JOHOR BARU: The impact of the Middle East conflict on global energy supplies is now being felt beyond petrol, with higher natural gas and coal prices pushing up electricity generation costs, says Akmal Nasrullah Mohd Nasir.
The Economy Minister said the increase was a lagging effect of disruptions to global energy supplies, which had initially been most noticeable in petrol prices in March.
“The disruption to global energy supplies has a lagging effect on other energy sources. In March, the most noticeable impact was on petrol.
“Now, we can see that the impact has spread to other energy sources, including natural gas and coal.
“Natural gas is one of the fuels used to generate electricity. Usually, when petrol prices increase, there is a lag of about three to four months before natural gas prices are affected,” he said.
Akmal Nasrullah, who is also Johor Baru MP, was speaking to reporters after presenting a cheque for five health clinics in his parliamentary constituency at the Kampung Melayu Majidee food court on Thursday (Sept 17).
He said most consumers using less than 600kWh a month were not directly affected by changes in fuel costs under the current electricity tariff mechanism.
“For users consuming more than 600kWh, the fluctuations are based on fuel costs under the Automated Fuel Adjustment (AFA), which reflects changes in fuel prices.
“For these users, we can now see the impact of the disruption to global energy supplies.
“However, under the current tariff mechanism, the majority of consumers who use less than 600kWh a month are not directly affected by changes in fuel costs,” he said.
Akmal Nasrullah said recent weather conditions could also lead to higher electricity consumption as people spent more time indoors.
“Under the current tariff mechanism, costs remain unchanged for consumers who use less than 600kWh a month. However, the amount they pay also depends on how much electricity they use.
“When the weather is unfavourable, we advise people to remain indoors or in safer places, but this could also lead to higher energy consumption,” he said.
He added that Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim was expected to chair a special meeting on Thursday to consider measures to ease the impact of higher electricity bills on consumers.
