No power tariff hike till June
KOTA KINABALU: Electricity tariffs throughout the country will remain unchanged for a fixed period of time.
Announcing this here yesterday, Minister of Energy, Green Technology and Water Datuk Seri Panglima Dr Maximus Johnity Ongkili said the current electricity tariffs for Peninsular Malaysia would remain for the next three years until 2020 while for Sabah and the Federal Territory of Labuan would remain until June 2018.
“The difference is because the Incentive Based Regulatory (IBR) system has not been implemented in the state and is only applicable after June next year.
“The initial proposal for IBR in Sabah will be implemented in January but due to some matters still to be discussed with Sabah Electricity Sdn Bhd (SESB) and Tenaga Nasional Berhad (TNB), it will only apply after June,” he told this to reporters at a press conference here yesterday.
Ongkili said the IBR would allow an extension of the threeyear period with a six-month review as some factors needed to be taken into account such as a reduction in gas or a sharp rise in price of raw materials such as the global coal price.
He said Sabah’s electricity tariffs could be sustained for only six months as IBR had not been implemented here.
“The Cabinet meeting recently agreed that the government would cover the entire electricity tariff rebate of RM1.52 sen per kilowatt hour (kWh).
“The total rebate is RM929.37 million for the period from January 1 to June 30, 2018.
“Overall, the government has given a rebate of RM6.3 billion to consumers in Peninsular Malaysia for the period from March 2015 to June 2018,” he said.
Ongkili added that Sabah and Labuan consumers would enjoy an electricity tariff rebate of RM1.20 sen/kWh over the next six months.
He said the government had subsidized fuel and tariffs of RM1.631 billion for consumers in Sabah and Labuan for the period from March 2015 to June 2018.
“The retention of these tariffs clearly demonstrates the sincerity and concern of the government which always puts the well-being and interests of the people as the main thrust.
“It coincides with the government’s efforts to reduce the burden on people’s living costs.
“The Opposition often spoke about electricity tariff issues as if it were easy to implement, rather than taking into account the more detailed aspects before announcing the current tariff rates,” Ongkili contended.