Offences relating to electrical or supply installations
Open ↗83.—(1) Any person who supplies electricity to any premises without an electrical or a supply installation licence shall be guilty of an offence and shall be liable on conviction to a fine not exceeding $50,000 or to imprisonment for a term not exceeding 3 years or to both.
(2) Any person who wilfully tampers with or adjusts any electrical or supply installation or any part thereof so as to cause or to be likely to cause danger to human life or damage to any property shall be guilty of an offence and shall be liable on conviction to imprisonment for a term not exceeding 5 years.
(3) Any person who, by rash or negligent act or omission committed or omitted in respect of any electrical or supply installation or any part thereof under the person’s control, causes hurt to any person or damage to any property shall be guilty of an offence and shall be liable on conviction to a fine not exceeding $10,000 or to imprisonment for a term not exceeding 3 years or to both.
(4) Any person who contravenes section 67(1) shall be guilty of an offence and shall be liable on conviction to a fine not exceeding $10,000 or to imprisonment for a term not exceeding 3 years or to both and, in the case of a continuing offence, to a further fine not exceeding $250 for every day or part of a day during which the offence continues after conviction.
(5) Any licensee of a supply installation who without express authority from the Authority supplies electricity or lays down any supply line or constructs any electrical works outside the installation area specified in the licensee’s licence shall be guilty of an offence and shall be liable on conviction to a fine not exceeding $10,000 or to imprisonment for a term not exceeding 3 years or to both.
(6) Any such unauthorised line or works may be removed by order of the Authority, and the reasonable cost of such removal may be recovered from the licensee.
(7) Any licensee of an electrical or a supply installation who, without lawful excuse, fails to comply with any condition in the licensee’s licence shall be guilty of an offence.
Restoration of supply without consent
Open ↗84. Any person who, without the consent of an electricity licensee, restores a supply of electricity to any premises where such supply has been discontinued by the electricity licensee in the exercise of its powers under this Act shall be guilty of an offence and shall be liable on conviction to a fine not exceeding $10,000 or to imprisonment for a term not exceeding 3 years or to both and, in the case of a continuing offence, to a further fine not exceeding $250 for every day or part of a day during which the offence continues after conviction.
Damage to property of electricity licensee
Open ↗85.—(1) Any person who —(a)
removes, destroys or damages any electrical plant or electricity cable which is part of a transmission system that belongs to or that is under the management or control of an electricity licensee;
(b)
causes or permits the removal, destruction or damage of such electrical plant or electricity cable; or
(c)
in any way other than by paragraph (a) or (b), wilfully or recklessly hinders or prevents such electrical plant or electricity cable from being used or operated in the manner in which it is intended to be used or operated,
shall be guilty of an offence and shall be liable on conviction to a fine not exceeding $1 million or to imprisonment for a term not exceeding 5 years or to both.
[42/2018]
(2) [Deleted by Act 42 of 2018]
(3) [Deleted by Act 42 of 2018]
(4) Any person (A) may apprehend any other person (B) if B within A’s view commits an offence under this section and must, on such apprehension without unreasonable delay, hand over B to a police officer.
(5) In any proceedings for an offence under subsection (1)(a) or (b), it is a defence for the person charged to prove that the person took all reasonable precautions and exercised all due diligence to avoid the commission of the offence.[42/2018]
(6) If in any proceedings for any offence under subsection (1)(a) or (b), the defence involves acting on information supplied by any of the following:(a)
an electricity licensee to whom any transmission system belongs or that manages or controls any transmission system;
(b)
any person to whom any infrastructure described in subsection (7) belongs or that manages or controls such infrastructure;
(c)
a licensed cable detection worker,
then the person charged is not, without permission of the court, entitled to rely on that defence unless, within 14 clear days before the hearing, the person charged has served on the prosecutor a written notice giving such information as was then in the possession of the person charged identifying or assisting in the identification of the person who supplied the person charged with the information.
[Act 27 of 2024 wef 01/07/2025]
(7) This section applies to any infrastructure (including cable pipe-blocks and tunnels) housing or intended to house any transmission electricity cable, as it applies to any electrical plant or electricity cable which is part of a transmission system that belongs to or that is under the management or control of an electricity licensee, and for this purpose, a reference to an electricity licensee in this section is a reference to the person to whom the infrastructure belongs or that manages or controls the infrastructure.[Act 37 of 2021 wef 29/01/2022]
[Act 27 of 2024 wef 01/07/2025]
(8) In this section, “transmission electricity cable” has the meaning given by section 80(12).[Act 37 of 2021 wef 29/01/2022]
Damage to submarine electricity cables, etc.
Open ↗85A. Any person who wilfully, recklessly or negligently —(a)
does any act, or causes or permits any act to be done, which damages or is likely to damage any submarine electric line or electricity cable in the territorial waters of Singapore that belongs to or that is under the management or control of an electricity licensee; or
(b)
omits to do anything required to prevent any damage to any such submarine electric line or electricity cable,
shall be guilty of an offence and shall be liable on conviction to a fine not exceeding $2 million or to imprisonment for a term not exceeding 5 years or to both.
[42/2018]
Falsely pretending to be employee of Authority or electricity licensee
Open ↗86. Any person who seeks to obtain entry to any premises by falsely pretending to be an employee of the Authority or an electricity licensee shall be guilty of an offence.
