KUALA LUMPUR: TENAGA Nasional Bhd (TNB) is studying several mechanisms to address the mounting public complaints about the spike in electricity charges during the Movement Control Order (MCO) period.
TNB chairman Datuk Seri Mahdzir Khalid said he, together with the management of the utility company, the Energy and Natural Resources Ministry as well as the Energy Commission, were seeking a solution to address the issue.
Mahdzir said when he was offered the position of TNB chairman by Prime Minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin, he made it his mission to make TNB "people-friendly".
He said when the MCO began on March 18, physical TNB meter-reading operations had to be temporarily suspended.
"Only estimated meter-reading could be done and sent to customers for the March and April billings via the myTNB app," he said on Facebook.
Mahdzir said meter reading activities resumed on Monday and the current bills reflect the actual electricity usage.
"We take note of the inconvenience and complaints voiced by the rakyat after receiving their TNB bills.
"I hope this explanation will go some way toward reducing confusion among the public," said Mahdzir.
Mahdzir refuted claims concerning his allowance as TNB chairman, which his detractors said was exorbitant.
"The actual amount of the allowance is much lower.
"It is sufficient for me to say that it is lower than what is being claimed.
"I hope this clarification will put the people at ease," he said.
Some consumers were shocked when they got their electricity bill recently and saw that it had increased exponentially.
This was despite the two per cent discount given to domestic users.
As a result, they took to social media to highlight the matter and sought an explanation from TNB.
Social media had been rife with complaints by TNB subscribers in residential areas, with some claiming to have experienced a 20 to 50 per cent surge in their latest electricity bills.
The issue was also highlighted by Umno information chief Shahril Sufian Hamdan, who on Monday urged TNB to clarify the issue.
Shahril suggested that the company consider offering discounts based on the latest readings as a short-term measure to assist the people.
On Monday, the Energy and Natural Resources Ministry and the Energy Commission had summoned TNB's top management to explain the issue.
Its minister, Datuk Dr Shamsul Anuar Nasarah, said TNB "cannot calculate bills arbitrarily" and that it must obtain approval from the Energy Commission as a supervisory body and regulator for the energy industry before embarking on any measure concerning billing.
Shamsul had expressed confidence that the commission could resolve the issue.