SHAH ALAM, 2 Feb: Tenaga Nasional Berhad (TNB) should reduce the electricity tariff following the drop in world oil prices.
Kulai Member of Parliament, Teo Nie Ching, said that a study by UOB Kay Hian estimated that TNB would save RM424 million in the first six months of 2015.
Meanwhile, Hong Leong Investment Bank (HLIB) believes that TNB can save RM310 million in fuel costs for the first half of this year and RM703 in 2015.
“Research firms also estimated that TNB can save a cost of RM667.8 million, or 13.8 percent, in its operations due to lower coal prices, which is below USD65 per metric tonne,” she said in a press statement.
In January last year, the government rose electricity tariff rates by 16 percent due to the increase in world crude oil prices.
This is because the benchmark price of coal in January 2014 for electricity tariffs was RM275 per metric tonne (cost of coal: USD87.5 per metric tonne at the exchange rate of RM3.14/USD).
In December 2014, the price of coal was 21 percent lower at RM217 per metric tonne (cost of coal: USD62 per metric tonne at the exchange rate of RM3.50/USD).
NS
