Gas price proposal to be presented to cabinet by end of March
Posted on February 17, 2012, Friday
PETALING JAYA: A proposal on the recommended price of natural gas is being finalised and is scheduled to be presented to the Cabinet by the end of March 2012, Minister of Energy, Green Technology and Water, Datuk Seri Peter Chin Fah Kui, said.
He said the ministry and all related parties, namely the Energy Commission, Petroliam Nasional Bhd (Petronas) and the Economic Planning Unit, are very serious about the matter and are finalising the framework.
The framework, which will decide how much should be borne by Tenaga Nasional Bhd (TNB), independent power producers (IPPs) and end-consumers, is beneficial to all the parties, Chin said.
“I do not want to pre-empt it (the decision) as the exercise is still going on and it will not be fair to other stakeholders.
“But certainly we are looking at this very seriously. Hopefully, in March we can finalise everything to be presented in the Cabinet.
“We have gone through a lot of effort, and certainly, at the end of the day, the setting of the price would be good for all stakeholders, especially TNB,” he told reporters after launching TNB Careline here yesterday.
TNB president and chief executive officer Datuk Seri Che Khalib Mohamad Noh echoed the minister’s sentiment, saying the framework is being finalised and is expected to come up with clearer guidelines on the price of gas.
Meanwhile, Che Khalib denied claims that TNB has yet to meet the demand for energy in Malaysia.
He said so far, the utility giant has not been given any report about residential and commercial users not getting enough electricity.
“Of course, we have a problem in generating power because we do not have enough gas, but as far
as customers are concerned, we have channelled enough electricity, on par with whatever demand that they have made.
“So there is no shortage of electricity,” he added. — Bernama
