KULIM: Domestic consumers (N1 tariff) with electricity consumption of 1,500 kilowatt-hours (kWj) and below at the Kulim Hi-Tech Park (KHTP), near here, have expressed relief on learning that they are not affected by the electricity tariff adjustment for the first half of next year.
Ilyasaq Taib, 43, who stays in Taman Kulim Techno City 3, said he hoped the government would continue to maintain the present electricity tariff rates, especially for domestic consumers.
“It is feared that any increase in electricity tariffs would affect the prices of goods,” he told Bernama.
Ilyasaq, who lives with five other family members, said the electricity consumption of his household was less than 1,500 kWj monthly because they were not always at home and seldom use electrical appliances like air-conditioners.
Meanwhile, state Industry and Investment, Higher Education and Science, and Technology and Innovation Committee chairman Dr Haim Hilman Abdullah said NUR Power Sdn Bhd should help industrial consumers install solar panels to ease the impact on manufacturers in KHTP affected by the tariff adjustment.
He said electricity tariff adjustments were a normal occurrence but the surcharge of NUR Power was lower than that imposed by Tenaga Nasional Berhad (TNB).
“To ease the impact of the Imbalance Cost Pass-Through (ICPT) on manufacturers, they can provide solar (power) because in the context of businesses, investors and manufacturers, this is cost-sensitive. The installation of solar panels can provide savings and enable them to cut costs,” he said.
Yesterday, the Energy Commission (ST), in a statement, said 5,159 or 99 per cent of domestic consumers in KHTP are not affected by the latest electricity tariff adjustment and will receive government subsidies for the Jan 1 to June 30, 2024 period.
It said the government on Dec 13 this year agreed that the electricity tariff adjustment under the ICPT mechanism be implemented based on retargeting of subsidies for NUR Power consumers in KHTP for that period.
With the ICPT implementation, no surcharge is imposed on domestic consumers (N1 tariff) with monthly electricity consumption of 1,500 kWj and below.
Domestic consumers (N1 tariff) with electricity consumption exceeding 1,500 kWj will be imposed a surcharge of 6.50 sen/kWj, while non-domestic consumers will have to pay a surcharge of 6.50 sen/kWj. - Bernama