KUALA LUMPUR – The electricity tariff adjustments for July to December this year will not see any increase for domestic households in the peninsula that use 1,500 kWh or less, said Natural Resource, Environment, and Climate Change Minister Nik Nazmi Nik Ahmad today.
This will cover 99% of the users in the peninsula who will not be affected by the tariff increase. They will continue to enjoy the electricity rebate of two sen/kWh given currently.
However, a surcharge of 10 sen/kWh will be imposed on the remaining 1% of users. These are some 83,000 domestic households with electricity usage of over 1,500kWh.
“Now, we are measuring based on consumption, and not purely income-based.
“For now, it (applies to users) with (electricity bills) of over RM708 a month.
“We are encouraging a shift towards energy conservation and efficient use,” he said at a press conference at his ministry in Putrajaya today.
The households using more than 1,500kWh, however, will still be subsidised by some RM58 million, Nik Nazmi added.
He also said non-domestic users with low-voltage use will not be affected by tariff increments, maintaining their surcharge of 3.7 sen per kWh.
As such, micro, small, and medium business owners will not be impacted by the tariff hike.
Nik Nazmi also announced lower surcharges for certain types of users.
Water utility and treatment operators will enjoy a lower surcharge from 20 sen per kWh to 3.7 sen per kWh.
This decision is in line with efforts to increase operators’ capacity to provide clean and treated water to consumers, he added.
Similarly, non-domestic users with medium and high voltage usage, most common in industrial and commercial sectors, will also enjoy a surcharge reduction from 20 sen per kWh to 17 sen per kWh.
Nik Nazmi assured that the government is set to cover the costs of electricity subsidies amounting to RM5.2 billion, in conjunction with the electricity tariff adjustments in the peninsular within the period. – The Vibes, June 23, 2023
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