Singapore's Energy Market Company to help firms pick electricity retailer in 15 minutes

It launched a procurement portal, PowerSelect, which also houses electricity futures data.

Previously, Singapore firms had to wait for one to two months to find an electricity retailer, because they still need to brief and negotiate with retailers face-to-face individually as well as receive and compare quotations. But weeks after the liberalisation of Singapore’s electricity market, Singapore Exchange (SGX) subsidiary Energy Market Company (EMC) launched PowerSelect, a procurement portal which has a 15-minute live auction feature that aims to shorten the time and the process of businesses choosing between electricity retailers.

EMC said in an announcement that this feature works best for firms that prefer fixed price plans or discount off tariff plans (DOT). With PowerSelect, businesses can set a starting bid and already establish contract parameters. The winning bid will be determined through the 15-minute live auction, which aims to fast-track the whole procurement process.

Businesses with special requirements can purchase electricity through invitations to tender. “Under this method of procurement, electricity retailers prepare customised proposals for the customers’ consideration. The retailers are incentivised to put forward their best offers upfront as they have no visibility of other retailers’ proposals,” EMC added.

PowerSelect also houses data from the wholesale and futures electricity markets to help businesses make decisions around their electricity purchases. It is supported by 11 electricity retailers in Singapore, namely ES Power, Geneco, GreenCity Energy, Hyflux Energy, I Switch, PacificLight Energy, Sembcorp Power, Sunseap Energy, and Tuas Power Supply.

EMC added that it will explore the possibility of extending the portal to small electricity consumers like households in future.