Gerakan chief wants govt to act against TNB if it misled Bursa

Summary

• Gerakan president wants the government to take action against TNB if its power tariff hike announcement for next year was done without Putrajaya’s approval.

• Dominic Lau says public-listed companies making whimsical statements could undermine the nation’s markets.

• Lau asks why the prime minister has not ordered a probe into the matter.

Gerakan president Dominic Lau has urged the government to take action against Tenaga Nasional Berhad (TNB) if its power tariff hike for next year was announced without government approval.

This comes after the national power supplier said it received Putrajaya’s nod on the tariff increase, only for the government to refute it later.

“To protect the government’s image and credibility, action must be taken.

“If public-listed companies are allowed to issue information whimsically, our markets will collapse and the people would lose faith,” he said in a statement today.

TNB, in an announcement to Bursa Malaysia on Dec 26, said a new tariff schedule with a base tariff of 45.62 sen per kilowatt-hour (kWh) for Peninsular Malaysia under Regulatory Period 4 (RP4) is proposed to be implemented starting July 1, 2025.

Under the Regulatory Period 3 (RP3) from 2022 to 2024, the base tariff is set at 39.95 sen/kWh.

However, Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim shot back saying he would not allow tariff hikes and had contacted Deputy Prime Minister Fadillah Yusof, who is also the energy transition and water transformation minister, regarding the matter.

“We do not allow electricity tariff hikes that impact the public. Any increase, as in the past, will only affect the upper class that I describe as the super-rich, or industries recording significant profits.

“The majority of the public will not be impacted by electricity tariff increases, even though I understand that costs are rising,” he said on Dec 27.

Following this, Fadillah said no decision has been made regarding electricity tariff hikes.

He reiterated that his ministry, along with the Energy Commission, is still in the process of finalising the new electricity tariff schedule.

“In this matter, any announcement regarding electricity tariffs in the peninsula will be issued by the government,” he said.

Why no probe?

Lau said the incident involving TNB mirrors what insurers did recently, where the latter had announced premium rate hikes allegedly without seeking approval from Bank Negara Malaysia first.

“Both incidents make us question the government’s credibility.

“If TNB issued a false statement to Bursa Malaysia, it involves cheating and the Securities Commission must probe this matter,” he urged.

Lau also questioned why the prime minister had not instructed the enforcement agencies to investigate the matter.

“His inaction seems to approve TNB’s conduct.

“If the government did not approve this, would TNB be so bold to make the announcement to Bursa Malaysia?” he asked.

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