Statute Details
- Title: Electricity (Electricity Licences — Exemption) Order 2019
- Act Code: EA2001-S815-2019
- Legislative Type: Subsidiary Legislation (SL)
- Authorising Act: Electricity Act (Cap. 89A)
- Enacting Authority: Energy Market Authority of Singapore (with Minister for Trade and Industry’s approval)
- Legal Basis: Powers under section 8(1) of the Electricity Act
- Citation and Commencement: Comes into operation on 11 December 2019
- Primary Provisions: Section 2 (definitions), Section 3 (application), Section 4 (exemption for certain electricity generators), Section 5 (exemption for consumers on multi-user premises)
- Status: Current version as at 27 March 2026
- Key Concepts: “multi-user premises”, “master-meter”, “sub-meter”, “excluded person”, and exemptions from Electricity Act licensing requirements
What Is This Legislation About?
The Electricity (Electricity Licences — Exemption) Order 2019 (“the Order”) is a targeted regulatory instrument that creates licensing exemptions under the Electricity Act (Cap. 89A) for certain parties involved in generating and trading electricity on premises. In practical terms, it addresses situations where electricity is generated on-site (for example, by a generating unit located within a building or cluster of buildings) and then supplied to other users within the same premises.
Singapore’s electricity regulatory framework generally requires licensing for activities such as electricity supply and sale. However, the Order recognises that in some premises-based arrangements—particularly where electricity is generated on-site and consumed for specified non-residential purposes—imposing the full licensing regime on all participants may be unnecessary or disproportionate. The Order therefore provides conditional exemptions from specified provisions of the Electricity Act.
The scope is not universal. It is limited to defined circumstances involving single-user premises and multi-user premises, and it is also constrained by the nature of the consumers’ use (specified non-residential purposes) and the metering arrangements (notably the use of a master-meter and one or more sub-meters in multi-user settings). The Order also excludes certain entities (“excluded persons”) from benefiting from the exemptions.
What Are the Key Provisions?
1. Definitions and the regulatory “map” (Section 2)
The Order’s definitions are central because they determine when the exemptions apply. Several terms are particularly important for practitioners:
- “Excluded person” includes a management corporation, subsidiary management corporation, Town Council, and related corporations of those entities. These entities are carved out from the exemptions.
- “Multi-user premises” is defined to cover premises lawfully used or occupied by (a) two or more consumers each for a specified non-residential purpose, and a person generating electricity on the premises; or (b) a single consumer for a specified non-residential purpose together with a person generating electricity for both generation and a specified non-residential purpose.
- “Single-user premises” covers premises lawfully used or occupied by a single consumer for a specified non-residential purpose and a person generating electricity on the premises only.
- “Master-meter” measures electricity consumed by all units and common areas at multi-user premises; “sub-meter” measures electricity consumed at parts of the building after passing through the master-meter.
- “Related corporation” uses the Companies Act concept of deemed relatedness.
- “Unique identifier” is used to link lawful use/occupation to the person’s Government/public authority identification for operations.
2. Application criteria (Section 3)
Section 3 sets out when the Order applies. The exemptions are triggered only if all the listed circumstances are satisfied. In summary, the Order applies where:
- A person (including a consumer) supplies and sells electricity generated through a generating unit on the premises to a consumer at the premises—either on single-user premises (to the consumer at the premises) or on multi-user premises (to one or more consumers at the premises).
- The generated electricity is consumed at the premises only for specified non-residential purposes.
- In multi-user arrangements, electricity may also be supplied from the transmission system and is metered at the premises through a master-meter and one or more sub-meters.
For legal work, this means the factual matrix matters. Counsel should expect to verify: (i) the identity of the generator and consumers; (ii) the nature of the premises use (specified non-residential purposes); (iii) whether on-site generation is involved; and (iv) the metering architecture in multi-user premises.
3. Exemption for certain persons generating electricity (Section 4)
Section 4 provides an exemption for the person generating electricity (other than an excluded person) from specified licensing requirements in the Electricity Act—specifically, exemptions from section 6(1)(c) and section 6(1)(e) of the Act in relation to supply and sale to a contestable consumer and a non-contestable consumer, respectively.
