I WRITE here in response to a feeling that many of us got when we received our May TNB bill last month and would have had a deja vu feeling for the June bill.
So, we question whether our TNB bills are correct or not? Have we been overcharged for our electric consumption or not?
Now as I use my own bill for comparison, I average a monthly consumption of 520kWh or units, pre-movement-control order of RM191.50 in my February bill.
But we all know that during the MCO, being confined to our homes, obediently following the #StayAtHome clarion call, we would consume more electricity for our air-conditioning, water heaters, kettles, etc.
Then from lighting till charging our mobile or computer devices. They all add up to an increased usage which did shock me initially.
That’s because for the May bill, when we were billed for three months (the first meter reading post-MCO), my bill hit “RM550.70”.
And that was actually after including two auto-debit payments of RM191.50 and RM169.30 for March and April. In other words, my real bill was RM895.78 for three months.
Now this is aside from the diskaun rangsangan ekonomi we all enjoy at various percentages depending on consumption in tandem with the usual 6% SST & 1.6% KWTBB added on.
So, it was like an average of RM900 for three months, or RM300 per month which is a jump from my usual RM200.
At the same time, there is a misconception that billing of three months gives us, the consumer, a disadvantage in terms of counting by tariff block. Actually, this is not true. If we scrutinise our February and May bills or May and June bills, you will see that the monthly blocks are multiplied by three in the May bill.
So, as the dust settled down, I owe TNB RM550.70 for May and I thought that was the end of it. Yet when I received my June bill, it was RM681.03. I was saying, “Oh no, Here we go again!”.
“But hang on a minute…”
Only by comparing my May and June bills together, and keeping an eye on the top right corner in yellow that mentions “pelan bayaran mudah”, it seems there was a figure of RM170.72 deducted from my May bill of RM550.70 as payment instead of the full amount.
Meaning this pelan bayaran mudah became mandatory for those of us using the auto-debit facility. Causing the “tunggakan” or arrears of RM379.98 added to my June bill. In fact, my June consumption was a “usual” RM301.05, which is basically my “current average” in this MCO/RMCO period.
A few notable observations now is that our “new normal” will prevail, meaning extra electricity consumption is inevitable. Plus, if this pelan bayaran mudah is mandatory, the arrears will continue to roll over to the following months’ bills. When will it stop?
For now, we can stay proactive to reduce our electrical consumption. Practice EE (energy efficient) as best as we can and may our future TNB bills be more acceptable. – June 23, 2020.
* Boo Soon Yew reads The Malaysian Insight.
* This is the opinion of the writer or publication and does not necessarily represent the views of The Malaysian Insight. Article may be edited for brevity and clarity.
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