Yahoo Finance Keppel Electric — Comparison & Review of Keppel Electricity Plans
Since the launch of the Open Electricity Market (OEM) in 2018, one of the most popular electricity retailers is Keppel Electric.
Similar to Sembcorp Power, Keppel is a listed company and a household brand name, so it does seem more trustworthy than “unknown” retailers e.g. the former iSwitch. And Keppel Electric does offer pretty good prices and promotions, so why not, right?
Let’s check out the electricity plans that Keppel Electric has to offer and find out if there’s anything you should watch out for.
Keppel Electric plans comparison
Keppel Electric plan | Price per kWh | Contract duration |
Keppel FIXED24 | $0.2890 | 24 months |
Keppel FIXED12 | $0.2890 | 12 months |
Keppel ecoGreen24 | $0.3388 | 24 months |
Keppel ecoGreen12 | $0.3388 | 12 months |
Choosing a Keppel Electric plan is pretty straightforward. There are 3 main types to choose from, with variations in contract duration and price.
Unsurprisingly, Keppel’s cheapest plans are the fixed price ones, although the shorter commitment one is cheapest. Their previous DOT (discount off tariff) and peak/off-peak KNIGHT plans have since been phased out. Instead, they have been replaced by the new Keppel ecoGreen 12-month and 24-month plans that are priced at $0.3388/kWh – largely on par with the other green electricity plans out there.
According to their fact sheet, Keppel Electric does not require a security deposit from Singaporeans and PRs, nor is there an admin or registration fee for opening an account. That said, there are common but avoidable fees like 1% for late payment and $2.14 per bill for paper billing (e-bills are free).
The major fee to look out for, though, is Keppel Electric’s early termination charges. Unlike some companies which charge a one-time fee for early cancellation, you have to pay Keppel Electric about 30% of your usual bill for the rest of the contract period. I’ll explain this in detail later, but their fee structure is definitely something to keep in mind for long contracts.
Keppel Electric FIXED24 & FIXED12 — fixed price plans
Keppel Electric plan | Price per kWh | Contract duration |
Keppel FIXED24 | $0.2890 | 24 months |
Keppel FIXED12 | $0.2890 | 12 months |
If you want the cheapest rates with Keppel Electric, you’ll have to go for one of these fixed price plans. (Which is the norm among electricity retailers in Singapore.)
In the past, we’ve seen electricity retailers reserving the cheapest rates for the longest lock-in periods, which made sense. These days, Keppel Electric is offering the same $0.2890/kWh rate for both 12-month and 24-month plans.
However, this rate is currently the second cheapest, with Senoko’s $0.2680/kWh being the cheapest. You can compare the other plans on the market here.
Still, you may want to consider Keppel Electric as it’s one of the cheapest rates currently offering 24-month plans. It’s fair to assume that the price of electricity should go up in the long run, so if you’re looking to lock in “today’s rate” for 3 years, a plan like this seems like the way to go.
The main worry is commitment. 3 years is a pretty long time, so before signing up, I’d get familiar with the early termination policy first.
In Keppel Electric’s case, it’s complicated. While the product factsheet doesn’t explicitly tell you what the early termination policy is, it used to be this formula in 2019: (no. of days left in contract) x (your average daily charges over the past 12 months) x 30%. Basically, it means you’ll have to cough up a third of what you would have paid Keppel if you cancel early. Pretty off-putting, huh?
If you’re not comfortable with this kind of clause, you might want to check other retailer fact sheets to see what sort of cancellation policy they have. The smaller “indie” retailers tend to have more lenient charges, e.g. just a one-off penalty.
Keppel Electric ecoGreen24 & ecoGreen12 – carbon neutral REC plan
Keppel Electric plan | Price per kWh | Contract duration |
Keppel ecoGreen12 | $0.3388 | 12 months |
Keppel ecoGreen24 | $0.3388 | 24 months |
Keppel Electric’s ecoGreen plans launched pretty recently in February 2022. Like most of the other electricity providers, Keppel Electric’s ecoGreen plan still utilises SP’s main grid for electricity (by burning fossil fuel). However, Keppel helps its customers acquire Renewable Energy Certificates (RECs) to neutralise their carbon footprint.
If you stay in a landed property, you can contact Keppel Electric to help you instal solar panels. Again, there’s a however… However, the electricity you harvested from your solar panels cannot be used for your house. You will have to sell the harvested solar electricity back to SP Group for rebates off your electricity bills.
Keppel Electric DOT3 / DOT24 — discount off tariff plans (ceased)
Keppel Electric plan | Price per kWh | Contract duration |
Keppel DOT3 | 22% off tariff = now 19.55¢ | 24 months (but can cancel after 3 months) |
Keppel DOT24 | 22% off tariff = now 19.55¢ | 24 months |
Keppel Electric’s DOT plans work on the “discount off tariff” model, where the price of electricity is a floating rate based on the quarterly electricity tariff set by EMA, i.e. the price that SP charges.
Right now, the tariff stands at 25.07¢ per kWh for Oct to Dec 2019. This can rise and fall from quarter to quarter. If it falls, your bill will decrease accordingly.
But, just like with the price of… uh, everything else, I think one can expect the price of electricity to go up at some point in the future. A DOT plan doesn’t buffer you from that, but at least you’ll still be paying less than you would if you had stuck with SP.
Note that Keppel Electric’s discount of 22% isn’t particularly high; several retailers (Ohm, Sunseap, Union Power) offer 23% to 25%.
That said, Keppel Electric has a low-commitment option, the DOT3 plan. The 22% off rate is locked in for 24 months, but you’re allowed to cancel as long as you try it out for at least 3 months. You have to give 60 days’ notice to terminate your contract, and there is no early termination fee.
Keppel Electric KNIGHT — peak / off-peak electricity plan (ceased)
Keppel Electric plan | Price per kWh | Contract duration |
Keppel KNIGHT | 20.44¢ (7am to 11pm) / 16.34¢ (11 pm to 7am) | 24 months |
KNIGHT is Keppel Electric’s non-standard plan and it has two different rates depending on the time of the day.
The off-peak rate of 16.34¢ per kWh is definitely very attractive, but the trouble is that it starts at 11pm. Any electricity you use before that — lights, water heater, electronics etc. — will be chargeable at the much higher 20.44¢ rate.
Assuming you do not have a nocturnal lifestyle, the main savings would be on your air conditioner. To figure out if this plan is good for you, you should probably install an advanced meter to better understand your personal electricity consumption by the hour.
Note that the contract duration is 24 months, so it’d be tricky to get out of this plan if it turns out that it doesn’t work for your lifestyle.
Next steps: Keppel Electric promo codes & roadshows
All right, so… which promo code should you use? Here’s a handy link to the Keppel Electric promotions page. I’ve also summed up the available promotions below:
Keppel Electric promo code | Mechanics | Expiry |
CITI30 | $30 off when you use Citi credit card for recurring payment (2-year plans, 500 customers only) | 14 Jun 22 |
CITI20 | $20 off when you use Citi credit card for recurring payment (1-year plans, 500 customers only) | 14 Jun 22 |
OCBC30 | $30 off when you use OCBC credit or debit card for recurring payment (2-year plans, 110 customers only) | 31 Mar 22 |
OCBC10 | $10 off when you use OCBC credit or debit card for recurring payment (1-year plans, 110 customers only) | 31 Mar 22 |
UOB20 | $20 off when you use UOB credit or debit card for recurring payment (2-year plans, 100 customers only) | 3 May 22 |
Have you signed up with Keppel Electric? Share your experiences with us in the comments.
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