With the enforcement of the Movement Control Order (MCO) since 18 March, the vast majority of Malaysians have been spending most of their time at home. While this measure is crucial in breaking the COVID-19 infection chain, an inevitable side effect is the increased electricity usage across Malaysian homes.

Thankfully, as part of the PRIHATIN Economic Stimulus Package announced by the Prime Minister, Malaysians will get to enjoy discounts on their electricity bills to ease the financial burden of this increased usage. In fact, with these discounts you may find that your upcoming electricity bills are not only less than what you would have anticipated, they could even be lower than your usual amount!

Tiered and prorated discounts

All residential electricity users will be entitled to these discounts for a period of six months, covering electricity consumption starting from 1 April to 30 September 2020. If your billing cycle falls between two calendar months, the discounts will be prorated to cover power consumption during the valid dates only.

The bill discounts will be provided in tiers based on your electricity consumption – the lower your usage, the higher the percentage of discounts you’ll get to enjoy. See the table below for details.

Monthly electricity consumption	Billed amount before discount	Discount provided
1-200 kWh	RM43.60 and below	50%
201-300 kWh	RM43.70-RM77.00	25%
301-600 kWh	RM77.10-RM231.80	15%
600 kWh and above	RM231.90 and above	2%

How does TNB charge for electricity usage?

As a residential electricity user, your electricity consumption is charged in the following tariff blocks based on the monthly electricity usage stated on your bill.

First 200 kWh (1-200 kWh) per month	RM0.218 per kWh
Second – Next 100 kWh (201-300 kWh) per month	RM0.334 per kWh
Third – Next 300 kWh (301-600 kWh) per month	RM0.516 per kWh
Fourth – Next 300 kWh (601-900 kWh) per month	RM0.546 per kWh
Next kWh (901 kWh onwards) per month	RM0.571 per kWh

Additionally, your bill will also include a KWTBB surcharge and a service tax if your monthly consumption exceeds certain amounts.

KWTBB, which stands for Kumpulan Wang Tenaga Boleh Baharu or the Renewable Energy Fund, is a fund collected by the government through consumers’ electricity consumption to promote the growth of electricity generation from renewable energy resources. It is collected as a 1.6% surcharge on the overall amount of your electricity bill if your monthly consumption is more than 300 kWh.

The service tax, on the other hand, is a 6% government tax imposed only on usage blocks of above 600 kWh within a month’s bill where the billing period is 28 days and above.

This sample TNB bill gives a better idea of where you can find all of the charges mentioned above.

KWTBB surcharge

= RM (kWh + Diskaun Rangsangan Ekonomi) x 1.6%
= (RM309.88 – RM1.40) x 1.6%
= RM4.94

Service tax

= (Amount of bill above 600 kWh + Diskaun Rangsangan Ekonomi) x 6%
= (RM78.08 – RM0.35) x 6%
= RM4.66

Here are some scenarios to illustrate how the discounts work on different levels of monthly electricity consumption.

If your monthly electricity usage is below 200 kWh

Sample bill details and calculation

• Billing period: 8 March to 7 April (31 days)
• Monthly electricity usage: 186 kWh
• Daily usage: 186 kWh/31 days = 6 kWh

For prorated consumption from 8 to 31 March 2020 (24 days):

Total usage	24 days x 6 kWh = 144kWh
Total usage charges	144 kWh x RM0.218 = RM31.39

For prorated consumption from 1 to 7 April 2020 (7 days):

Total usage	7 days x 6 kWh = 42kWh
Total usage charges	42 kWh x RM0.218 = RM9.16
Total usage charges after 50% discount	RM9.16 – 50% (RM4.58) = RM4.58

Total bill charges for consumption from 8 March to 7 April 2020 with 50% discount: RM31.39 + RM4.58 = RM35.97

If your monthly electricity usage is between 201 to 300 kWh

Sample bill details and calculation

• Billing period: 8 March to 7 April (31 days)
• Monthly electricity usage: 278 kWh
• Daily usage: 278 kWh/31 days = 8.97 kWh

For prorated consumption from 8 to 31 March 2020 (24 days):

Total usage	24 days x 8.97 kWh = 215 kWH
Usage of the first 200 kWh	24/31 days x 200 kWh = 155 kWh
Usage charges on the first 200 kWh	155 kWh x RM0.218 = RM33.79
Remaining usage	215 kWh – 155 kWh = 60 kWh
Usage charges on the remaining usage	60 kWh x RM0.334 = RM20.04
Total usage charges	RM33.79 + RM20.04 = RM53.83

For prorated consumption from 1 to 7 April 2020 (7 days):

Total usage	7 days x 8.97 kWh = 63 kWH
Usage of the first 200 kWh	7/31 days x 200 kWh = 45 kWh
Usage charges on the first 200 kWh	45 kWh x RM0.218 = RM9.81
Remaining usage	63 kWh – 45 kWh = 18 kWh
Usage charges on the remaining usage	18 kWh x RM0.334 = RM6.01
Total usage charges	RM9.81 + RM6.01 = RM15.82
Total usage charges after 25% discount	RM15.82 – 25% (RM3.96) = RM11.86

Total bill charges for consumption from 8 March to 7 April 2020 with 25% discount: RM53.83 + RM11.86 = RM65.69

If your monthly electricity usage is between 301 to 600 kWh

Sample bill details and calculation

• Billing period: 8 March to 7 April (31 days)
• Monthly electricity usage: 425 kWh
• Daily usage: 425 kWh/31 days = 13.7 kWh

