KOTA KINABALU – Sabah residents are taking to their Facebook pages over a sudden hike in their electricity bill from Sabah Electricity Sdn Bhd (SESB).
Many claimed they did not receive a bill in July (for June’s usage) but had made payments according to their average monthly bill. However, when their bill arrived this month, it was almost double their average monthly usage.
Facebook user Epah Stitch, from Tawau, said that her electricity charges for June was estimated at about RM44. It was an estimation value given by SESB via its website as its staff could not go from house to house to file an accurate reading of electricity usages early last month.
However, despite paying RM44 for June’s usage, Epah was charged RM208 in August for July’s usage.
Epah is one of the many consumers taking the matter online.
Another Facebook user, Evonne Michael, said that she faced a similar problem and was not satisfied with SESB’s explanation.
She advised people facing the same issue to lodge a complaint online with the Energy Commission.
Michael said that after she made a complaint, SESB’s customer service unit had contacted her to apologise and gave a lengthy explanation on the increase in her charges.
In the end, SESB agreed to check her house’s electricity meter to see if there was a problem.
“This means that, lodging a complaint through the Energy Commission worked. Anyone who wants to lodge a complaint can do the same. It is simple,” she said, posting step-by-step photos on how to lodge a complaint with the Energy Commission online.
The status was posted on August 27 and was shared more than 4,600 times at press time.
Recently, the SESB had issued a press statement to inform the public that it has been conducting configuration works to update consumers’ details so that they will receive a discount under the National People's Well-Being and Economic Recovery Package (Pemulih).
As such, for the month of July, SESB staff stopped reading meters on the ground but resumed in this month.
To date, all bills issued by the SESB have made no mention of any discount under Pemulih.
The Vibes is still trying to reach the SESB for an explanation over the matter. – The Vibes, August 30, 2021
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