However, the exemption is conditional. It applies only if:
- (a) the generator is a generation licensee, or is exempt from section 6(1)(a) of the Act in relation to the electricity; and
- (b) where the generator lawfully uses or occupies the premises only to generate electricity, the generator is related to that consumer.
This structure suggests a policy balance: the generator must already be within the licensing/exemption perimeter for generation, and where the generator is not itself occupying the premises for broader activities (only for generation), the relationship to the consumer is used as a proxy for governance and accountability.
4. Exemption for consumers on-supplying and on-selling electricity on multi-user premises (Section 5)
Section 5 is the most practically significant for many premises-based arrangements. It provides that, where the Order applies to multi-user premises, a consumer (other than an excluded person) is exempt from the same Electricity Act provisions (section 6(1)(c) and section 6(1)(e)) in relation to the supply and sale of electricity to other consumers, if:
- (a) the electricity is generated at the premises by a person who is a generation licensee, or is exempt from section 6(1)(a) of the Act in relation to the electricity; and
- (b) the consumer supplies and sells some or all of that electricity to one or more other consumers at the premises.
In plain language, Section 5 allows a consumer who is already part of the premises ecosystem to act as an intermediary for electricity distribution/sale within the same multi-user premises—without needing to be separately licensed for that trading activity—provided the electricity originates from a qualifying on-site generator and the consumer is not an excluded person.
How Is This Legislation Structured?
The Order is concise and structured around a typical subsidiary legislation format:
- Section 1: Citation and commencement (11 December 2019).
- Section 2: Definitions, including key terms for premises classification, metering, and entity exclusions.
- Section 3: Application—sets out the factual conditions that must be met for the exemptions to be available.
- Section 4: Exemption for certain electricity generators (with conditions relating to generation licensing/exemption and, in limited circumstances, relatedness to the consumer).
- Section 5: Exemption for consumers who on-supply/on-sell electricity within multi-user premises (subject to the origin of electricity and the consumer’s role).
Who Does This Legislation Apply To?
The Order applies to arrangements involving electricity generation on premises and subsequent supply/sale to consumers at those premises, but only where the electricity is consumed for specified non-residential purposes. It covers both the generator and, in multi-user premises, the consumer who may redistribute electricity to other consumers.
Importantly, the exemptions do not extend to an excluded person, which includes management corporations, subsidiary management corporations, Town Councils, and related corporations of those entities. Therefore, where the relevant party is a management corporation or Town Council (or a related corporation), the Order’s exemptions may be unavailable, and licensing or other regulatory pathways under the Electricity Act may need to be considered.
Why Is This Legislation Important?
This Order is significant because it clarifies when parties in premises-based electricity ecosystems can participate in supply and sale activities without triggering full licensing requirements. For practitioners advising developers, building owners, facility operators, and energy service arrangements, the Order provides a structured legal basis to design electricity flows—particularly in multi-tenant or mixed-occupancy buildings—without unnecessary regulatory friction.
From an enforcement and compliance perspective, the conditional nature of the exemptions means that legal advice must be grounded in evidence and documentation. Counsel should expect to review contracts and operational arrangements to confirm: (i) the premises classification (single-user vs multi-user); (ii) whether the electricity is consumed only for specified non-residential purposes; (iii) whether master-meter/sub-meter metering is used where required; and (iv) whether the relevant entities fall within or outside the “excluded person” category.
Finally, the Order’s focus on relatedness (in Section 4) and on the origin of electricity (in Section 5) indicates a regulatory intent to ensure that exemptions operate within a controlled framework—where the electricity is generated by a qualifying generation licensee/exempt party and where intermediary supply within multi-user premises is limited to the premises context.
Related Legislation
- Electricity Act (Cap. 89A)
- Companies Act (Cap. 50) (definition of “related corporation”)
- Land Titles (Strata) Act (Cap. 158) (definition of “management corporation”)
- Building Maintenance and Strata Management Act (Cap. 30C) (definition of “subsidiary management corporation”)
- Town Councils Act (Cap. 329A) (definition of “Town Council”)
Source Documents
This article provides an overview of the Electricity (Electricity Licences — Exemption) Order 2019 for legal research and educational purposes. It does not constitute legal advice. Readers should consult the official text for authoritative provisions.