For prorated consumption from 8 to 31 March 2020 (24 days):

Total usage	24 days x 13.7 kWh = 329 kWH
Usage of the first 200 kWh	24/31 days x 200 kWh = 155 kWh
Usage charges on the first 200 kWh	155 kWh x RM0.218 = RM33.79
Usage of the second 100 kWh	24/31 days x 100 kWh = 77 kWh
Usage charges on the second 100 kWh	77 kWh x RM0.334 = RM25.72
Remaining usage	329 kWh – 155 kWh – 77 kWh = 97 kWh
Usage charges on the remaining usage	97 kWh x RM0.516 = RM50.05
Total usage charges	RM33.79 + RM25.72 + RM50.05 = RM109.56

For prorated consumption from 1 to 7 April 2020 (7 days):

Total usage	7 days x 13.7 kWh = 96 kWH
Usage of the first 200 kWh	7/31 days x 200 kWh = 45 kWh
Usage charges on the first 200 kWh	45 kWh x RM0.218 = RM9.81
Usage of the second 100 kWh	7/31 days x 100 kWh = 23 kWh
Usage charges on the second 100 kWh	23 kWh x RM0.334 = RM7.68
Remaining usage	96 kWh – 45 kWh – 23 kWh = 28 kWh
Usage charges on the remaining usage	28 kWh x RM0.516 = RM14.45
Total usage charges	RM9.81 + RM7.68 + RM14.45 = RM31.94
Total usage charges after 15% discount	RM31.94 – 15% (RM4.79) = RM27.15

KWTBB surcharge:

• (RM109.56 + RM27.15) x 1.6% = RM2.19

Total bill charges for consumption from 8 March to 7 April 2020 with 15% discount: RM109.56 + RM27.15 + RM2.19 = RM138.90

If your monthly electricity usage is more than 600 kWh

Sample bill details and calculation

• Billing period: 8 March to 7 April (31 days)
• Monthly electricity usage: 630 kWh
• Daily usage: 630 kWh/31 days = 20.32 kWh

For prorated consumption from 8 to 31 March 2020 (24 days):

Total usage	24 days x 20.32 kWh = 488 kWH
Usage of the first 200 kWh	24/31 days x 200 kWh = 155 kWh
Usage charges on the first 200 kWh	155 kWh x RM0.218 = RM33.79
Usage of the second 100 kWh	24/31 days x 100 kWh = 77 kWh
Usage charges on the second 100 kWh	77 kWh x RM0.334 = RM25.72
Usage of the third 300 kWh	24/31 days x 300 kWh = 232 kWh
Usage charges on the third 300 kWh	232 kWh x RM0.516 = RM119.71
Remaining usage	488 kWh – 155 kWh – 77 kWh – 232 kWh = 24 kWh
Usage charges on the remaining usage	24 kWh x RM0.546 = RM13.10
Total usage charges	RM33.79 + RM25.72 + RM119.71 + RM13.10 = RM192.32
Taxable amount for service tax	RM13.10

For prorated consumption from 1 to 7 April 2020 (7 days):

Total usage	7 days x 20.32 kWh = 142 kWH
Usage of the first 200 kWh	7/31 days x 200 kWh = 45 kWh
Usage charges on the first 200 kWh	45 kWh x RM0.218 = RM9.81
Usage of the second 100 kWh	7/31 days x 100 kWh = 23 kWh
Usage charges on the second 100 kWh	23 kWh x RM0.334 = RM7.68
Usage of the third 300 kWh	7/31 days x 300 kWh = 68 kWh
Usage charges on the third 300 kWh	68 kWh x RM0.516 = RM35.09
Remaining usage	142 kWh – 45 kWh – 23 kWh – 68 kWh = 6 kWh
Usage charges on the remaining usage	6 kWh x RM0.546 = RM3.28
Total usage charges	RM9.81 + RM7.68 + RM35.09 + RM3.28 = RM55.86
Total usage charges after 2% discount	RM55.86 – 2% (RM1.12) = RM54.74
Taxable amount for service tax	RM3.28
Taxable amount for service tax after 2% discount	RM3.28 – 2% (RM0.07) = RM3.21

Total taxable amount for service tax:

• RM13.10 + RM3.21 = RM16.31

Service tax:

• RM16.31 x 6% = RM0.98

KWTBB surcharge:

• (RM192.32 + RM54.74) x 1.6% = RM3.95

Total bill charges for consumption from 8 March to 7 April 2020 with 2% discount: RM192.32 + RM54.74 + RM0.98 + RM3.95 = RM251.99

Some welcome relief during a challenging period

The COVID-19 pandemic has brought about economic repercussions on a global scale, and many Malaysians’ livelihoods have been adversely affected by it. The electricity bill discounts provided for consumption from 1 April to 30 September 2020 under the PRIHATIN Economic Stimulus package will help us all to lighten our financial burden as we weather the challenging months ahead.

Finally, another thing to be aware of is that throughout the entire MCO period, TNB will be pausing all meter readings and hence your bills and discounts will be estimated based on your previous month’s usage. Rest assured that TNB will recalculate your electricity consumption and make the necessary bill adjustments once the MCO is lifted and they are able to record accurate bill readings again.

• TAGS:
• Covid-19
• Economic Stimulus Package
• Electricity Bills
• Movement Control Order
• PRIHATIN Economic Stimulus Package
• Tenaga Nasional Berhad
• TNB