We assure Mr Chan Yeow Chuan that price plans offered by electricity retailers in the recent market liberalisation are intended to provide appreciable savings over SP Services' ("Customised price plans for electricity may not cut bill size"; last Wednesday).

The source of all electricity is the national grid. Even electricity producers are required to sell their produce to the national grid, from which they repurchase. This arrangement establishes free-market conditions for all retailers.

It would be a mistake to associate an electricity retailer's plans with telco plans. Telco plans are generally associated with hardware purchases over the span of a plan's course; these involve an entirely different set of mechanics.

Also, the plans offered by electricity retailers are intended for the geographical confines of Singapore only. A business with multiple locations may subscribe to a service with one consolidated amount.

A lot of information pertaining to Mr Chan's questions can be obtained on the Energy Market Authority's website (www.ema.gov.sg).

Consumers can rest assured that better retailers will offer plans with substantial savings, as well as features previously not available.

Viknesh Srirekam

Marketing Executive

Environmental Solutions (Asia)