It’s only a minor change, says Fomca

PETALING JAYA: The new electricity tariff will not affect the majority of the nation’s households, including those in the M40 group, says Federation of Malaysian Consumers Association (Fomca).

The new tariff will see the government subsidy being removed but Fomca chief executive officer Saravanan Thambirajah said it was not much, and would help cushion the impact of the rising fuel prices.

“Considering the rising global fuel prices, we are lucky not to be imposed with surcharge which could have been considerably high, estimated to be up to 30 sen per kWh,” Saravanan said, adding that Malaysia has the most affordable electricity tariff in the South-East Asia region.

In the revised subsidy mechanism announced by Energy Commission yesterday, households consuming between 600 kilowatt hour (kWh) to 1,500 kWh of electricity monthly, will not qualify for the two sen per kWh rebate.

The rebate will, however, continue for households with electricity consumption of 600 kWh and below.

Consumers Association of Penang (CAP) education officer N. V. Subbarow said the subsidy mechanism should be applicable to all groups of the country’s population considering the rising cost of living.

While the targeted subsidy mechanism by the government could alleviate the problems faced by those in the B40 groups or households that consume less electricity, he said the government should consider those who might work from home or do business from home.

He also questioned the timing of the new tariffs.

“Right now, people are preparing for the new year and there are those who might need to welcome families into their homes during the holidays.

“Many people were left to start from scratch after losing their jobs during the pandemic or just started a business from home. They could be the most affected by this new mechanism,” he said.