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Prime minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim has said there will be no electricity tariff hike for households as well as small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), according to reports by The Star and The Edge. Previously, there were suggestions that the government could raise the blanket electricity tariff due to rising fuel prices.
“Based on the report by the National Action Council on Cost of Living on Tuesday (December 13, 2022), we decided that the earlier proposal to increase the electricity tariff will not proceed as this will burden the rakyat,” said Anwar, who is also the finance minister.
“We acknowledge that if nothing is done, there will be an impact on the government’s finances which is quite high, exceeding some RM30 billion annually,” he added. While households and SMEs will not be subjected an electricity price hike, the same can’t be said of multinational and large export-oriented companies, which are set to see a slight increase.
“The current tariffs are too low for them, and the subsidy should not be given to the large companies that make high profits,” Anwar said, adding that companies involved in agricultural and food production would also not be affected by an increase in electricity tariffs.
Malaysia’s electricity tariff rates saw a surcharge of 3.70 sen/kWh for non-domestic users, while domestic users continued to enjoy a 2 sen/kWh rebate until the end of 2022, with the government quoting a subsidy bill of RM5.8 billion. Energy and natural resources minister Nik Nazmi Nik Ahmad will announce the details of the revised tariff rates for affected sectors likely before the end of this month for the first half of 2023 (1H2023).
As we previously reported, revisions to the electricity tariff will impact owners of EVs and PHEVs depending on where they do their charging. With Anwar saying households will not be subjected to a tariff hike, it looks like there will be no change when it comes to charging at home – you can forecast your electricity bill by using the Energy Commission’s online calculator.
However, should the surcharge be raised for non-domestic customers, providers of public charging facilities may increase the rates charged to users, making it more expensive to charge away from home.
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