KUALA LUMPUR: Tenaga Nasional Bhd
(TNB) announced that it supports the provision of targeted subsidies to help maintain the country’s economic growth and to help lighten cost pressures on low-income groups.
TNB chairman Datuk Abdul Razak Abdul Majid said that in late 2022, the government announced the implementation of a targeted electricity subsidy scheme for domestic users to continue enjoying tariff rebates on their electricity bills and did not increase the surcharge on tariffs for a select group of small businesses and industries.
He said the company would continue to support the government’s continuous effort to manage the tariff within the framework of the Imbalance Cost Pass Through (ICPT) mechanism while balancing the need for affordable tariffs for the rakyat and economic growth.
"As a caring corporate entity, TNB understands the need to help the low-income groups in Malaysia to cope with ever-increasing cost pressures.
"At the same time, we continue the efforts to give back to the communities through impactful educational and socio-economic initiatives,” he said in a statement in conjunction with TNB’s 33rd Annual General Meeting today.
Abdul Razak said that amidst the high fuel prices seen from 2022 and Malaysia’s buoyant economic recovery, TNB remained steadfast in its commitment to meeting the energy needs of industrial, commercial, and residential customers while helping to steer Malaysia’s journey toward responsible energy transition.
"The significant investments we made over the years to diversify energy sources as well as grow our renewable energy portfolio enabled us to continue providing sustainable and reliable energy.
"Our efforts were recognised by our customers as shown by consistent performance for two consecutive years in our Customer Satisfaction Index scores of 87 per cent in 2022,” he said.
Meanwhile, TNB president and chief executive officer Datuk Indera Ir Baharin Din said that at the peak of the global energy crisis last year, coal and gas prices reached multi-year highs -- increasing by 83 per cent
and 11 per cent year-on-year, respectively.
"Domestically, Malaysia was not spared from the higher prices of fuel, which had a significant impact on the cost of generating electricity,” he said.
Baharin said that while the energy crisis had impacted the nation’s system energy costs over the past two years, it had strengthened TNB’s resolve to accelerate and implement a pathway to a cleaner generation mix by 2050.
He said that this meant shifting away from the high dependence of electricity generation in Peninsular Malaysia from fossil fuel sources, with fuel costs contributing more than 70 per cent to generation costs.
"Despite this, we continued to fulfil our obligations by providing a reliable, secure, and affordable supply of power to the nation.
"In managing the higher fuel costs, we have continued to work with the government in the implementation of the ICPT mechanism.
Baharin said that under this mechanism, the government had provided subsidies for the rakyat to offset the higher fuel costs for generating electricity.
"This, in addition to the prudent management of its working capital, has helped TNB to alleviate the pressure from high fuel prices,” he added. - Bernama
