TENAGA Nasional Bhd (TNB) might be a public-listed business enterprise, but as a government-linked company, its mandate is to the people. For more than three decades, it has been enjoying unscrupulous dominance as the only utility provider in Peninsular Malaysia and Sabah. 

Last year, the group’s revenue rose 1.1% to RM50.94 billion from the previous year. Electricity sales increased by RM1.66 billion from the same period to RM46.36 billion. On the back of that, TNB yet again recorded an 18.7% uptick in group profit to RM4.45 billion. 

However, the fruits of this monopoly have not been effectively put to use in addressing the rakyat’s qualms on electricity transmission in the country. 

Take, for example, the recent debacle on the unfair and illogical spike in electricity charges during the movement control order (MCO) period. Already, Malaysians were having to bear a huge burden from job losses and pay cuts. Many were in distress and unable to find the financial means to pay for electricity bills. It wasn’t until there was immense public pressure did TNB then, in a knee-jerk reaction, explain the scenario and come up with a repayment scheme.

While TNB’s leadership may blame the pandemic and MCO as a reason for its ineptitude, similar gaffes have occurred even prior to this year. Last year, TNB infamously bungled the smart meter rollout in Malacca and users saw their bills soar. Similar incidents occurred throughout the country. One customer’s bill skyrocketed to RM800 when his regular bill was RM200 and he had not made any changes to his lifestyle.

Only after a petition was started and complaints continued to mount did TNB sluggishly attempt to resolve the issue. Even so, TNB’s leadership kept mum for the most case, with the energy minister at that time, Yeo Bee Yin, doing much of the explaining whilst attempting to hold TNB accountable for its blunder.

This points to the next problem with TNB, which is its lack of cogent communication with the rakyat. The communications team in TNB seems to be cobbling together responses without any thought to the plight of Malaysian consumers on the ground. Even in its appalling attempt at responding, it squarely blamed end users for the hike in utilities. This is a clear indication of TNB taking us for a ride and not being empathetic to the plight of ordinary Malaysians.

For more than a year, TNB has been criticised via social media for illogical hikes, with many disgruntled users posting proof of their inadequacies online, which does not take much time to gather traction. However, the response from TNB has been a muted one, with little to no engagement with customer complaints. To add fuel to fire, the official TNB website is incredibly ineffectual – there is no proper information on ways to address this and the complaints centre is often too busy to handle the traffic volume.

All this points to the irresponsibility by TNB’s leadership, all of whom enjoy bountiful perks in the form of high salaries and bonuses. There is clearly no concrete direction to address grouses and when all else fails, TNB just passes the buck over to customers. After all, most Malaysians are at their mercy – even if one is unhappy with its service, there is no alternate electricity provider to turn to.

Yes, TNB, as a public-listed company, should be responsible to its shareholders. But, as the sole electricity provider in Peninsular Malaysia and Sabah, it is also answerable to most Malaysians in general. Remember, TNB’s monopoly was not a hard-won victory in the open market but a gift in 1980s as part of a government-backed privatisation scheme. 

Therefore, it should not be lost on TNB’s leadership that it needs to buck up and appropriately address concerns. Malaysians deserve better management, communication and customer care from TNB for a brighter future for us all. – July 16, 2020.

* Sherman SS 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.