Unauthorised use of electricity
Open ↗87.—(1) Any person who —(a)
dishonestly or fraudulently abstracts, uses, consumes or diverts any electricity supplied by an electricity licensee;
(b)
alters or tampers with any part of any meter or meter installation supplied by an electricity licensee for registering the quantity of electricity supplied to any person or premises;
(c)
does any thing that compromises or adversely affects the ability or proper operation of any meter or meter installation supplied by an electricity licensee, in duly registering the quantity of electricity supplied to any person or premises; or
(d)
causes or permits any other person to engage in conduct mentioned in paragraph (a), (b) or (c),
shall be guilty of an offence.
[42/2018]
(2) A person who is guilty of an offence under subsection (1)(a), (b), (c) or (d) shall be liable on conviction to one or both of the following:(a)
a fine that is the total of —(i)
an amount not exceeding $50,000; and
(ii)
an amount equal to 3 times the value of electricity —(A)
abstracted, used, consumed or diverted in the commission of the offence under subsection (1)(a), or caused or permitted to be so abstracted, used, consumed or diverted in the commission of the offence under subsection (1)(d), as the case may be; or
(B)
supplied as a result of the commission of the offence under subsection (1)(b), (c) or (d), as the case may be;
(b)
imprisonment for a term not exceeding 3 years,
and, in the case of a continuing offence, to a further fine not exceeding $250 for every day or part of a day during which the offence continues after conviction.
[42/2018]
(3) The value of the electricity abstracted, used, consumed, diverted or supplied as mentioned in subsection (2)(a)(ii), may be determined based on the amount of such electricity fairly and reasonably estimated after comparing records (as are appropriate and available) of electricity usage before, during and after the abstraction, use, consumption, diversion or supply.[42/2018]
(4) If, in any proceedings before a court for an offence under subsection (1)(b) or subsection (1)(d) (in relation to subsection (1)(b)), it is alleged that a person altered or tampered with any part of any meter or meter installation mentioned in subsection (1)(b), or caused or permitted any other person to engage in such alteration or tampering, and it is proved —(a)
that, at the time of the alleged conduct —(i)
a device or wire was attached to, or was in the vicinity of, the meter or meter installation (or any part of the meter or meter installation) for the purpose of altering the index of the meter or meter installation or preventing the meter or meter installation from duly registering the quantity of electricity supplied;
(ii)
the covering of the meter or meter installation had a hole which is not a result of ordinary wear and tear;
(iii)
any seal fastened by an electricity licensee to any part of the meter or meter installation was damaged, removed or changed;
(iv)
any paint or other chemical compound applied by an electricity licensee to or on any screw, component or mechanism of any part of the meter or meter installation was damaged or removed or altered in its chemical composition; or
(v)
the position or arrangement of any test link on a meter terminal test block of the meter installation was changed or altered; and
(b)
that the person had, at the time of the alleged conduct, custody or control of the meter or meter installation,
then the person is presumed, until the contrary is proved, to have so altered or tampered with the meter or meter installation, or to have so caused or permitted the other person to engage in such alteration or tampering, as the case may be.
[42/2018]
[Act 27 of 2024 wef 01/07/2025]
Obstructing licensee in performance of duties
Open ↗88. Any person who at any time molests, or without cause, hinders or obstructs, any employee, agent or contractor of an electricity licensee in the performance of the duties of the employee, agent or contractor (as the case may be) or anything which the employee, agent or contractor is respectively authorised, empowered or required to do under this Act shall be guilty of an offence.
Making of false statements
Open ↗89.—(1) Any person who, when giving information to the Authority or making any application under or for the purposes of any provision of this Act, makes any statement which the person knows to be false in a material particular, or who recklessly makes any statement which is false in a material particular, shall be guilty of an offence.
(2) Any person who —(a)
wilfully or fraudulently procures or attempts to procure for the person or for any other person any licence under this Act by making or producing or causing to be made or produced any false or fraudulent representation or declaration either verbally or in writing; or
(b)
knowingly aids or assists therein,
shall be guilty of an offence.
Jurisdiction of court
Open ↗90. Despite any provision to the contrary in the Criminal Procedure Code 2010, a District Court and a Magistrate’s Court have jurisdiction to try any offence under this Act and have power to impose the full penalty or punishment in respect of any offence under this Act.
Offences by body corporate
Open ↗91. Where an offence under this Act has been committed by a company, firm, society or other body of persons, any person who, at the time of the commission of the offence, was a director, manager, secretary or other similar officer or a partner of the company, firm, society or other body of persons or was purporting to act in any such capacity, shall be guilty of that offence and shall be liable to be proceeded against and punished accordingly unless the person proves that —(a)
the offence was committed without the person’s consent or connivance; and
(b)
the person had exercised all such due diligence to prevent the commission of the offence as the person ought to have exercised, having regard to the nature of the person’s functions in that capacity and to all the circumstances.
General penalties
Open ↗92. Any person guilty of an offence under this Act for which no penalty is expressly provided shall be liable on conviction to a fine not exceeding $10,000 or to imprisonment for a term not exceeding 12 months or to both and, in the case of a continuing offence, to a further fine not exceeding $250 for every day or part of a day during which the offence continues after conviction.
Composition of offences
Open ↗93.—(1) The Authority may, in its discretion, compound any offence under this Act which is prescribed as a compoundable offence by collecting from a person reasonably suspected of having committed the offence a sum not exceeding $3,000.
(2) The Authority may, with the approval of the Minister, make regulations to prescribe the offences which may be compounded.
Source: Singapore Statutes Online (Attorney-General's Chambers), © Government of Singapore.
