Electricity tariff adjustment won’t burden majority, says PM

• Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim said the upcoming electricity tariff adjustment would involve “only the ultra-rich (mahakaya) or profitable industries (yang mencatat keuntungan)”.

KUALA LUMPUR (Dec 27): The government will not allow increases in electricity tariffs that would burden the majority of the public, said Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim. (pictured)

Speaking to reporters in Langkawi, Anwar said the upcoming electricity tariff adjustment would involve “only the ultra-rich (mahakaya) or profitable industries (yang mencatat keuntungan)”.

“The majority of the rakyat [will] not be affected by electricity tariff increases,” he said.

“Although I understand [fuel] costs are on the rise, it cannot affect the position of the majority of the public,” he said, adding that it is a matter of policy.

On Thursday, Tenaga Nasional Bhd (KL:TENAGA) revealed a base electricity tariff of 45.62 sen/kWh in 2025-2027, compared with 39.95 sen/kWh imposed in 2022-2024.

The adjustment, scrutinised by the Energy Commission, is mainly due to higher fuel cost assumptions in line with global trends post-pandemic. Currently, Malaysians are paying surcharges on top of the 2022-2024 base tariff to incorporate elevated fuel costs. The surcharge is neutral to Tenaga’s earnings.

As the government is still reviewing the tariff structure, the base tariff “could be lower or higher depending on the prevailing market forces”, Tenaga chief financial officer Datuk Nazmi Othman said at a media brefing on Friday.

The base electricity tariff is an average across all users. Actual tariffs are imposed at different rates, depending on consumption trends and the user category — such as households, as well as low-, medium- and high-voltage commercial and industrial customers.

Meanwhile, the Ministry of Energy Transition and Water Transformation said this week that tariffs in the first half of 2025 (1H2025) will remain unchanged from the current tariff structure and levels.

The government will be working towards an improved, cost-reflective tariff structure in the meantime, to be revealed by 2H2025.

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