Statute Details
- Title: Electricity (Electricity Licences — Exemption) Order 2019
- Act/Instrument Code: EA2001-S815-2019
- 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)
- Commencement: 11 December 2019
- Primary purpose: Exempt specified persons from certain electricity licensing requirements where electricity is generated and supplied within premises (including multi-user premises)
- Key provisions: Section 2 (definitions); Section 3 (application); Section 4 (exemption for certain generators); Section 5 (exemption for consumers on multi-user premises)
- Current version status: Current version as at 27 Mar 2026 (per provided extract)
What Is This Legislation About?
The Electricity (Electricity Licences — Exemption) Order 2019 (“the Order”) is a targeted regulatory instrument made under the Electricity Act (Cap. 89A). In plain terms, it creates licensing exemptions in situations where electricity is generated on-site and then supplied to consumers within the same premises—especially where the premises are “multi-user premises” and electricity is shared among multiple consumers.
Singapore’s electricity regulatory framework generally requires licensing for activities such as generation and supply. However, the law recognises that certain on-site arrangements—such as buildings with distributed generation, or premises where a generator supplies electricity to occupants—may not warrant the same licensing burden as large-scale market participants. The Order therefore carves out specific exemptions, reducing compliance friction while still keeping the regulatory system coherent.
The Order’s scope is narrow and fact-specific. It does not broadly deregulate electricity transactions. Instead, it applies only when defined conditions are met: electricity must be generated through a generating unit on the premises; consumption must be for “specified non-residential purposes”; and, in multi-user scenarios, the premises must be metered using a master-meter and one or more sub-meters (or otherwise fall within the Order’s defined metering and supply arrangements). The exemptions then operate by relieving the relevant person from particular provisions of the Electricity Act relating to licensing for supply and sale to contestable and non-contestable consumers.
What Are the Key Provisions?
1. Definitions that drive the exemption (Section 2)
The Order’s definitions are central because they determine whether a given arrangement qualifies. Several terms are particularly important:
- “Multi-user premises”: premises lawfully used or occupied by (i) two or more consumers, each for a specified non-residential purpose, and (ii) a person for generating electricity through a generating unit on the premises (whether or not that person also has a specified non-residential purpose). The definition also covers a scenario where there is a single consumer for a specified non-residential purpose and a person who both generates electricity and has a specified non-residential purpose.
- “Single-user premises”: 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” and “sub-meter”: these terms describe metering architecture for multi-user premises—master-meter measures total consumption across units and common areas; sub-meters measure electricity consumed after passing through the master-meter.
- “Excluded person”: certain entities are carved out of the exemptions, including management corporations, subsidiary management corporations, Town Councils, and “related corporations” of those bodies. This is a significant limitation: even if the factual conditions otherwise fit, the exemptions do not apply to these excluded persons.
- “Related corporation”: defined by reference to the Companies Act (Cap. 50), using the statutory “deemed related” concept.
- “Unique identifier”: a Government/public authority identifier used to determine whether a person lawfully uses or occupies premises for a specified non-residential purpose.
2. The threshold conditions for the Order to apply (Section 3)
Section 3 sets out the circumstances in which the Order applies. A practitioner should treat this as a checklist. The Order applies where:
- Supply and sale occur: a person supplies and sells electricity generated through a generating unit on the premises to the consumer(s) at the premises. The Order distinguishes between single-user and multi-user premises.
- Consumption is restricted: electricity generated on the premises is consumed only for specified non-residential purposes.
- Multi-user metering and grid supply context: in the multi-user scenario, electricity is also supplied from a transmission system and is metered at the premises through a master-meter and one or more sub-meters.
In practice, these conditions tie the exemption to a controlled environment: on-site generation, defined consumption categories, and metering arrangements that allow allocation of consumption among units/consumers.
3. Exemption for certain persons generating electricity (Section 4)
Section 4 provides an exemption for the person generating the electricity (the “generator”), but only where the Order applies and the generator is not an “excluded person.” The exemption is expressed as relief from specific Electricity Act provisions: exemption from section 6(1)(c) and (e) of the Electricity Act “in relation to the supply and sale” of electricity to a contestable consumer and a non-contestable consumer, respectively.
