WATER AND ELECTRICITY CONSUMPTION RATES

Mrs Yu-Foo Yee Shoon asked the Minister for Trade and Industry what is the average rate of water and electricity consumption per month by residents of Housing and Development Board flats and those in private estates.

The Minister of State for Trade and Industry (Mr Mah Bow Tan) (for the Minister for Trade and Industry): Mr Speaker, Sir, the 1988 average water and electricity consumption per month of domestic customers are given in the table which Members would have available to them.

If I may refer to the table: HDB Private Houses Volume Charges Volume Charges ($) ($) Electricity 168 kWh 23.28 568 kWh 78.72 Water 18.7 cu m 9.91 28.0 cu m 16.60 33.19 95.32

Sir, these charges are based on the existing tariffs. And as PUB has announced recently, with effect from 1st April, the low tension electricity tariffs will be reduced as a result of the improvement in PUB's productivity and efficiency. Electricity charges will be reduced by an average of 4%. So it will be $22.44 for HDB accounts and $75.88 for private home accounts. The total savings per year for these low tension domestic as well as non-domestic users will be some $34 million a year.