The cost of comfort

For over a decade, electricity tariffs for commercial buildings under Tenaga Nasional Bhd’s (TNB) C1 category (medium voltage general commercial tariff)remained stable, providing a level of predictability for budgeting and operational planning.

However, recent years have seen a steep and sudden rise in electricity costs, significantly impacting the commercial sector – particularly hotels, shopping malls and office buildings. This increase, averaging around 40%, is not due to higher usage or reduced efficiency, but is largely driven by the Imbalance Cost Pass-Through (ICPT) rate.