Despite a drop in global crude oil and gas prices, Malaysians still have to pay an average of two percent more for their electricity bills thanks to the Najib administration’s policy measures, PKR vice-president Rafizi Ramli said.

The hike in tariffs is due to cabinet’s decision to cut the Imbalance Cost Pass-Through (ICPT) rates and raise price of natural gas from RM15.20 to RM18.20 per mMBTU, he said.

“I want to ask Khairy Jamaluddin whether he attended cabinet meetings where both those decisions were made.

“If he did, then he should be responsible and not try to wash his hands by claiming he opposes government decisions which leads to a rise in the cost of living,” he said in a statement.

“Next year will see a continuous rise in cost of living as long as Prime Minister Najib Abdul Razak is in power,” the Pandan MP said.

'Halt policies'

This comes after Umno Youth chief Khairy, in his policy speech at the party's annual general assembly, told the government to halt all policies which can raise cost of living.

“When the cost of producing electricity is going down, the government chose to raise the price of crude oil for the sake of its subsidy rationalisation programme.

“This is why Malaysians cannot fully benefit from the drop in global crude oil prices,” Rafizi said.

He added that pump prices for petrol and diesel are also high despite the drop because the policy to set the price is based on the US dollar.

The government this week announced a cut in ICPT rebate from 2.25 sen/kWj to 1.52 sen/kWj.

ICPT is a mechanism implemented in January 2014, to reflect the fluctuations in electricity generation costs.

If there is a reduction in cost, the ICPT is passed on as a rebate to consumers. If there is a hike in cost, it is passed on to consumers as an addition to the tariff.

Electricity generator Tenaga Nasional Bhd enjoyed a cost reduction of RM1.32 billion thanks to cheaper coal, reduction liquefied natural gas use and efficient practices.

This is offset by a hike in the cost of natural gas by RM560 million due to government’s decision to raise the price of gas, Rafizi said.

This means the ICPT rebate passed on to consumers went down by 32 percent, leading to an average 2.2 percent hike in tariffs for the average household.

Meanwhile, Khairy merely walked off when asked on Rafizi’s suggestion yesterday that he resign from his cabinet post as a sign of protest against the various price hikes.

Media personnel saw him mouthing an expletive as soon as Rafizi’s name was mentioned, before he hurriedly walked off.