KUALA LUMPUR: A tariff reduction would help ease the pressure currently faced by manufacturers amid concerns of an impending economic slowdown, said the Federation of Malaysian Manufacturers (FMM).
In a statement today, it said the lower cost of energy would also lead to reduced cost to consumers.
FMM said while it expected a challenging year ahead, the federation was hopeful that with effective mechanisms to facilitate and encourage industries -- especially small and medium enterprises -- to invest in energy efficiency initiatives, the industries would be able to mitigate the energy price volatility.
“FMM looks forward to continuous engagement with the government to help sustain business competitiveness in view of external factors, uncertainties and concurrent cost increases which have already been imposed on businesses.
“We fully support the government’s intention to consider the proposal to reduce electricity tariffs in view of the decline in the prices of coal and natural gas in the global market,” it said.
However, the federation voiced its concern on the impact of the current surcharge of 2.55 sen/kwh effective March 1, 2019.
“We hope the government will consider suspending any future Imbalance Cost Pass Through (ICPT) surcharge for the next two ICPT review periods.
“The readjustment after the temporary suspension should be gradual. The accumulated surcharge accrued during the period should not be passed-through all at once in the next ICPT review period,” it added. -- BERNAMA