Brunei Finance Minister Minister clears air on grievances over current excessive water and electricity bills

Minister at the Prime Minister’s Office (PMO) and Minister of Finance and Economy Dato Seri Setia Dr Awang Mohd Amin Liew Abdullah speaks during the 20th session of the Legislative Council (LegCo) meeting in Bandar Seri Begawan. - Borneo Bulletin/ANN

BANDAR SERI BEGAWAN (Borneo Bulletin/ANN): Recent public grievances on excessive water and electricity bills on USMS Smart Metering System were brought up during the 20th session of the Legislative Council (LegCo) meeting yesterday.

Based on a study, a number of complaints on the rise of electricity and water bills are due to users making illegal modifications to the electric meter or using a faulty meter without making payment, said Minister at the Prime Minister’s Office (PMO) and Minister of Finance and Economy II Yang Berhormat Dato Seri Setia Dr Awang Mohd Amin Liew Abdullah.

The minister added that the rise in utility bills can also be attributed to the consumers’ failure to buy credit for the smart water meter.

“When the water meter runs out of credit and is not topped up within 48 hours, it will result in the transfer of credit from electric meter automatically without disruptions to the water supply,” said Yang Berhormat Dato Seri Setia Dr Awang Haji Mohd Amin Liew.

“The increase in the water bill can also be due to water leakages from the consumers’ tank or customers with utility dues being paid for by the latest credit purchase,” added the minister.

The minister was responding to a query from LegCo member Yang Berhormat Abdul Aziz bin Haji Hamdan on the USMS Smart Metering System, who called for a study to be carried out.

The minister said the USMS is under DST Network Sdn Bhd (DSTN), a government-linked company under Darussalam Assets Sdn Bhd.

The minister iterated that there are no changes to the electricity and water tariffs from the Department of Electrical Services and Department of Water Services.

However, the USMS Smart Metering System experienced issues in 2023, resulting in technical discrepancies in the consumption and customers’ accounts. The minister continued, “Many meters experienced backdated charging, and only 16 cases of excessive charges, which DSTN has compensated.” – Borneo Bulletin/ANN