SINGAPOREANS are resorting to small but innovative efforts to slash dollars and cents off their utility bills, in the light of rising electricity tariffs and inflation.
Domestic electricity tariffs hit a record high of 25.07 cents per kilo-watt hour (kwh) this month when Singapore Power subsidiary SP Services increased electricity tariffs.
It was the sixth consecutive quarterly increase since April last year.
To tighten their belts, lifestyle changes, such as going without air-conditioning and taking cold showers, have become the norm for many Singaporeans my paper spoke to.
One such thrifty Singaporean is Mr Andrew Kwa, 25, a marketing intern at a water purification company.
Instead of relying on fluorescent lighting, his family now go about their daily activities in the living room by the light of a small rechargeable 20-watt picnic lantern.
Mr Kwa and his family live in a four-room HDB flat.
Said Mr Kwa: 'The lantern lights up half of the room when fully charged after four hours and is bright enough for us to surf the Internet and watch television by, even at night.
'During the day, we don't use fluorescent lights at all, and if we need some light, we use the lantern.'
The family also went cold turkey on air-conditioning in the beginning of the year. Mr Kwa estimates they now save $150 on electricity each month. Said Mr Kwa: 'Changing our daily habits was the simplest way to cut costs.
'Investing in energy-efficient technology and appliances costs money and takes time to develop.'
Air-conditioning is also a no-no for programmes trainer Wilma Lee, 43, who rents out two of the rooms in her four-room flat to tenants on a 'no-air-conditioner' basis.
To minimise her water bills, she reuses the water used for washing her clothes to clean her bathrooms and toilets.
When she finds her electricity bill - about $100 a month - going up, she takes time to talk to her domestic helper and tenants on further measures they can take to cut costs.
For senior technician Chan Chee Kong, 44, little changes in his family's daily habits mean big savings in the long run - he has managed to keep his monthly electricity bill constant for almost two years.
At $70, his monthly bill for his four-room flat is $20 below the current national average of around $90.
Cold showers are the norm for Mr Chan, who rarely turns on the water heater.
He also stopped boiling his drinking water last September after he installed a water filter on his tap. Now, he only boils water when he makes coffee or tea.
Said Mr Chan of his lifestyle changes: 'It's just a matter of getting used to the changes.
'It's worth it as my family manages to offset the costs of rising tariffs.'
Mr Kwa and Mr Chan agreed that education efforts on utility- saving measures are key to encourage Singaporeans to adopt cost-cutting lifestyles.
Said Mr Chan: 'Many Singaporeans have a habit of using (utilities) first then thinking later, as small increases in tariffs might not make us feel the pinch.
'More education is needed for Singaporeans to adopt cost-cutting measures.'
Added Mr Kwa: 'Long-term campaigns to promote energy efficiency will not only help us cut costs, but go green at the same time.'
In April, the 10 per cent Energy Challenge was launched by the National Environment Agency (NEA). It is NEA's first national contest that aims to have households cut their electricity usage by 10 per cent.
A similar 10-litre Challenge was launched by the PUB and the Singapore Environment Council in 2006 to encourage Singaporeans to cut their daily water usage by 10 litres.
Besides providing tips on how to save water, other initiatives in the programme included a labelling scheme for water- efficient appliances.
Other measures which the NEA has also introduced to help households cut power costs include the Energy Labelling Scheme, which was made mandatory at the start of the year.
Under the scheme, all air-conditioners and refrigerators sold here must be labelled with energy labels, which show consumers how much energy appliances use and how energy-efficient they are.
And soon, cost-conscious consumers will find it easier to track energy consumption and costs, with an energy consumption tracker being developed by electrical switchgear Bridex Harwal Pte Ltd. The project is supported by the NEA.
This new device will show home owners the amount they have used over the last 12 months in terms of kwh and dollars.
It will even pinpoint appliances that are the energy-consuming culprits and will be available by the end of the month from Home-Fix stores.
