services for retail electricity licensees and consumers to facilitate the transfer of contestable consumers between one retail electricity licensee and another or between retail electricity licensees and market support services licensees;(d)the provision of other services related to access to any wholesale electricity market and the retail electricity market; and(e)the supply and sale of electricity to non‑contestable consumers;
Open s 2
market support services licensee
Defined · s 2
“market support services licensee” means a person who is authorised by an electricity licence to provide market support services;
Open s 2
premises
Defined · s 2
“premises” includes buildings, structures, streets, lands, waters, tenements, easements of any tenure, whether State land or not, whether open or enclosed, whether built on or not, whether public or private, and whether maintained or not under statutory authority;
Open s 2
regulations
Defined · s 2
“regulations” means the regulations made under this Act;
Open s 2
retail
Defined · s 2
“retail” means to sell or offer to sell electricity to a contestable consumer;
Open s 2
retail electricity licensee
Defined · s 2
“retail electricity licensee” means a person who is authorised by an electricity licence to retail electricity to a contestable consumer;
Open s 2
supply
Defined · s 2
“supply” means the supply of electricity through electric lines, and includes —(a)the supply of electricity generated outside Singapore to any person or premises in Singapore; and(b)the supply of electricity generated in Singapore to any person or premises outside Singapore;
Open s 2
wholesale electricity market
Defined · s 2
“wholesale electricity market” means an electricity market established by the market rules for the trading of electricity, ancillary services or any other electricity-related product or service.
Open s 2