LAWAS: Business and industrial players in Sarawak can look forward to possible reduction of power tariff in Sarawak by middle of next year, on the back of the announced reduction for domestic consumers effective from 2015.
Lowering the power tariff for commercial and industrial players is on the cards of Sarawak Chief Minister Datuk Patinggi Tan Sri Adenan Satem, who said a decision is likely to be announced in either May or June next year.
He said this during his speech in officiating the simultaneous opening of Pesta Lawas, Pan Borneo Coop Fest and One District, One Industry Festival, in Lawas yesterday.
“We will reduce tariff for domestic consumer starting next year, and I am thinking of reducing the rates for industrial and commercial consumers too,” he said.
Adenan sprang a surprise by announcing the reduction of electricity rates for domestic consumers in the recently concluded State Legislative Assembly sitting which debated and passed the State Budget for 2015.
The state government will revise downward electricity tariff for all domestic customers in the state effective January next year, and this means almost 60,000 customers will join the 70,000 already eligible for the federal government’s RM20 subsidy.
About 130,000 low income customers in Sarawak will receive a zero monthly bill, as the government had carefully designed the tariff revision to provide the greatest assistance to low income customers for this purpose.
For 50,000 customers not eligible for the federal government subsidy and were consuming up to 150 units per month, the tariff will be reduced by more than 40 per cent.
Furthermore, the 50,000 customers consuming between 150 and 200 units will get a reduction in tariff of 30 per cent.
The lower cost of the new energy from Murum will reduce SEB’s average cost of supply while the value of the power that was lost due to power theft in the state has been cut by more than half since 2010.
By avoiding the cost of generating the power that was stolen, Sarawak Energy Berhad now has greater financial capacity to reduce the tariff.
Earlier on, Minister of Public Utilities Datuk Amar Awang Tengah Ali Hasan, who is also Minister of Industrial Development in his speech earlier, said the Chief Minister believes in people-centric approach in governing the state.
“The power tariff outside the state and the global trend shows it always goes up and not down, but here in Sarawak it is happening with a people-centric Chief Minister,” he said.
The minister pointed out that with the exception of Brunei, power rates in Sarawak are already among the cheapest in the country and this region.
Meanwhile, he said the people of Lawas and Limbang will give their full support to Adenan’s transformative leadership in leading the state.
“It is vital that there must be unity which is crucial for our Chief Minister to carry out his plans,” he said.