KUALA LUMPUR, Sept 18 (Bernama) -- Tenaga Nasional Bhd (TNB) will provide between RM120 million and RM150 million in support for electricity bill protection between September and December 2026, said its president and chief executive officer Datuk Shamsul Ahmad.
He said that as the national utility company, TNB has given its commitment and viewed the move as its contribution to the country and people.
“This is one of the ways that, during this period of hardship, we can contribute. This is something similar to what we did during COVID-19, floods and so on. This is part of our way of coming in (to help), and we are glad that we can do so,” he told a press conference today.
Shamsul said in terms of the impact on the company’s profit and loss (P&L), TNB would work harder to cover the incurred costs by improving productivity, efficiency and cost-effectiveness in its operations.
He highlighted that the support by TNB would directly address recent public concerns over higher household electricity consumption due to the hot weather, heatwave, and haze. Previously, around 80 per cent of domestic customers, or about seven million households, consumed under 600 kilowatt-hours (kWh) monthly and were protected from additional surcharges.
However, hotter temperatures caused household cooling appliances to run longer, pushing around a million households past the 600 kWh limit and subjecting them to surcharges, service tax, and retail fees.
Under the newly expanded 800 kWh threshold, for consumption from Sept 1 through Dec 31, 2026, over 90 per cent of domestic customers, representing over eight million households, would now fall within the protected zone.
Consumers using up to 800 kWh monthly would be exempted from the Automatic Fuel Adjustment (AFA) surcharge, the eight per cent Service and Sales Tax (SST), and the RM10 retail charge.
As a result, affected households can expect bill reductions of around 13 per cent, translating to monthly savings of up to RM47, which will be reflected starting in their October 2026 electricity bills.
Addressing the global fuel market dynamics, Shamsul said coal, which accounts for nearly 60 per cent of Malaysia's electricity generation mix, remains subject to international benchmark indices such as GC Newcastle and M40.
While coal prices hovered around US$97 to US$99 per metric tonne last year, global supply constraints and increased demand ahead of the northern hemisphere winter have pushed benchmark prices to between US$131 and US$132 per metric tonne.
Despite the higher generation costs, the AFA surcharge for domestic consumers within the 800 kWh limit will be cushioned through a combination of TNB’s contribution and support from the Electricity Industry Fund (KWIE).
-- BERNAMA