KUCHING: Discounts for both electricity and water bills have been extended until December as per the Sarawakku Sayang Special Assistance (BKSS) 6.0.
While Sarawak’s average tariffs for water and electricity are already among the lowest in Malaysia and the surrounding region, Sarawak Utilities Minister Datuk Seri Dr Stephen Rundi Utom said the electricity and water supply agencies had put in place additional initiatives to help those who face difficulty in settling their bills in this trying times.
For electricity supply, he said the public were eligible for discounts ranging from five to 25 percent under BKSS.
“The discounts will benefit 647,000 customers from the domestic, commercial and industrial sectors and this will cost the Sarawak government around RM166.8 million over a period of six months from July to December this year.
“The discounts are expected to cost the Sarawak government about half a billion ringgit (RM583 mln) in total since it was first introduced in April 2020 for the period up to December 2021.
“Customers who still have difficulty paying their bills may utilise Sarawak Energy’s flexible payment plan for a more affordable monthly payment,” he said on Tuesday (Aug 3).
As for water supply, Dr Rundi pointed out that the public were eligible for discounts ranging from 10 to 25 per cent, which would benefit close to 647,000 residential, commercial and industrial customers.
“The discounts for water totalling RM32.1 mln from July to December this year will be borne by the Sarawak government.”
Dr Rundi added the state government had lowered the electricity tariffs in Sarawak twice in the past few years and that Sarawak Energy’s domestic customers enjoyed average tariffs that are about 40 per cent lower than Peninsular Malaysia.
