Consumer association lauds fixed electricity tariff rate for Sabah, Labuan

KOTA KINABALU: The Sabah West Coast Wise Consumers Association (PPBS) has given the thumbs up to the state Energy Commission over its recent announcement on the electricity tariff for domestic and non-domestic consumers in Sabah and Labuan.

Its president David Chan said the announcement on Dec 28, which will see more than 656,000 consumers in the two states not affected by the tariff increase from Jan 1 to June 30 this year, was a relief to the people.

This would be most welcome, especially for those involved in micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs), he added.

He said that the maintenance of tariffs implemented in Sabah and Labuan for the first six months this year would help the people in dealing with the current high cost of living.

“We also support the government's decision to provide additional subsidies to help domestic and non-domestic consumers under the CM1 and ID1 (commercial and low voltage industry) tariff categories amounting to RM212mil for a period of six months from January 2023 until June 2023,” he said on Friday (Jan 6).

Chan said this after paying a courtesy call to Sabah Electricity Sdn Bhd (SESB) chief executive officer Mohd Yaakob Hj Jaafar here.

Also present were, among others, SESB deputy general manager (customer service) Fauziah K Hamid, head of corporate communications Jamdin Abdul Razik and SESB head of regulatory economics and management Nor Nasaliza Abdul Rafar.

The Energy Commission had announced that under the Imbalance Cost Pass-Through (ICPT) mechanism, fuel costs and electricity generation costs will be reviewed every six months.

This review would then be released to electricity consumers in the form of rebates or surcharges depending on the savings or cost increases involved after taking into account government subsidies.

The increase in the cost of generation was due to the increase in the cost of diesel fuel and medium fuel oil which were used for electricity generation in Sabah and Labuan.

This was apart from natural gas in the global market and was beyond the control of utility company SESB and the government.

Towards this end, Chan urged the people to take advantage of the government's consideration in order to save electricity consumption.

“The association is also ready to work with all parties, especially SESB and the Energy Commission to start an energy-saving campaign so that awareness can be spread among consumers and the people," he said.

He said that the government's move would at least help ease the people's burden due to the recent increase in the prices of various goods in addition to the uncertain economic situation.