News Room - Business/Economics

Posted on 12 Feb 2009

Malaysia to cut electricity tariffs

Malaysia will cut electricity tariffs by an average 3.7 percent effective March 1, a senior minister announced Wednesday.

 

Tarrifs will be cut to 31.31 sen (0.08 dollars) per kilowatt hour under the plan, Energy, Water and Communications Minister Shaziman Abu Mansor was quoted by the official Bernama news agency as saying.

 

The agency reported him as saying that domestic users will enjoy an average 2.54 percent cut in electricity tariffs, while commercial users will pay 2.7 percent less in electricity bills.

 

Other major reductions include a 5.0 percent discount awarded to industrial users' bills, he added.

 

In January, Malaysia's state-controlled power firm Tenaga Nasional Berhad reported a fiscal first quarter loss due to lower electricity sales and a weaker local currency.

 

For the three months to the end of November, the company reported a loss of 944.1 million ringgit (262 million dollars) compared with a net profit of 1.51 billion ringgit a year earlier.

 

Tenaga owns nine power plants, with total installed capacity of 11,464 megawatts.

 

It also runs Malaysia's entire power distribution and transmission infrastructure.

 

Tenaga expects net profit for fiscal 2009 to be worse than the previous year if the ringgit continues to weaken against the dollar.

 

Analysts have said that the tariff cut could allow Tenaga to lobby for some relief for its higher coal costs and foreign exchange losses this year. - AFP/vm