No electricity cuts for domestic users with less than six months arrears

PUTRAJAYA: There will be no electricity supply cut for domestic users in the peninsula and Sabah who have less than six months arrears from Jan 1 to March 31 next year, said Minister of Energy and Natural Resources, Datuk Dr Shamsul Anuar Nasarah.

This category of consumers will be given the facility to schedule payment instalments for six months from Jan 1 to June 30, he told reporters after attending the ministry's monthly assembly here today.

The initiative with the cooperation and agreement of Tenaga Nasional Berhad (TNB) and Sabah Electricity Sdn Bhd (SESB) will involve a total of 6.94 million domestic users in the peninsula and 500,000 domestic users in Sabah who are eligible to enjoy this benefit.

Shamsul Anuar said consumers who have arrears for more than six months could still consult TNB and SESB to make payments in instalments to avoid power cut.

"We understand the impact on TNB but we also understand the plight of the people. We take a win-win situation to safeguard TNB's interest and needs of the people,” he added.

As of Oct 31, about 7.66 million domestic consumers in the Peninsula enjoy electricity bill discounts under the Prihatin Rakyat Economic Stimulus Package (PRIHATIN) and Bantuan Prihatin Elektrik (BPE), involving an allocation of RM1.9 billion.

The PRIHATIN and BPE packages provided by the government is aimed at reducing the electricity bill for all domestic customers following the spread of the COVID-19 and during the implementation of the Movement Control Order (MCO).

The additional assistance package for all domestic consumers in the Peninsula was a one-off discount of up to RM77 a month for the three months under MCO which is equivalent to the first 300kWh electricity usage for three months (April, May and June) during the MCO.

-- BERNAMA