Thursday, February 12, 2009
Electricity tariff down by 2.5%
Thursday February 12, 2009
Electricity tariff down by 2.5%
By SIM LEOI LEOI
PUTRAJAYA: Malaysians will enjoy cheaper electricity from next month.
Some 5.2 million domestic users and households can expect a 2.54% reduction in electricity tariffs, while commercial and industrial users will see cuts of 2.7% to 5%. The Government also announced the reduction of gas prices for industrial use of between 32% and 35%.
On average, the price of electricity will come down to 31.31 sen per kilowatt hour from 32.5 sen previously.
Energy, Water and Communications Minister Datuk Shaziman Mansor said the electricity rates would be reviewed again on July 1, and subsequently every six months, to reflect the global price of gas and coal.
“We hope this reduction will benefit all users, particularly those in the industrial sector, and help lower their operational costs during the current economic crisis,” he said yesterday.
“For domestic users, the Government would have liked to reduce the electricity rates by a bigger margin. However, when we reviewed the electricity tariffs last July, we only allowed a slight increase despite the spiralling prices of oil and gas at that time.
“The reduction today will better reflect market prices. Our energy generation is also by coal, which has not shown any significant reduction in price.”
Shaziman said the price of coal was now US$85 (RM307.70) a tonne, up from US$75 (RM271.50) last July.
Shaziman said another reason for the lower than expected reduction was that the Government had decided to divert 100 million standard cubic feet per day’s supply of gas meant for the electricity sector to industries starting this year.
“This is meant to spur the economy as well as enhance investor confidence in Malaysia,” he said.
The reduction received mixed reactions from consumer groups. Most said the cut could have been lower. Fomca secretary-general Muhd Sha’ani Abdullah said the reduction was too small to make any significant impact.
