With subsidy cut, top 1pc electricity users to pay at least RM187 more per month from July

PUTRAJAYA, June 23 — The Natural Resources, Environment and Climate Change (NRECC) Ministry today announced that the top 1 per cent of electricity users in the country will pay a higher tariff between July and December this year.

In a media briefing earlier, its senior undersecretary in charge of electricity supply Mareena Mahpudz said the new imbalance cost pass-through (ICPT) mechanism will see around 83,000 users paying at least RM187 more per month.

“For the ICPT adjustments within the period of July to December 2023, the users who will be affected are domestic users who use more than 1,500-kilowatt hours (kWh) of electricity and the majority of which live in Selangor, Kuala Lumpur, Johor and Penang,” she said during the session in the ministry here.

The adjustment will see the use of electricity past 1,500kWh being hit with a surcharge of 10 sen per kWh, she explained.

Mareena explained that despite the higher tariff, the top one-percenter would still be subsidised by taxpayers to the tune of RM58 million.

“The other 99 per cent of users will be unaffected”, she added, saying that the government has allocated RM2.7 billion for them.

Mareena explained that the electricity tariff adjustments were part of the government’s move towards targeted subsidies to ensure that subsidies were enjoyed by those who need them most.

She also said that the reduction of subsidies will overall reduce the government’s financial strain and the savings will be funnelled towards aid for lower income groups.

She recommended to those who wish to decrease their electricity use to prevent from crossing 1,500kWh to make use of energy-efficient appliances and be aware of their usage of electricity.

Also present at the briefing was the ministry’s deputy secretary-general Datuk Mohamad Razif Abd Mubin.

In March, national news agency Bernama reported NRECC minister Nik Nazmi Nik Ahmad as saying that the government had allocated RM10.76 billion to cover electricity bill subsidies for domestic consumers and non-domestic consumers in the low voltage category for the period of January 1 to June 30 of this year.

Nik Nazmi previously said the cost of ICPT for the period from July to December 2022 was RM16.16 billion, equivalent to a surcharge rate of 27 sen/kWh which should be imposed on all users for the period from January to June 2023.