Transforming to Serve You Better

Transforming to serve customers better

Singapore Power and all members of the group now serve the public as SP Group. We are transforming to serve customers better. With disruption sweeping through every industry and facet of society, we strive to meet customers’ evolving needs by innovating and building capabilities for the future.

Pivotal in realising this goal is bringing our employees from different work locations together in our new premises at Kallang Sector. This enables our people to collaborate and co-create more easily, and reaps savings in property and facilities management at our own building instead of rented offices spaces. Projecting a unified identity as SP Group is also important in providing our customers a seamless, unified experience at all touch points.

Our efforts are anchored on our mission to improve quality of life for individuals of all ages, families, industries and the community. Our goal is to empower customers with sustainable lifestyle solutions to meet their needs and aspirations.

In fulfilling our commitment, we have upheld strong network performance that enables Singapore to enjoy world-class reliability and efficiency. We have also maintained financial discipline and governance, closing the year on 31 March 2017 with a net profit of S$948.8 million, with our Australian associates contributing S$216.4 million.

Going digital to do more with less

In providing customers greater convenience, we aim to deliver a more unified, seamless experience, bringing savings in energy, time and cost. Instrumental in making these possible are digital technologies that will power future-ready solutions.

Our SP Utilities mobile application is centred on customers’ growing needs and changing lifestyle. Launched in March 2017, SP Utilities enables customers to make transactions on the go, get timely reminders on bill payment, track their utilities consumption and compare it with their past usage as well as that of their neighbours. Progressively, new features are being added, such as the “live” chat for customers to have their queries addressed promptly. This is supported by our one-stop Digital Contact Centre, that also attends to customers on phone calls and email.

Digital applications have also transformed the way we carry out our operations. We are better able to perform real-time monitoring of assets and network performance, establish secure protocols, avert interruption and down-time, streamline processes, respond speedily to irregularities, plan efficiently, be responsive to dynamic events and optimise resources for greater productivity and reliability. Our employees have embraced new ways of working, in order to do more with less and bring greater value to customers. They are equipped with digital tools and workspaces to perform their roles and connect with each other and our customers, regardless of where they are.

We have continued to build engineering talent and bench strength, with SP’s own EDGE, iGRAD and LEAP scholarships for students in tertiary, polytechnic and technical institutes, as well as incumbent professionals making the transition to higher level responsibilities and roles that have evolved with the changing landscape.

In all our undertakings, we keep an unwavering focus on the safety of the public, our staff and contractors. We have strengthened contractor partnership and management programmes to reward good safety practices and encourage improvement in areas we have identified.

Powering a greener future

We are developing green technologies and adopting more sustainable practices in our operations. In the last year, we started our journey towards converting our service fleet to Electric Vehicles. To maintain the fleet, we have installed a robust network of charging stations at various locations in Singapore. We have also installed solar panels at our headquarters and district offices and developed storage systems to harness and deploy energy efficiently. Our experience will enable us to work with partners in the community to achieve similar sustainable outcomes. For a start, we have helped Bukit Panjang Community Club reduce electricity usage with solar panels and a real-time monitoring system at its premises.

In district cooling, where customers have reported savings of up to 40 per cent in energy consumption, we have progressed beyond indoor air-conditioning in commercial buildings at the central business district. We have taken this expertise to Chongqing, China, where we are managing the district cooling system for the new Raffles City Chongqing that is run by CapitaLand. At this year’s National Day Parade, we introduced outdoor cooling facilities, tapping on the same technologies and infrastructure powered by our Singapore District Cooling. We look forward to exploring wider-scale adoption of district cooling in the community.

Innovation to deliver greater value

To deliver value to our customers for the long-run, it is imperative to invest in projects and partnerships that will nurture the spirit of innovation and test promising ideas. In the past year, we embarked on a collaboration with General Electric to develop Industrial Internet of Things capabilities and intelligent applications to enhance our power network reliability and efficiency. Together with seven other leading international utilities, we are driving the first global utilities accelerator programme, Free Electrons, for start-ups to develop game-changing products. We are also part of a consortium of global energy players to develop blockchain solutions aimed at helping customers achieve energy efficient results. Through the SP Centre of Excellence, we continue to invest in next-generation technologies aimed at helping customers attain a high quality, sustainable way of life.

Steady growth and commitment

Our journey of transformation is only possible with the right mindset, conviction and commitment to adapt and grow. I thank the Management and staff for their leadership and tireless resolve to transform to serve customers better. I am also grateful to our shareholder, business partners, staff union and regulator, for your partnership that is rooted on our mission to improve quality of life for our customers. To the members of the Board, thank you for your guidance and counsel.

In line with our digital focus, I hope you enjoy this interactive review of our performance. Thank you for your support.

Chairman 
August 2017