A TNB worker installing a "smart meter" in Melaka.
TOKYO (Bernama): Malaysia is transitioning to the use of digital meters to record electricity charges as it is more accurate, says Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad.
"We are now using the better meter…in some cases, there is a reduction in payment and it has nothing to do with the price of petrol... it's the meter.
"Some will have a lower charge, some the same, and some have to pay more," the Prime Minister told reporters after wrapping up his three-day working visit to Japan on Friday (May 31).
Dr Mahathir said there were many reasons for higher electricity bills, including increased consumption.
"The recording of electricity is now centralised and no longer done by the meter reader every three months or so," he added.
Of late, complaints of overcharging in electricity bills have been lodged by customers with the Energy Commission against Tenaga Nasional Berhad (TNB).
It also came on the heels of TNB having installed "smart meters" in homes to replace old meters.
Energy, Science, Technology, Environment and Climate Change Minister Yeo Bee Yin had instructed the Energy Commission to investigate consumers' complaints over the high bills.
For the month of May alone, more than 300 complaints nationwide were lodged with the Energy Commission, which was 10 times more than the same month last year. - Bernama
