Sembcorp Power: Comparison and review of Sembcorp electricity plans

They have a strong enough brand name to seem more reliable than the other electricity startups – and (possibly more importantly) enough muscle to bring us decent sign-up promotions.

Trying to choose a Sembcorp Power electricity plan used to be a huge pain in the ass, because, at the OEM’s peak in 2019, they had 12 different options (including some very strange plans that aren’t widely offered by other retailers). Today, there are only two electricity plans.

If you’re trying to decide between Sembcorp electricity plans, here’s a guide to help you make sense of the options.

Sembcorp Power electricity plans comparison

Sembcorp Power has a total of two electricity plans available right now: $0.2988/kWh (with GST) for a fixed price plan of 12 months, and $0.3388/kWh (with GST) for the 100 per cent solar energy Sunshine Plan for 12 months.

Any hidden costs? Well, Sembcorp charges by the meter so there are no transmission loss charges, and carbon tax is factored into their fees.

But note that there’s a $1.07 per paper bill (e-bills are free), $1.07 for GIRO rejection, $5.35 for credit or debit card rejection, late payment charges of $5.35 per bill (that’s on you), and you also need to put down a security deposit of $50 to $200 depending on your property type.

With that out of the way, let’s jump into the electricity plans proper.

Sembcorp Power Fixed Price Plan – 12 month

Sembcorp Power plan	Contract duration	Price per kWh
Fixed Price Plan	12 months	$0.2988

Okay, now we’re in familiar territory with the usual fixed price electricity plans. A fixed price plan is as simple as it sounds – the price, $0.2988/kWh with GST is locked in for the entire duration of 12 months.

Sembcorp used to offer 12-month and 24-month variations of the Fixed Price Plan, offering a cheaper rate for the longer commitment period. (We used to see them doing this with all their major plans in the past.) However, when taking up a 24-month plan, you will want to double and triple read up about early termination charges.

Sembcorp’s 12 month Fixed Price Plan is slightly cheaper than SP Group’s current rate ($0.2990/ kWh) at $0.2988 per kWh. However, it’s not the cheapest in the market. Senoko’s LifePower24 is currently going at $0.2680/kWh, Keppel Electric’s Fixed24 at $0.2890/kWh, Geneco’s Give Us A Try at $0.2900/kWh, and so on.

So if you’re attracted to the price rather than the brand, it might be worth it to compare the fact sheets of the other available electricity retailers.

Sembcorp Power Sunshine Plan – green electricity plan

Sembcorp Power plan	Contract duration	Price per kWh
Sunshine Plan	12 months	$0.3388

I didn’t really get what the Sembcorp Sunshine Plan was about at first. It seemed counterintuitive that you had to pay more for electricity usage under this plan.

Back in 2019, the Sunshine Plan was named this way because Sembcorp supplies electricity from solar energy from 7am to 7pm – that’s why the Sunshine Plan used to cost more in the day. When it’s dark, you used the same SP electricity as everyone else.

However, Sembcorp’s Sunshine Plan today is 100per cent solar

Sembcorp used to throw in free AMI meter and installation for this plan, but no longer offer that perk. Now, you’ll need to pay the pretty standard $42.80 AMI installation.

Plus, they also do solar panel installation if it’s an option for your household or business. This is at your own cost of course, but you will be able to get some savings.

Alternative “green energy” plans you can also look into are: Sunseap, which specialises in solar energy.

Sembcorp Power No Contract Plan – fixed rate plan with daily fee (ceased)

Sembcorp Power plan	Contract duration	Price per kWh
No Contract Plan	None	17.55¢ + 33¢/day fee

In a bid to entice customers who are wary of signing up for a long contract, Sembcorp is one of the few electricity retailers to offer a no contract plan (only available through online sign up).

You have the freedom to switch to any other electricity retailer or even back to SP as long as you give 14 days’ notice. But it goes both ways: Sembcorp Power can also suka-suka revise your rates anytime, although they will also inform you 14 days before the change.

The base rate for the No Contract Plan is actually lower than all their other plans, but you need to pay an extra 33¢ per day to Sembcorp as an admin fee. That’s about $10 a month.

Assuming you live in a 4-room HDB flat and consume the average 360 kWh of electricity a month (hence 12 kWh a day), that works out to about 2.75¢ on top of the 17.55¢ per kWh. So your effective rate is 20.3¢ per kWh, which is definitely on the high side for a fixed plan.

But because the daily fee remains the same no matter what size your house is, the bigger your house, the more worth it it gets.

Although the daily fee is probably a turn-off for most people, I actually prefer this payment structure to Sembcorp’s contract plans, because Sembcorp charges incredibly high early termination fees.

While companies like Geneco charge a one-time fee of $60 to $720 (depending on property size) for early cancellation, Sembcorp charges per unexpired month. For example, if you live in an 4-room HDB flat and cancel 12 months ahead of contract expiry, you will pay $32.10 x 12 = $385.20. That’s practically half a year’s worth of electricity!

