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<TABLE cellSpacing=0 cellPadding=0 width="100%" border=0><TBODY><TR>Aug 27, 2008
</TR><!-- headline one : start --><TR>Smart meters to check power use <!--10 min-->
</TR><!-- headline one : end --><!-- Author --><TR><TD class="padlrt8 georgia11 darkgrey bold" colSpan=2>By Tania Tan
</TD></TR><!-- show image if available --></TBODY></TABLE>
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Singapore households will soon have a smarter way of keeping tabs on their monthly power bills.
Energy meters, which tell consumers exactly how much electricity they are using per hour, will be tested in 1,000 households in the east and west under a pilot project launched by the Energy Market Authority.
These advanced electricity meters give consumers more detailed information on their energy usage, including electricity rates and hourly consumption.
The trial run will also allow volunteers to buy 'electricity credits' at peak and off-peak rates, instead of the current flat fee of 25 cents per kWh, which they buy exclusively from SP Services.
Under the trial, SP Services will offer participating households electricity priced at peak and off-peak rates.
'It's like buying mobile phone plans,' said EMA director for consumer safety and crisis management Seow Kang Seng.
Consumers can pick packages which 'best suit their lifestyles', he added.
Participants will be able to buy electricity online, or at two vending machines in Marine Parade and West Coast. The areas were selected because they give the best mix of HDB, private housing and small businesses.
And with the help of smart meters, consumers can monitor their hourly usage - down to the cent, he added.
'If they think they're using too much, then they can switch off certain appliances, and scale back usage,' he said. The six-month trial which starts in November, simulates what consumers in 1.2 million households could be doing in about three years' time, if the Electricity Vending System is implemented.
</TR><!-- headline one : start --><TR>Smart meters to check power use <!--10 min-->
</TR><!-- headline one : end --><!-- Author --><TR><TD class="padlrt8 georgia11 darkgrey bold" colSpan=2>By Tania Tan
</TD></TR><!-- show image if available --></TBODY></TABLE>
<!-- START OF : div id="storytext"-->
Singapore households will soon have a smarter way of keeping tabs on their monthly power bills.
Energy meters, which tell consumers exactly how much electricity they are using per hour, will be tested in 1,000 households in the east and west under a pilot project launched by the Energy Market Authority.
These advanced electricity meters give consumers more detailed information on their energy usage, including electricity rates and hourly consumption.
The trial run will also allow volunteers to buy 'electricity credits' at peak and off-peak rates, instead of the current flat fee of 25 cents per kWh, which they buy exclusively from SP Services.
Under the trial, SP Services will offer participating households electricity priced at peak and off-peak rates.
'It's like buying mobile phone plans,' said EMA director for consumer safety and crisis management Seow Kang Seng.
Consumers can pick packages which 'best suit their lifestyles', he added.
Participants will be able to buy electricity online, or at two vending machines in Marine Parade and West Coast. The areas were selected because they give the best mix of HDB, private housing and small businesses.
And with the help of smart meters, consumers can monitor their hourly usage - down to the cent, he added.
'If they think they're using too much, then they can switch off certain appliances, and scale back usage,' he said. The six-month trial which starts in November, simulates what consumers in 1.2 million households could be doing in about three years' time, if the Electricity Vending System is implemented.
