SINGAPORE – Following recent water and electricity price hikes, households here will have to pay more for town gas from next month. City Gas announced on Thursday (July 26) that gas tariffs for households will go up by 3.78 per cent, or 0.70 cent per kilowatt hour (kWh) for the period of Aug 1 to Oct 31.

Users will pay the revised price of 19.23 cents – 20.58 cents after Goods and Services Tax (GST) – up from the existing tariff of 18.53 cents. City Gas said in a press release that the hike was due to an increase in fuel costs compared with the previous quarter.

Bulk Tariffs for the minimum consumption of 1,000 kWh of gas per month will increase from 17.50 cents to 18.20 cents (19.47 cents after GST), while bulk tariffs for the minimum consumption of 50,000 kWh will rise from 16.98 cents to 17.68 cents (18.92 cents after GST).

City Gas reviews the gas tariffs based on guidelines set by gas industry regulator, Energy Market Authority (EMA). The revised gas tariffs have been approved by EMA, said City Gas in its release.

The increase in gas prices come after the second phase of water hikes kicked in this month. The first phase of the 30 per cent rise in water prices took effect last July, with increases – the first to be implemented in 17 years – attributed to higher operational costs and investments in water infrastructure.

Electricity prices also went up by 6.9 per cent between July 1 and Sept 30, as utilities provider SP Group charged 23.65 cents per kWH – 1.5 per cent more per kWh. SP Group had previously attributed the increase to the higher cost of natural gas for electricity generation.