KUALA LUMPUR — The global energy supply disruption is beginning to have wider repercussions, with its impact extending beyond petrol prices to other energy sources, including natural gas and coal.
Economy Minister Akmal Nasrullah Mohd Nasir said the knock-on effects were beginning to directly affect electricity generation costs, particularly for consumers using more than 600 kilowatt-hours (kWh) a month, Bernama reported.
“At the same time, for consumers using more than 600 kWh, the impact of the global energy supply disruption has had knock-on effects. Last March, the most significant impact was on petrol prices.
“Subsequently, we can now see that the effects have spread to other energy supplies, including natural gas, coal and others,” he said after attending the cheque handover ceremony for the Johor Bahru parliamentary constituency health clinic at Medan Niaga Kampung Melayu Majidee in Johor Bahru today.
On the tariff adjustment mechanism, Akmal Nasrullah said electricity rates for higher-consumption users were influenced by fluctuations in global fuel costs through the Automatic Fuel Cost Adjustment (AFA) mechanism.
“However, the increases and decreases affecting consumers using more than 600 kWh are based on fuel costs under what is known as AFA, which reflects fuel prices.
“That is the challenge for us because the knock-on effects of the energy supply disruption, which began with petrol, are now increasingly being felt in other energy supplies, including natural gas,” he said.
He said changes in natural gas prices typically took three to four months to filter through to electricity tariffs.
“Natural gas is a fuel that is burned to generate energy. When the impact on this fuel begins to be seen globally, usually when there is an increase in petrol prices, there will be a knock-on effect (over a period of) three to four months before natural gas is also affected.
“When today’s discussion refers to energy consumption in July and August, it takes into account what happened previously. That fuel is burned to generate electricity, and its cost has increased,” he said.
Despite the pressure from rising fuel costs, he said the existing tariff structure continued to shield most smaller domestic consumers from direct increases.
“Certainly, the mechanism being assessed by the Prime Minister may have other areas that we can examine because, based on the tariff structure currently in place, the majority of consumers using below 600 kWh do not actually experience a direct impact in terms of supply prices or fuel costs.
“We know that under the existing tariff structure, the tariff rate for those using below 600 kWh a month remains unchanged,” he said.
To address the wider effects of the global energy crisis, Akmal Nasrullah said Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim would chair a special meeting to review the tariff situation and consider measures to ease the burden on the public.
“I understand that the Prime Minister has stated the need for him to call a special meeting today to assess, consider and take note of the issues faced by the people,” he said.
He also said prevailing weather conditions could indirectly contribute to higher daily energy consumption.
“We know that under the current conditions, when the weather is unfavourable, we have been advised to remain indoors or in safer places, but that could also lead to higher energy consumption,” he said. — September 17, 2026