SINGAPORE — Electricity tariffs are set to increase by an average of 3.7 per cent, or about 0.98 cents per kWh before Goods and Services Tax (GST), for the period October to December, SP Group said in a news release on Friday (Sept 29).
U-SAVE, S&CC REBATES TO HELP DEFRAY COSTS
The Ministry of Finance (MOF) said in a media release on Friday that it will begin disbursing U-Save and service and conservancy charges (S&CC) rebates in October to help defray the increase in GST and provide cost-of-living support for lower-to middle-income households.
The rebates are disbursed in April, July, October and January each year, and this latest support is the third quarterly tranche for the financial year of 2023.
Some 950,000 Singaporean households living in HDB flats are expected to benefit from this.
The MOF added that eligible households will receive double their regular U-Save rebate amount, which on average will cover:
Eight to 10 months of utility bills for households living in one- and two-room HDB flats, andFour to six months of utility bills for households living in three- and four-room HDB flats
On Thursday, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Finance Lawrence Wong also announced the provision of a $1.1 billion Cost-of-Living support package to help lower-income Singaporeans.
Eligible Singaporeans will get an additional one-off 0.5 month S&CC rebate, on top of the regular rebates. This will be disbursed in January 2024.
An additional S$20 per quarter of U-Save rebates will also be provided to 950,000 households for two years from January 2024 to December 2025.
Eligible households do not need to take any action to benefit from the U-Save and S&CC rebates, including the additional financial support announced in the Cost-of-Living support package, said MOF.
The U-Save rebate will be credited directly into households’ utilities accounts with SP Group, while the S&CC rebates will be credited directly into households’ S&CC accounts with their respective town councils.
Residents can check or enquire about their eligibility for S&CC rebates by logging into My HDBPage via HDB InfoWEB with their Singpass account, or enquire about their household’s S&CC payment or account status through their respective town councils, the ministry added.