(Miri, Thursday): The announcement by the Minister for Energy, Telecommunications and Posts, Datuk Leo Moggie on an eight per cent increase of power tariffs by 1.8 sen per unit from 21.7 sen per unit to 23.5 sen per unit, effective from today, is a great disappointment, especially as there had been no attempt to seek public consultation and feedback first.
This new round of power tariff increase has set a bad precedent that Tenaga Nasional could expect tariff rate revision every year, as the last tariff rate increase was only March last year, and that there is no obligation on the part of Tenaga Nasional to improve on the quality of its services in providing steady and uninterrupted power supply.
What is worse, Tenaga Nasional has been able to pass on to consumers its financial woes as a result of having to buy electricity at every exorbitant rates from Independent Power Producers (IPPs) - when the right and proper thing for Tenaga Nasional to do is to get IPPs to be responsible corporate citizens by renegotiating the Power Purchase Agreements to ensure that Tenaga Nasional is not the agent through whom the consumers are squeezed and exploited by IPPs to give the IPPs enormous profits every year.
DAP will move a motion of urgent definite public importance in Parliament on Monday on the new round of tariff rate increase without public consultation.
(1/5/97)