Two conditions must be satisfied:
- Licensing status of the generator: the generator is either (a) a generation licensee, or (b) exempt from section 6(1)(a) of the Electricity Act “in relation to the electricity.” In other words, the generator is already within the regulated perimeter (or otherwise exempt) for generation.
- Relationship to the consumer where premises are used only to generate: where the generator lawfully uses or occupies the premises only to generate the electricity, the generator must be related to that consumer. This relationship requirement prevents unrelated third parties from using the exemption to avoid licensing for supply/sale in arrangements where the generator has no other operational footprint on the premises.
4. Exemption for consumers on multi-user premises (Section 5)
Section 5 addresses a different but related scenario: where the Order applies to multi-user premises, a consumer (again, not an “excluded person”) is exempt from the same Electricity Act provisions (section 6(1)(c) and (e)) in relation to supplying and selling electricity to other consumers at the premises.
The exemption applies if:
- Source of electricity: the electricity is generated at the premises by a person who is either (a) a generation licensee, or (b) exempt from section 6(1)(a) of the Electricity Act in relation to the electricity.
- Consumer’s role in onward supply: the consumer supplies and sells some or all of that electricity to one or more other consumers at the premises.
This provision is practically important for multi-tenant buildings and complex premises arrangements. It recognises that a consumer may act as an intermediary for internal electricity distribution (for example, where internal arrangements allocate electricity among multiple occupants), without requiring the consumer to obtain the same supply/sale licensing approvals—provided the electricity originates from a properly licensed (or exempt) generator and the consumer is not an excluded entity.
How Is This Legislation Structured?
The Order is structured in a straightforward, functional way:
- Section 1 (Citation and commencement): identifies the instrument and its commencement date (11 December 2019).
- Section 2 (Definitions): defines key concepts such as “excluded person,” “multi-user premises,” “single-user premises,” and metering terms (“master-meter” and “sub-meter”), as well as “related corporation” and “unique identifier.”
- Section 3 (Application): sets out the factual and operational conditions that must be satisfied for the Order to apply.
- Section 4 (Exemption for certain persons generating electricity): grants an exemption to the generator (subject to non-excluded status and licensing/relationship conditions).
- Section 5 (Exemption for consumer on-supplying and on-selling electricity on multi-user premises): grants a corresponding exemption to consumers who onward-supply electricity within multi-user premises.
Who Does This Legislation Apply To?
The Order applies to arrangements involving electricity supply and sale where electricity is generated through a generating unit on the premises and consumed for specified non-residential purposes. It covers both single-user and multi-user premises, but Section 5 is specifically directed at multi-user premises.
However, not everyone benefits. The exemptions do not apply to an “excluded person”, which includes management corporations, subsidiary management corporations, Town Councils, and related corporations of those entities. Accordingly, practitioners advising these bodies should assume that the exemptions may be unavailable even if the premises and metering conditions otherwise fit.
Why Is This Legislation Important?
This Order matters because it directly affects whether parties involved in on-site generation and internal electricity distribution must hold (or be exempt from) electricity supply and sale licensing requirements under the Electricity Act. For legal and regulatory compliance, the difference between being licensed and being exempt can determine the legality of contracting, billing, and operational arrangements among tenants, occupants, and on-site generators.
From a practitioner’s perspective, the Order’s value lies in its risk allocation. It provides a structured pathway for certain internal electricity arrangements to proceed without triggering full licensing obligations, but only when the arrangement is tightly defined: correct premises classification (single-user vs multi-user), specified non-residential consumption, and (for multi-user premises) master-meter/sub-meter metering and grid supply context.
Finally, the “excluded person” carve-out is a critical compliance point. Many multi-tenant and common-property electricity arrangements involve management corporations or Town Councils. By excluding these entities from the exemptions, the Order signals that these bodies may require a different regulatory approach or may need to rely on other legal mechanisms outside this Order.
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.