KUALA LUMPUR, Nov 26 –– Up to 620,000 households have defaulted on their power bill as of September this year with arrears amounting to over RM1 billion owed to Tenaga Nasional Berhad, Parliament was told today.

Deputy Minister of Energy Transition and Water Transformation Akmal Nasrullah Mohd Nasir said the number of defaulters rose from last year.

In 2023, households defaulting on their electricity bill was around 150,000 less, with the arrears amounting to RM945 million.

"Possibly among the reasons why this is the case could be financial problems. The second factor could be irresponsible households who are not owners of premises that their accounts were registered on, I’m referring to cases where they just abscond and all that,” the deputy minister said during Question Time.

Selangor topped the number of defaulters both in 2023 and this year, Akmal added.

Last year Terengganu came in second with the highest number of defaulters while Kuala Lumpur took that spot this year.

Kota Melaka MP (DAP) Khoo Poay Tiong, who first posed the question, suggested the huge number of defaulters could be a proxy for the state of households, indicating many are struggling financially.

He then asked why TNB can take hours to reconnect after defaulters made payment.

The deputy minister explained that the national energy firm only shuts down a defaulter’s account if the holder is uncooperative and refuses to mediate for a repayment programme.

This process would usually take up to 30 days before TNB decides to shut the account and cut the power.

"I have to point out that shutting down the account of a defaulter and cutting the power for TNB is something that they wish they can avoid because we view power as a basic need,” Akmal said.

"This is why we always encourage them to negotiate about payment.”