Sembcorp Power Discount Off Tariff Plans – 12 months & 24 months (ceased)

Sembcorp Power plan	Contract duration	Price per kWh
Discount Off Tariff Plan	24 months	22.5 per cent off tariff = now 18.90¢
Discount Off Tariff Plan	12 months	20.5 per cent off tariff = now 19.39¢

Next up are Sembcorp’s Discount Off Tariff (a.k.a. DOT) electricity plans. The price of electricity with these plans is pegged to the overall electricity tariff set by EMA every quarter (basically, what SP charges).

Since this rate changes every 3 months, you can expect some fluctuation in your electricity bill. EMA has just decreased the electricity tariff this quarter (April to June 2019) to 24.39¢, which makes DOT plans quite attractive. Of course, the tariff can still increase in the future – but even if it does, you’re still pay less than you would with SP.

The thing about choosing a DOT plan is that you don’t have to care what the current rate is. All you need to compare is the discount. Right now, the best rates on the market are 23per cent to 25per cent discount, which are offered by Ohm, Diamond Electric, Sunseap and ES Power.

At 22.5per cent off for the 24-month plan, Sembcorp is a little more expensive, but I guess it’s also a bigger name than the others. It’s still a pretty long commitment, so bear in mind the same caveats about Sembcorp’s early termination fees.

Sembcorp Power Flat Fee Plans – telco-style electricity plans (ceased)

Sembcorp Power plan	Contract duration	Price per month	Price per kWh
Flat Fee 450 kWh	24 months	$78.99 for 450 kWh	~17.55¢
Flat Fee 450 kWh	12 months	$82.99 for 450 kWh	~18.44¢
Flat Fee 600 kWh	24 months	$104.99 for 600 kWh	~17.50¢
Flat Fee 600 kWh	12 months	$109.99 for 600 kWh	~18.33¢
Flat Fee 900 kWh	24 months	$157.99 for 900 kWh	~17.55¢
Flat Fee 900 kWh	12 months	$163.99 for 900 kWh	~18.22¢

In addition to the usual fixed rate, discount off tariff and green electricity plans – which are commonly offered by electricity retailers – Sembcorp Power also has what they call Flat Fee plans.

Instead of being billed according to your consumption, with a Flat Fee plan you pay a fixed amount for an electricity “bundle”, similar to how telco data subscriptions work.

You can use however much electricity as you like up to the bundle limit, after which you’ll have to pay for the excess at the rate of 10per cent discount off the regulated tariff. You do get a free AMI meter and installation bundled into the cost, which lets you (and Sembcorp) track your usage more accurately.

The cons of such a plan are immediately obvious – you don’t get any sort of incentive to reduce your electricity usage. Also, there’s not much you can do with the “excess” electricity at the end of the month, whereas with mobile data you can do on a YouTube binge. I mean, what are you gonna do – do your laundry 20 times?

The only way this type of plan would make sense is if you get a very deep discount in exchange for your commitment. In the table above, I’ve done the math to work out how much you’ll be paying per kWh if you successfully max out your bundles, and well, the savings aren’t exactly dramatic.

Sembcorp Power promotions & promo codes

If you’ve got your heart set on one of the Sembcorp Power plans, don’t sign up without one of these promo codes/promotions. Make sure to read the T&Cs thoroughly though – different credit card companies require you to do different things to earn the rebates.

Out of all the electricity retailers, Sembcorp has the most comprehensive promotions programme. It can, however, get a little too confusing. Here, a summary list for you to go through and pick out relevant promotions at a glance: 

Sembcorp promotion	Mechanics	Expiry
AMEX	Promo code 65AMEX12 for $25 bill rebate when you use AMEX for recurring payment (12-month plans, 250 customers only)	June 30, 2022
AMEX	Promo code SUNSHINEAMEX for $20 bill rebate when you use AMEX for recurring payment (12-month Sunshine plan, 250 customers only)	Sept 11, 2020
Citibank	Promo code 60CITI for $20 bill rebate when you use Citibank card for recurring payment (12-month plan, new online customers only)	April 30, 2022
HSBC	Promo code SUNSHINEHSBC for $20 bill rebate when you use HSBC card for recurring payment (12-month Sunshine plan, 75 customers only)	April 30, 2022
HSBC	Promo code 50HSBC for $20 bill rebate when you use HSBC card for recurring payment (12-month plans, 75 customers only)	April 30, 2022
OCBC	Promo code 60OCBC12 for $20 bill rebate when you use OCBC card for recurring payment (12-month plans, 92 online customers only)	June 30, 2022
OCBC	3per cent cashback when you charge your recurring bill to OCBC 365 credit card	April 30, 2022
UOB	Promo code 60UOB12 for $20 bill rebate when you use UOB card for recurring payment (12-month plans, 200 online customers only)	May 3, 2022
UOB	Promo code 60UOBSUNSHINE for $20 bill rebate when you use UOB card for recurring payment (12-month Sunshine plan, 200 online customers only)	May 3, 2022
POSB	Promo code 50POSB for $20 bill rebate when you use POSB Everyday Card for recurring payment (12-month plans, minimum bill $100, new customers only)	March 31, 2022
POSB	3per cent cash rebates when you charge your recurring bill to POSB Everyday Card	March 31, 2022
NTUC	Promo code NTUC12 for $20 bill rebate (12-month plans, 200 online customers only)	March 31, 2022