KUALA LUMPUR, June 28 — There will be no increase in basic electricity tariff for the July 1 to December 31 period as the government has agreed to fund the rebate of two sen/kWh involving an allocation of RM493 million, said Energy and Natural Resources Minister Datuk Seri Shamsul Anuar Nasarah.

He said the granting of the rebate with allocations from the Electricity Industry Fund (KWIE) has maintained the basic electricity tariff at 39.45 sen/kWh, benefiting an estimated 9.44 million consumers.

He said in line with the implementation of the electricity tariff setting mechanism in the Peninsula in 2014, power generation cost had to be adjusted every six months using the Imbalance Cost Pass Through (ICPT) mechanism, and for the July 1 to December 31, 2021 period, the ICPT cost adjustment totalled RM638.98 million.

"The increase in ICPT cost was due to a rise in costs of gas and coal supply for the January to June 2021 period. This means the electricity rebate rate which can be passed to consumers is 1.13 sen/kWh, compared to the rebate rate for January to June 2021 at two sen/kWh.

"Considering the challenges and difficulties faced by the rakyat following the implementation of the movement control order to curb the spread of Covid-19, the government has agreed to finance the granting of an additional rebate of 0.87 sen/kWh so that electricity tariff will not increase and will stay at the present rate,” he told a virtual press conference here today.

He said the granting of this additional rebate would enable all Tenaga Nasional Berhad (TNB) account holders to enjoy an average discount of five per cent for the July 1 to December 31, 2021 period.

Shamsul Anuar said for consumers in the Kulim High Technology Park (KHTP) getting their electricity supply from NUR Power Sdn Bhd, the government has agreed to give a rebate of two sen/kWh to non-domestic consumers for the period of July 1 to December 31, 2021.

"This is the first time non-domestic consumers in KHTP will be enjoying electricity rebate since the tariff fixing mechanism under the Incentive-Based Regulations was implemented in 2017.

"The rebate is being granted following a drop in the price of gas fuel and bulk electricity supply for TNB in the first half of 2021 and savings from the actual fuel cost adjustment for the period of July to December 2020,” he said.

Shamsul Anuar said the government had also agreed to give discounts on electricity bills on a targeted basis to domestic and non-domestic consumers for the July to September 2021 period in the Peninsula and Sabah, and this matter will be announced by Prime Minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin.

Apart from this, the hardcore poor earning RM1,169 and below who are registered in the Sistem e-Kasih are eligible for a RM40 rebate in their electricity bills, he added.

"As at May 2021, the number of eligible household heads (KIR) is 282,182. However, only 113,745 or 40.31 per cent of the eligible KIR have updated the account numbers for their electricity bills.

"Therefore, I urge all who are eligible to update their account numbers with the utility authority to enable them to enjoy this electricity bill rebate,” he said. — Bernama