You’ll have to pay more for gas from January

> New tariff for Jan 1-June 30 2018 covers all sectors, including residential

PETALING JAYA: Gas prices for all sectors, including residential, will see increases of between RM3.69/MMBtu and RM4.54/ MMBtu for the first half of next year, due to a hike in liquefied natural gas (LNG) prices.

The application of the Incentive-Based Regulation framework led to an increase in base tariff for the six-month period while higher LNG prices resulted in a surcharge of RM1.62/MMBtu under the gas cost pass through (GCPT) mechanism. The surcharge represents the increase in LNG price against the reference price in the base tariff in this period.

For Category A (Residential), the effective tariff rate for Jan 1 till June 30 next year will be RM23.92/MMBtu. For the other categories, the effective tariff rate will range from RM30.40/MMBtu to RM33.12/MMBtu.

The average natural gas base tariff has been set at RM30.90/ MMBtu. The current average base tariff is RM28.05/MMBtu. The increases translate to an average effective tariff of RM32.52/MMBtu.

In a filing with Bursa Malaysia Gas Malaysia Bhd said the government, via a letter from the Energy Commission, approved the revision of natural gas tariff in Peninsular Malaysia effective Jan 1 till June 30 next year.

“The government has prescribed the Incentive-Based Regulation framework which sets the base tariff for a regulatory period of three years from January 2017 and allows changes in gas costs to be passed through via the GCPT mechanism every six months,” it said.

While the tariff revision has no material impact on Gas Malaysia’s business operations, it is expected to contribute positively towards the financial position of the company for the financial year ending Dec 31, 2018.

Gas Malaysia’s share price closed down one sen at RM2.69 with some 186,300 shares traded yesterday.