Understanding Your First Electricity Bill After Solar Installation in Singapore

What to Expect on Your First Bill

Your first electricity bill after solar installation can be confusing — especially if the NER has not been activated yet. Here is a clear breakdown of what you should and should not see at each stage.

If NER Is Not Yet Active (Typical in First 1–3 Bills)

During the period between installation and SP Group activating your NER, your bill will look largely the same as before solar — but your actual grid consumption will have dropped, which means your bill should already be lower.

What you should see:

• Lower consumption (kWh) than pre-solar — because you are now self-consuming solar energy during the day
• No NER credit yet — this is normal; NER credits only appear after SP Group installs your bidirectional smart meter
• No export metering — your existing meter cannot measure export, so excess solar simply flows to the grid without being credited (yet)

Important: While waiting for NER, you are not losing the export energy — SP Group will back-credit some schemes. However, best practice is to maximise self-consumption during this period by running appliances during the day.

After NER Is Activated: Reading Your Bill

Once your bidirectional smart meter is installed and your NER billing is active, your SP bill will show:

• Electricity consumed from grid (kWh) — how much you drew from SP Group
• Electricity exported to grid (kWh) — how much your system sent back
• Gross consumption charges — your import billed at the current tariff
• Net Energy Rebate credit — your export credited at the NER rate (currently approximately SGD 0.10–0.14/kWh depending on the quarter)
• Net amount payable — the difference; may be close to zero or even a credit balance in high-generation months

How to Check If Your Savings Match Expectations

Do this simple calculation each month:

1. Find your total solar generation this month from your monitoring app.
2. Multiply by your average retail electricity rate (approx. SGD 0.30/kWh) — this is your theoretical maximum monthly saving if you self-consumed everything.
3. Compare to your actual bill reduction plus any NER credits. The two figures should be in a similar range.
4. If your bill saving is significantly less than the calculated amount, check your monitoring app for any generation gaps and ensure your NER is correctly active.

Common Bill Surprises and Explanations

Maximising Your Bill Savings

• Run appliances during the day — washing machine, dryer, dishwasher between 9 AM and 4 PM maximises self-consumption at the retail rate (~SGD 0.30/kWh vs NER rate ~SGD 0.12/kWh)
• Pre-cool your home — run aircon in the early afternoon using solar power, then switch off as the sun drops
• Charge EVs during the day — if you have an EV and home charger, charge during peak solar hours
• Heat water with solar — if you have an electric water heater, set it to heat during daytime hours