KOTA KINABALU: The Energy Commission’s recent announcement on maintaining the rate of electricity tariffs for domestic and non-domestic consumers in Sabah and Labuan has gotten the thumbs up from the Sabah West Coast Wise Consumers Association.
Its president David Chan said the Dec 28 announcement, which sees over 656,000 consumers in the state and island federal territory unaffected by the tariff increase from Jan 1 to June 30 this year, is a welcome relief to the people.
“This would be most welcome, especially for those involved in micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs), he added.
“The maintenance of tariffs implemented in Sabah and Labuan for the first six months this year will help the people in dealing with the current cost of living,” he said yesterday.
The association, he said, also supports 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 in aid for six months from January to June 2023.
Chan was speaking to the media after paying a courtesy call to Sabah Electricity Sdn Bhd (SESB) chief executive officer Mohd Yaakob Jaafar here.
The commission has announced that under the Imbalance Cost Pass-Through mechanism, fuel costs and electricity generation costs will be reviewed every six months.
This review will 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 cost of electricity generation has gone up in recent times due to the increased cost of diesel fuel and medium fuel oil used in Sabah and Labuan.
This is on top of the fluctuating price of natural gas in the global market, which remains beyond the control of SESB and the government.
Towards this end, Chan urged the people to take advantage of the government’s consideration in order to save electricity usage.
“The association is also ready to work with all parties, especially SESB and the commission, to start an energy-saving awareness campaign among consumers and the people,” he said.
He said the government’s move would at least help ease the people’s burden, given the higher prices of various goods in addition to the uncertain economic situation.