KUALA LUMPUR (June 28): The Energy Commission (EC) said the Government has agreed to maintain the electricity tariff surcharge at 2.55 sen per kilowatt-hour (kWh) for non-domestic users, while no surcharge is imposed on domestic users.

Based on its check on the imbalance cost pass through (ICPT) mechanism for the period between Jan 1 and June 30, the commission said there was an increase in fuel costs and other generation costs, which had resulted in an ICPT surcharge of RM1.59 billion or 2.94 sen per kWh.

“One of the factors contributing to the higher costs in the ICPT mechanism for peninsular Malaysia was the rise in the average price of coal to US$99.235 per metric ton (MT) compared with the US$75 per MT that was assumed in the basic tariff during the second regulatory period of the IBR (incentive based regulation).

“The rise in coal prices is not within the Government’s control, as it is based on global market prices,” said the EC in a statement today.

At the same time, it said there were savings of RM336.7 million following the implementation of the IBR, which will be used to reduce the ICPT surcharge, along with an RM107.16 million allocation from Kumpulan Wang Industri Elektrik.

Therefore, the commission said that the remaining ICPT cost of RM1.15 billion will be passed through to non-domestic customers, maintaining the current ICPT surcharge at 2.55 sen per kWh for the period of July 1 until Dec 31.