Union Power review: Electricity plans, rates and referral code (2022)
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PUBLISHED ONJune 23, 2022 8:15 AMByJoanne Poh
Each time you turn on the lights, you’re bleeding money. That’s because electricity prices hit an all-time high of $0.2990/kWh in Q2 2022. The tariff will be updated in July, and we’re expecting them to go even higher due to the sad state of the world at the moment.
Out of all the nine electricity retailers available in Singapore, Union Power is probably the best known. If the name sounds familiar to you, that might be because it’s the electricity sibling of the gas cylinder brand, Union Gas.
Union’s gas cylinders are pretty affordable at $36/12.7kg and they are one of the most popular household brands, but it turns out that their residential electricity plans are actually quite expensive.
Union Power actually announced in October 2021 that they would be scaling down their electricity retail business in Singapore due to volatility in the global energy market. This came after a whole bunch of electricity retailers including iSwitch, Ohm Energy, BEST Energy, and green energy retailer ES Power left the market.
So far, 850 businesses tied to Union Power have been transferred back to SP Group, a move which does not affect residential clients. But as of now, Union Power is still in operation and has not exited the Open Electricity Market. But just bear in mind that it might happen one day.
1. What is Union Power?
Union Power is an energy retailer licensed by the Energy Market Authority (EMA). They sell electricity via the open electricity market in Singapore.
Union Power is wholly owned by Union Energy Corporation, which is part of Union Energy Group and offers both electricity and solar power.
You can invest in the gas arm via Union Gas Holdings Limited (ticker UNION:SP), which is currently trading on SGX for $0.70 per share.
2. Union Power review
Here’s a quick overview of Union Power’s available plans.
| Union Power Electricity Plans | Price (including GST) | Contract Duration |
| Union Saver 6 (Residential) | $0.4815/kWh | Six months |
| Fixed Rate (Business) | Upon enquiry | 12 months |
| Discount Off Tariff (Business) | Upon enquiry | 12 or 24 months |
As you can see, there is only one residential plan (Union Saver 6), with a duration of six months.
There are two business plans, including a 12-month fixed rate plan and a discount off tariff plan.
3. Union Power fees and charges
| Union Power Fees and Charges | Fees |
| Registration Fee | Waived |
| Security Deposit | – |
| Late Payment Charge | 1 per cent of outstanding balance |
| Early Termination Charge | HDB 1-room: $180 (remaining duration > three months) / $60 (remaining duration < three months)
HDB 2-room: $210 (remaining duration > Three months) / $70 (remaining duration < Three months) HDB 3-room: $270 (remaining duration > Three months) / $90 (remaining duration < Three months) HDB 4-room: $300 (remaining duration > Three months) / $100 (remaining duration < Three months) HDB 5-room/EC: $360 (remaining duration > Three months) / $120 (remaining duration < Three months) Condo: $600 (remaining duration > Three months) / $200 (remaining duration < Three months) Landed property: $1,020 (remaining duration > Three months) / $340 (remaining duration < Three months) |
| GIRO/Credit Card Auto Payment Failure Fee | GIRO: $1.07
Credit/debit card: $5.35 Physical paper billing: $1.07 |
Union Power’s early termination charges are horribly high. So this is not a company you want to sign up with on a whim.
Make sure you compare electricity charges across the various retailers and only sign up if you’ve done your homework and you’re sure you want to stay with Union Power for six full months.
4. Union Power electricity plans
Here’s a more in-depth look at Union Power’s only residential plan.
| Union Power Electricity Plan | Price | Contract Duration |
| Union Saver 6 (Residential) | $0.4815/kWh | Six months |
So, how does residential plan Union Power 6 compare to other mainstream electricity plans?
Well, considering everybody gets the same electricity from the Singapore Power Grid, Union Power’s plan is eye-poppingly expensive compared to the cheapest electricity rates of $0.2880/kWh by Geneco and Senoko.
ALSO READ: Ways to save on electricity now that energy prices are rising
5. Union Power solar panels
Union Power also has a solar arm, Union Solar, that provides and installs solar panels on your building or rooftop.
At the moment, they only have business plans, so individuals who live in landed property will have to look elsewhere to have their solar panels installed.
Panel installation via Union Power is free and they will take care of all maintenance. You’ll be able to consume green energy directly at the location of the solar panels.
You’ll still have to sign up for a plan, though, but you still save money as you’ll be offered a low long-term tariff for the solar energy you consume.
6. Union Power green electricity
Although Union Power offers solar panel installation and plans for businesses, it is not currently offering solar electricity plans for residences.
As a household, the only electricity you can get from Union Power comes from the same old Singapore Power Grid that almost everyone else uses. That is, most of it comes from the burning of natural gas, which while not as bad as most other fossil fuels is not exactly green.
If that gives you climate change nightmares, there are some green electricity retailers offering 100 per cent solar energy and carbon neutral electricity plans, including Senoko, Sembcorp Power, Sunseap, Keppel Electric, and PacificLight.
7. Union Power discount off tariff plans
Sadly, Union Power currently does not offer any discount off tariff plans.
Such plans used to be all the range back when the Open Electricity Market was a new thing and all the retailers were trying to persuade people to make the switch from Singapore Power. In 2019, you could get discounts of 20 per cent to 25 per cent through discount off tariff plans.
If you really want a discount off tariff plan, you’ll have to go for Senoko LifeSaver, a 12-month contract that gives you 3 per cent discount off the SP tariff of $0.2990/kWh.
8. Union Power promotion
Union Power used to offer lots of promotions. But tough luck, they’re all expired now.
Here are five of the most recent Union Power promotions, all expired.
| Union Power Promo Code | Promotion | Expiry |
| CITIUP15 or CITIUP 30 | Up to $40 bill rebate with Citi credit card | Dec 31, 2021 |
| HSBC20 or HSBC35 | Up to $45 bill rebate with HSBC credit card | Dec 31, 2021 |
| REJOICE20 | $20 rebate on electricity bill | Dec 31, 2021 |
| ENJOY10 | $10 rebate on electricity bill | Dec 31, 2021 |
| ENJOY20 | $20 rebate on electricity bill | Oct 31 2021 |
So, what about now? Sorry, there are no ongoing promotions for Union Power. Shucks.
If you really want a promo, PacificLight has some of the best electricity retailer promotions at the moment, with up to $80 in discounts up for grabs.
ALSO READ: I tried going without electricity for 24 hours — here's how I survived
9. Union Power referral code
Most electricity retailers have referral programmes which run indefinitely, but Union Power’s referral programme expired on Nov 14, 2021.
While it was on, you would get a referral code when you signed up. You could then get your friends to sign up with your code, and both of you would get 3,000 rewards points, equivalent to $30.
Let’s hope Union Power decides to bring back the referral programme. Otherwise, on account of their high tariffs, we can’t really think of a good reason to sign up with them right now.
This article was first published in MoneySmart.