PETALING JAYA: A DAP leader has criticised Tenaga Nasional Berhad’s move to increase power tariffs, saying the decision showed the national utility company was disconnected from the current realities on the ground.
Kepong MP Lim Lip Eng claimed that while the restructured tariffs meant the industrial and commercial sector would be paying higher rates, domestic users, especially those from the middle class, would also be impacted.
He said the middle class did not receive full subsidies like the B40s and would not be able to bear the additional cost.
“Young families who have just bought homes, factory workers renting shared air-conditioned rooms, and small traders like tailors and hawkers are now faced with soaring monthly bills, even though their usage is for basic needs, not luxury,” he said in a statement.
Lim, who is also the Kuala Lumpur DAP secretary, said the decision to revise the rates was ill-timed and misguided.
He claimed that many consumers were caught by surprise when they were billed based on the new rates without proper explanation, while glitches plaguing TNB’s mobile app compounded matters.
“This raises the question of whether TNB was truly prepared before rolling out such a major change,” he said.
Under the new tariff scheme, effective from July 1 to the end of 2027, the base average tariff increased to 45.4 sen/kWh from 39.95 sen/kWh.
The Energy Commission said, however, that some 23.6 million domestic users in Peninsular Malaysia would enjoy fairer electricity rates and, in turn, lower costs of living.
TNB said consumers using less than 600 kWh a month were exempted from the new retail electricity tariffs.
Lim also called for the government to put the new tariff rates on hold.
Meanwhile, DAP adviser Lim Guan Eng said the power bill hike should be reviewed in light of new risks following the US’s decision to impose a 25% reciprocal tariff on Malaysian goods.
“A freeze or a pause in the 14.2% hike in electricity tariffs for businesses is necessary to help Malaysians face the 25% reciprocal tariff imposed by the US,” he said in a statement.
Separately, he welcomed Bank Negara Malaysia’s reduction of interest rates, but said more was needed to protect companies and families.
On July 9, the central bank reduced the overnight policy rate by 25 basis points to 2.75% from 3%, in view of global economic growth and consumer spending.
“Our economy could be further strengthened, businesses prosper and people’s lives better if the government can pause or freeze all hikes in utility charges,” Guan Eng said.
The former finance minister hoped the matter would be raised at a meeting between Pakatan Harapan chairman Anwar Ibrahim and the coalition’s MPs on Monday.
