KUCHING, Dec 9, 2014: Sarawak DAP chairman Chong Chieng
Jen pleaded with the state government to reduce electricity tariffs for commercial
and industrial sectors by 30% without
further delay.
"I suggest that the reduction to take effect from Jan
1 next year," he said at a press conference today.
He said Syarikat Sesco Berhad (Sesco) can afford such
reduction and that the government has a duty to help local businesses to face
the challenges in 2015 which will be a difficult year for Sarawak economy,
given the introduction of GST, depreciation of Ringgit and huge drop in oil
revenue.
Chong (picture), who is also Kota Sentosa State lawmaker and Bandar
Kuching Member of Parliament, gave his version on how the reduction by 30 %
could be formulated.
The following is an estimation of the reduced revenue of
Sesco due to the introduction of the new domestic tariff:
Monthly
Usage Range
|
Maximum
Monthly bill under Old Rate
|
Rates of
Reduction under new Tariff Rates
|
Reduction in
RM terms per Customer per month under New Rate
|
Total
Number of Customers under this range
|
Total
reduction in revenue for Sesco
(RM)
|
Below 150 kWh and eligible
for RM20 subsidy from Federal Government
|
RM
48.50
|
100%
|
RM
48.50
|
60,000
|
1,470,000
|
Up to 150 kWh but not
eligible for RM20 subsidy from Federal Government
|
RM
48.50
|
40%
|
RM
19.40
|
50,000
|
970,000
|
150 kWh – 200 kWh
|
RM
63.00
|
30%
|
RM
18.90
|
50,000
|
945,000
|
200 kWh – 300 kWh
|
RM
92.00
|
20%
|
RM
18.40
|
80,000
|
1,472,000
|
300 kWh – 400 kWh
|
RM
121.00
|
10%
|
RM
12.10
|
50,000
|
605,000
|
*Above 400 kWh
|
RM
200.00
|
4%
|
RM
10.00
|
250,000
|
2,000,000
|
Estimated Total Amount of Reduced Revenue for Sesco
|
7,462,000
|
||||
* For those with monthly usage above 400 kWh, he takes
the average of RM200 monthly bills per month and apply the maximum reduction of
4% for all the 250,000 customers in this category.
"Therefore, with the introduction of the new tariff
rates for domestic customers, Sesco’s revenue will be reduced by, at most, only
a mere RM7,462,000.00 per month or RM89 million per year.
"The actual reduced amount could be a lot less
because in my calculation, I take the maximum monthly electricity bills for
each and every categories of its customers to calculate the estimated reduced
revenue for Sesco.
"For example, for the range between 150 – 200 kWh, I
use the figure 200kWh for all the 50,000 customers in my calculation.
"Though the RM89 million may seem a large figure, if
we compare the 2013 financial figures of Sesco, that is, revenue of RM2,312
million and profit RM408 million, RM89 million is less than 4% of Sesco’s revenue
or 25% of Sesco’s profit," he said.
He said that it is the projection of the Sarawak
government that the committed electricity demand will increase by at least 40%
from year 2013 to 2015.
Year
|
Committed
Demand (MW)
|
2012
|
1490
|
2013
|
2331
|
2014
|
2996
|
2015
|
3377
|
2016
|
3517
|
As such, he said Sesco’s revenue will exceed RM3,000
million and its profit is projected to hit RM500 million for the year 2015 and
the recent reduction in domestic rates will only constitute a 3% reduction of
Sesco’s projected revenue in 2015.
"It is thus obvious that the reduction is not
sufficient. A normal household paying
RM200 monthly electricity bill is not a “rich” household, but it only gets a
RM8 discount under the new rates. Surely
a so-called “caring government” can do better than that.
From these figures, he added it is obvious that Sesco can
afford to reduce the commercial and industrial tariffs by 30% even without the
Murum Dam coming into operation.
"As such, I call upon Chief Minister Adenan Satem to
reduce the commercial and industrial rates by 30% with effect from Jan 1, 2015
and do not make the local commercial and industrial sectors wait unnecessarily
till near election time," he stressed.
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