“Penat Argue Dengan TNB”, Netizens Are Shocked With Their Extremely High Electricity Bills This Month

By Karissa Lund  •  15 Jun 2020 in News

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Uh-oh… The rakyat just got their monthly bills and they’re not happy with it. A simple scroll on Twitter and you can see tonnes of Malaysians venting their anger over the sharp hike in their Tenaga Nasional Berhad (TNB) electricity bills.

Most of them complained about their latest bills noting totals double or triple their usual bill amount. Some even claimed that it has increased as much as 600% a month during the MCO period.

Check out what netizens had to say:

 

my TNB bill for June is riduculously high! we did NOT use that much, how can my usage increase by 3x for the month of june!! @Tenaga_Nasional, i have been paying monthly, how can this much be due? pic.twitter.com/KdVeeJkGyr

— Shaz.M.Zain (@shazzain) June 11, 2020

Pihak kerajaan, sila selesaikan isu bil TNB ini dengan segera. Waktu PKP, Rakyat punyalah berjimat karen tak pakai blender buat sambal tumis. Tup tup bila dapat bil dah macam bil karen kilang roti. Ini boleh mendatangkan kemarahan rakyat!

— Jimbo (@Jimbotiram) June 13, 2020

Tenaga Nasional spin macam mana pun, kenaikan bil elektrik hingga 600% ni memang tak ada logika. Terima kasih pada kerajaan Abah hangpa melantik menteri yang salahkan pengguna ‘keliru’ dan timbalan yang baru nak suruh siasat.

Kalau Menteri PH dulu, by now dia serang HQ TNB dah pic.twitter.com/EjAn7SS5Hy

— Asrul Muzaffar🇲🇾 (@asrulmm) June 14, 2020

If you’re wondering what was their response, TNB claims that allegations of a rise as much as 600% are inaccurate.

TNB chief corporate officer Datuk Wira Roslan Ab Rahman said in a statement that a TNB official had met the consumer who made the claim and explained how the bill was calculated using the prorated billing method.

“We have checked the bill and found there was a misunderstanding regarding the calculation of the bill. The amount of the consumer’s bills for April, May and June increased by 120 per cent per month… As a company regulated by the Energy Commission, we are subject to the terms of the licence granted including not calculating the bill arbitrarily,” he said.

Now, you’re probably thinking… what the heck is prorated billing method?

According to TRP, since TNB’s staff are not allowed to go around and check meters ever since the MCO started, the prorate method was introduced by estimating consumers household consumption based on their previous bills throughout the 3-month period.

The electricity company also said the method was used for accuracy and to ensure that no one is overcharged. Basically, what you’ve been paying during the MCO was the prorated bill.

The reason why your bills have spiked up is that TNB operators are finally allowed to go to houses and read the meter.

Based on their readings, they would make adjustments based on what was estimated versus your actual usage. So, if you used more electricity – like everyone did ’cause we’re all at home, the extra that you used will be reflected in the most recent bill.

Once the readjustments come in, that is when you would see a spike.

Although TNB had explained this new method of charging, many are still ‘tak puas hati‘ and some are just left confused… Take a look:

I actually did all the calculations and prorated line as explained by TNB in their FAQ and yes, it’s mathematically correct. But the METHOD is wrong. How can you justify putting 3-month reading in single bill?! Of course everyone will cross the 3rd tier tariff block and above! https://t.co/LhATQlr4kf

— Habibah AR. (@habibahrz) June 14, 2020

 

I’m really bad at math BUT is it a little unfair that they charge us base on the below, cause if you bulk up 3 months,you will surely get the higher rates.Instead of say for example only using a max of 900kwh a month.Or am I wrong? Someone help me make sense of my TNB bill hahaha pic.twitter.com/Y8YySGODsE

— Lala Mohsin (@jazilalalola) June 11, 2020

My TNB bill post-MCO for the 3 months is RM1,377. I take TNB’s FAQ at face value that TNB will prorate the 3 months into the tariff blocks. I am assuming this was done. But that still means an average bill of RM459/month. Before MCO, my monthly bill was around RM200! pic.twitter.com/2ARKvpez4d

— Leesh (@iMleesh) June 15, 2020

This is totally caught all user off guard. Accumulating 3months will increase the total bill because of different bloc of tariff rates. This is not right !!!! I have been paying consistently monthly basis during MCO but TNB still charging me high

— Sara The Blues (@saratheblues) June 15, 2020

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