Electricity price hike in Malaysia from Jan 1, 2024 – charging EV at home to be up to 6% more expensive

If your household electricity bill is currently costing you more than RM220 a month, be prepared to pay more for the utility from January 1, 2024.

That’s because the Energy Transition and Public Utilities Ministry announced today that domestic consumers who consume between 601 kWh and 1,500 kWh a month of electricity will no longer be eligible for the two sen per kwh rebate under the government’s Imbalance Cost Pass-Through (ICPT) mechanism for the period of Jan 1 to June 30, 2024.

As the New Straits Times reports, the move is set to have an impact on some 1.2 million households whose electricity consumption is above 600 kWh, with an increase of between 4.2% and 6% expected in their monthly bill. This means that these households can expect to pay between RM12 to RM32 more each month for their electricity.

It was revealed that the move, which is part of the country’s plan for targeted subsidies, will save the government RM266.2 million in subsidies during the period. All other categories of users’ tariffs remain unchanged, leaving 85% of electricity consumers in Peninsular Malaysia unaffected by the revision.

This means those using less than 600 kwh or RM231.80 (which works out to RM219.80 with the ICPT rebate, which is RM12) and below of electricity are still accorded a rebate of two sen per kWh, and the government will still subsidise RM1.9 billion to maintain the status quo for the 85%. This means that as of next year, there will be three tariff tiers for domestic users, namely:

• Those using 600 kWh or less of electricity per month, who enjoy an ICPT rebate of two sen per kWh.
• Those using 601 kWh to 1,500 kWh of electricity per month, who get no ICPT rebate but pay no surcharge.
• Those using more than 1,500 kWh of electricity per month, who have to pay a surcharge of 10 sen per kWh.

The ministry added that it will continue to progress its targeted subsidy agenda with the view that all domestic users should be imposed a surcharge in keeping with the ICPT, essentially a mechanism to review the electricity tariff every six months to take into account fluctuating fuel pricing, which contributes to 65% of the cost component of the electricity tariff.

From an automotive perspective, the revision means that households using electric vehicles (EVs) will pay more to charge them at home, albeit in a different manner than those consuming more than 1,500 kWh. Unless you happen to use virtually nothing in terms of electricity but on charging the car, expect an increase.

For example, if you use 1,200 kWh of electricity (or around RM550 a month), the ICPT rebate works out to RM24 off your present bill, which you’ll pay for from next year. Some will argue that the increase isn’t all that large, but it is there nonetheless, the additional spend.

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