KUALA LUMPUR: The government will bear the cost of an electricity discount for selected sectors amounting to RM662 million, of which RM122.5 million is for Sarawak and RM37.2 million for Sabah, this year, Energy and Natural Resources Minister Datuk Dr Shamsul Anuar Nasarah said.
He said the cost would be borne through the Kumpulan Wang Industri Elektrik’s (KWIE) fund for Peninsular Malaysia, and by the federal government for Sabah and Sarawak, he said in a statement today.
The electricity discount of 2% and 15% for six months beginning April was specified under the Economic Stimulus Package 2020, which was aimed at reducing the cash flow problem faced by tourism-related businesses, as well as commercial, industrial and agriculture users affected by Covid-19.
A discount of 15% is given to six selected business sectors under the Trade Tariff category and is expected to result in a reduction of electricity bills for the period amounting to RM40 million in the Peninsula, RM20 million in Sabah and RM8.5 million in Sarawak.
Shamsul Anuar said the 15% discount would involve 10,000 accounts in the six sectors, namely hotel operators, travel and tourism agencies, shopping complexes, convention centres, theme parks, and local airlines offices.
On the other hand, commercial, industrial and agriculture users would get 2.0% discount.
“This would benefit about 1.6 million Tenaga Nasional Berhad (TNB) account holders with electricity bill savings estimated at RM370 million for the six-month period,” he said.
For Sabah, it would benefit 99,322 account owners with an estimated cost of RM11.5 million, while for Sarawak, it involves an estimated cost of RM107.2 million for 100,000 account owners.
Shamsul Anuar said domestic or residential category users would enjoy electricity bill savings through a 2% discount on the electricity consumption for the April 1-Sept 30, 2020 period.
“This means that the people will enjoy a 2% discount during the period, in addition to the 6% discount already enjoyed by domestic consumers for the Jan 1-June 30, 2020 period,” he said.
This is expected to provide estimated electricity bill savings of RM92 million to about 7.5 million TNB account holders for the six-month period.
“For Sabah, it will benefit 520,378 domestic consumers at an estimated cost of RM5.7 million, while for Sarawak, it will benefit 585,637 domestic consumers at an estimated cost of RM6.8 million,” Shamsul Anuar said. – Bernama
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