Natural gas tariffs to fall for Jan-June 2017

Green Building Interview with Hamidah of Head Admin & facilities, Energy Commission at Putrajaya

KUALA LUMPUR: The base tariffs for natural gas for Peninsular Malaysia's non-power sector will fall to an average of RM26.31 per MMBtu (million British thermal units) for the first six months of next year.

This is a reduction of 2.74% from the previous average tariff, Gas Malaysia Bhd said in a statement to Bursa Malaysia.

The lower average effective tariff is due to the rebate of 40 sen per MMBtu under the Gas Cost Pass Through mechanism for the January-June 2017 period.

Gas Malaysia said the Government had approved (as instructed by the Energy Commision on Dec 28) for Gas Malaysia to effect the revision of the natural gas tariff for Jan 1, 2017, to Dec 31, 2019.

The base tariff (per MMBtu) for Jan-June 2017 is RM26.71, followed by RM28.05 for July-Dec 2017, RM30.90 for Jan-June 2018, RM31.92 for July-Dec 2018, RM32.69 for Jan-June 2019, and RM32.74 for July-Dec 2019.

Hence the revised base tariffs for Jan 1 to June 30, 2017, are as follows.

For the residential sector, the tariff will decline from RM19.52 to RM19.26.

For the commercial sector, annual consumption of 0-600 MMBtu translates into a base tariff of RM24.86 (currently RM25.20). For 601-5,000 MMBtu, the base tariff will be RM24.99 (RM25.20); for 5,001-50,000 MMBtu, RM25.24 (RM25.58); for 50,001-200,000, RM26.33 (RM26.69); for 200,001-750,000 MMBtu, RM26.33 (RM26.69); and for above 750,000 MMBtu, RM27.21 (RM27.58).

These average RM26.71 compared with the average existing tariff of RM27.05.

“The base tariffs for this regulatory period are expected to contribute positively towards the financial position of the company for the next three financial years,” Gas Malaysia said.