TAWAU: The Sabah Government has been urged to emulate Sarawak’s people-friendly approach by introducing an electricity bill subsidy scheme for all electricity users in the State to prevent Sabahans from feeling “left behind” or “less attended to” compared with people in other states.
Sri Tanjong Assemblyman Justin Wong said the Sarawak Government had allocated RM188.1 million to provide a 25 per cent electricity bill discount to domestic consumers throughout the State as part of efforts to ease the people’s cost-of-living burden.
He said that in Sabah, the maximum rebate of RM40 a month was currently only available to hardcore poor families registered under the eKasih system, thus excluding a larger segment of low-income households.
“Sabah’s per capita income levels and poverty situation need to be given more serious attention. The Government should not neglect this group, but instead expand the scope of the subsidy so that no one is left behind,” Justin said.
Commenting on complaints about sudden increases in electricity bills received recently, he said the increases were generally caused by three main factors.
He said these included electricity tariff adjustments and the subsidy mechanism introduced in February this year, which resulted in higher rates per unit, as well as extremely hot weather that led to cooling appliances being used for longer periods and increased electricity consumption.
In certain cases, Justin said longer meter-reading periods, data-entry errors, electricity leakages or faulty electrical appliances could also contribute to higher bills.
He said he had previously contacted the relevant authorities and Sabah Electricity (SE) regarding unusually high electricity bills.
“In this regard, SE has advised consumers to carry out several checks first.
“Consumers should check their meter readings and compare them with the readings stated on their bills to ensure there are no reading errors.
“Next, compare electricity consumption over the past three to six months to determine whether the increase was due to changes in usage patterns.
“Finally, switch off all electrical appliances and observe whether the electricity meter is still running to detect possible electricity leakages or electricity theft,” he said.
“If the checks found no problems but the electricity bill remained unreasonable, members of the public could contact SE via 15454 / 088-515000, WhatsApp at 019-852 5427, or visit an SE service counter to request a review,” he said.
Justin said residents in the Sri Tanjong area could also register complaints directly at his service centre, where his team would assist in following up with SE.
