PUTRAJAYA, May 28 — The Ministry of Energy, Science, Technology, Environment and Climatic Change (MESTECC) has instructed the Energy Commission (EC) to investigate the high electricity bill imposed by Tenaga Nasional Bhd (TNB).

Its minister Yeo Bee Yin said she had received more than 300 complaints throughout the country concerning the issue of high electricity bills and the EC would take 14 days to investigate whether the complaints were an error by the TNB.

She said legal action could be taken against the TNB if the utility company was found not meeting the allocation under Section 9C of the Electricity Supply Act 1990 where it had to fulfill the standard of supply performance and consumer service.

Yeo said at a media conference here today that the TNB had met with the EC today and had presented three reasons on the issue concerning the considerable increase in electricity bill.

However, she said the EC was not satisfied with the reasons given, and thus further investigation would be carried out.

Meanwhile in Melaka Senior Manager of the TNB Smart Billing Project, Datin Siti Laila Sri Asih S. Garieb said modifications to the old meters were found to be among factors for the increase in electricity usage data in the state after the installation of the smart meter.

Thus, she said, the installation of the smart meter which was the data measuring instrument for electricity usage at residential premises or other buildings more accurately raised doubts among consumers when they alleged soaring electricity bills.

In addition, she said, the weather factor and bill estimates which needed time to stabilise the communication network also led to the increase in data to the consumers’ accounts.

“We also do not deny that there were consumers who used electricity saving devices from China, where after being tested, the devices did not give positive effects but instead raised the consumption rate. However, we can only advise the consumers against using products without the SIRIM logo, but the purchasing power is with the consumers,”she told reporters at A Day With Consumers at the TNB Office Jalan Banda Kaba, here today.

 She said the smart meter provided information on the total use of electricity and in fact enabled the consumers to plan and change the habit of using electricity according to their respective needs according to the standards stipulated without an increase in tariff. — Bernama