10/19/2007

Good News Day

Today Singaporeans are greeted by another piece of good news. The 3 power companies will be sold to commercial operators who have promised to improve the system and bring down the cost. There will be another first in introducing a new meter and electronic payment systems. New meters will be introduced to measure usage. Meter cost has come down. Users will have to pay upfront to help them manage their usage. While introducing all the new processes and equipment, the new operators will have to bid with other interested parties for the gencos. Obviously they will have to pay a premium for the right to buy and operate them. Unless the existing gencos are going to sell them below cost, which is unlikely, they will have to invest quite a substantial sum initially. Their sunk cost and operating cost cannot be lower than the present operators. With all these costs and with profits in mind, it is amazing that they can reduce the cost of users and the present gencos cannot, and make profits some more. It must be the efficiency of privatisation and competition between 2 or 3 operators. You can be sure that it is a free market and there will not be any cartel or price fixing. Singaporeans can look forward to more efficient and cheaper power supply.

7 comments:

  1. And pigs will fly.

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  2. Thank god some people have seen the light and sold off govt "privatised" rubbiish.

    > You can be sure that it is a free market and there will not be any cartel or price fixing. <

    To ensure cartelisation doesn't occur, just make these companies public, and encourage the public (i.e. Singaporeans) to OWN their own energy production.

    PRIVATISE THE PLANET!

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  3. Gahment said the same thing when she privatised SMRT and SBS. What happened after that?

    Bus and MRT fares go up every year. Can't the Gahment be more creative on the excuses?

    I'm sick of this Gahment. Can't wait to throw it out of the window if given the chance.

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  4. The future story of Power Rates

    Allow me to write the story of power rates in advance for the msm. When it is fully privatised, the first few months will be glowing articles and reports about all the great savings for the consumers. And all will sing in praise. Hallelujah.

    But before the noise has disappeard, all the reports of higher costs, rising petrol prices, operation costs, may even lose money will appear. The the inevitable, the rates will go up to recover for the initial months of giveaway rates. All will be recouped and the companies will be laughing to the banks.

    And the poor users will just L L. The costs have all gone up. They cannot expect privately run commercial companies to subsidise their usage of power. These companies got to answer to their shareholders.

    Then a happy ending. Rates will go up but users will be given rebates for 3 months.

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  5. Wah Redbean you so clever predicting what will happen. Maybe you should just go on the Board of Governors for the new power company. Then you too can laugh your way to your bank.

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  6. anon 224

    > Bus and MRT fares go up every year. <

    There could be a variety of reasons for that—spme of which are beyond the control of any govt, like price of fuel, increased monetary inflation.

    The main cause of rising prices without the raising of STANDARDS—same old shitty buses—is that the govt, S'pore govt fancies itself as a "business".

    So when it does "business" is sucks away opportunity which should be left to ordinary private citizens.

    > I'm sick of this Gahment. Can't wait to throw it out of the window if given the chance. <

    Most people all over the world are disenchanted with the particular govt which governs them, so you are not alone.

    Throwing them out might give you the feeling of "revenge" (priceless) but unfortunately things will not change all that much.

    WHY?

    Because the People Always Get The Government They Deserve—and S'poreans place heavy demands on their govt.

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  7. i think becoming a fortune teller or crystal gazer is a very lucrative biz.

    ReplyDelete