INCREASING TARIFF A REJECT MINDSET

By : SAPP MEDIA

DESPITE the pleas from the various strata of society in Sabah, the Government had proceeded with the restructuring of the electricity tariff in Sabah.

Energy, Green Technology and Water Minister Datuk Seri Peter Chin Fah Kui announced that the tariff restructuring is necessary to reduce the widening gap between the cost of electricity supply and tariff. The decision and the announcement made had disregarded the recent pleas by the people in Sabah not to increase the electricity tariff.

The Minister had even cited the need to increase the tariff to enable Sabah Electricity Sdn Bhd (SESB) to provide reliable and uninterrupted electricity supply in Sabah and Labuan. He had also quoted the average power tariff increase at 15%.

Melanie Chia, the Luyang State Assembly representative and also the Women Chief of SAPP, said that this is a clear indication of the Barisan Nasional abusing it's fixed deposit!

"Perhaps they were so confident of this fixed deposit that they cannot hear the pleas of the people nor do they feel the crunch of the rising costs of living faced by the people! They are also not giving a full picture of the tariff restructuring. To say the increase is 15 % is misleading the people," Melanie said.

The Minister was quoted as saying that 75% of the domestic consumers whose monthly consumption are 350kWh and below will experience reduction or no increase in their monthly bills. Melanie noted that this is hardly so because the current rate for domestic consumer above 201 kWh is 28 sen, but under the restructuring, it is 33 sen for consumption between 201 to500 kWh and 34.5 sen for consumption above 501 kWh.

The changes made to the domestic consumers category is only the direct cost that is borne by the domestic consumers. "How can the Government not be mindful of the direct and indirect costs of the power tariff increase, and therefor, the resulting direct burden on the domestic consumers!".

Melanie noted that the impact of the increase on the local businesses and enterprises and industries cannot be underrated.

Quoting for example the current rate for the Low Voltage Commercial Tariff which is 32 sen per kWh for consumption from the first 1,000 kWh and only 27 sen for all consumption above 1,001 kWh. But the new tariff for this category is 33 sen for the first 200 kWh and increases to 33.5 sen for consumption above 201 kWh. This is an increase of 24%!

This increased production costs or the cost of business operation will definitely be passed down to the consumers.

The introduction of the Peak/Off Peak tariff classes which has also been widely practiced elsewhere may not be immediately useful in the Sabah environment.

Melanie commented that SESB tariff comparison - SESB Vs OTHERS, where SESB compared Sabah tariff to Indonesia, Sarawak, Thailand, Peninsular Malaysia, Hong Kong, Singapore and Philippines as a mockery. SESB should also compare our general standards of living in Sabah when considering the tariff restructuring.

Melanie lamented that Malaysian living in Sabah will have to heed the Government's repeated calls for the people to change the life style - consume less sugar, be more efficient in use of resources etc. etc., including having a more efficient and transparent government!