She said this after former prime minister Najib Razak had asked why the electricity industry fund, known as Kumpulan Wang Industri Elektrik (KWIE), had increased and where the money came from.
Najib said during the Pakatan Harapan administration, electricity tariffs were high after PH increased it a few times after the 14th general election even though global energy costs had plunged to their lowest over the past decade.
He said Yeo and PH should be questioned as to why they never reduced electricity tariffs after GE14 despite that.
“I thank Najib’s Facebook postings for confirming the electricity financial aid came from KWIE.
“However, he does not understand the ICPT (Imbalance-Cost-Pass-Through) mechanism,” Yeo said.
She also said throughout PH’s administration, the cost of fuel was higher than its base price, and was used in calculating the ICPT.
“KWIE was used so that there will be no increase for domestic users. In each of our announcements then, we had said that the funds came from KWIE.
“When the coal prices dropped at the end of 2019, we also reduced the surcharge that commercial users needed to pay from 2.55 sen to two sen for the period of January to June this year,” Yeo said.
She estimated that RM594 million in surcharges from commercial users, was contributed to KWIE.
“Since we are at a challenging time, and commercial users actually have some ‘savings’ in KWIE, they should also enjoy some assistance in their electricity bills,” Yeo said.
Energy and Natural Resources Minister Shamsul Anuar Nasarah yesterday announced that those who utilise more than 300 kWh a month are entitled to a RM77 monthly discount in their electricity bills for the April to June period. This will benefit 3.66 million users.
His announcement came in the wake of an outcry over a sudden spike in electricity charges since the movement control order (MCO) was implemented on March 18.
Meanwhile, in a response to Yeo, Najib said that public information previously showed that the cost of fuel and coal had dropped to its lowest at the end of 2018.
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