With the current world crisis which is the rise of Covid-19, the government has come up with various stimulus package to ease the burden of consumers and industries alike.
Today, we will be discussing how energy plays a role in the stimulus package and how consumers can make use of this package to its uttermost.
For those who are not aware, Prime Minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin announced that through the Prihatin package, households that use less than 200 kilowatts would be given a discount of 50 per cent , 25 per cent for usage in between 201 kilowatts to 300 kilowatts and finally 15 per cent reduction for consumptions in between 301 kilowatts and 600 kilowatts.

At first glance, the package might seem like targeting lower income families as it is stigmatised that lower income families would have lower electricity bill. However, the truth is that the structure aids those who are energy savvy because the discount is given based on your monthly electricity consumption.
Thus, ensuring our electricity bill is low and does not reach the third or fourth tariff block would enable consumers from any financial standing to benefit higher discounts via the Prihatin Stimulus Package.
Commence of Movement Control Order (MCO) has seen many companies preferring employees to work from home to curb the spread of the disease and adhere to the laws set by the government. On the other hand as more people are spending time at home, electricity bills are expected to sky rocket and given the weather has also been unkind in certain places, usage of air-conditioner is bound to increase. Now more than ever, it is vital for consumers to be aware of their electricity consumption and ensure right steps are taken towards practising energy efficient behaviours. SMART METERS that were recently installed in Melaka and certain parts of Klang Valley really comes in handy during the MCO, as it allows consumers to monitor their bills on daily basis instead of on a monthly basis.
However for the majority of consumers who don’t have SMART METER at home, fret not as we from the Federation of Malaysian Consumers Association (Fomca) would like to give tips on how to conserve energy during this time of emergency. Energy efficiency and energy conservation might sound similar however there is a huge difference even though both of them achieve the same goal. Energy efficiency refers to the usage of energy efficient products such as LED bulbs and electrical appliances with 5 star energy rating. On the other hand, energy conservation refers to the reduction of electricity usage without having to change any energy appliances at home. This is especially handy during the MCO since we are advised not to go out thus changing to energy efficient products would be harder given that we can’t move around freely and finding an open hardware should be fairly hard.

Without further ado, the first step that can be taken is setting your air-conditioner temperature 24 degrees Celsius or more. The normal human body temperature is around 36-37 degrees Celsius hence 24 degrees Celsius is more than enough of a difference to feel cold and it is also much healthier compared to usage of air-conditioner at 18 degrees Celsius. It is easier for the air-conditioner to establish the room temperature to 24 degrees thus stopping the compressor from doing excess work that would waste energy. Remember, usage of air-conditioner is not expensive however misuse of air-conditioner is expensive. Second ensure that washing machines are used at maximum load so that optimal conditions can be achieved and minimising the times the washing machine has to be used. Same goes towards boiling water using kettle as heating equipment’s like hair dryer and kettle use a lot of electricity to heat up the tungsten coil to create heat thus it’s better to boil water at full capacity to reduce the amount of time water needs to boiled. Monthly roughly 10-15 per cent of household electricity is wasted due to equipment’s left on stand-by mode such as TV decoders, heater and air-conditioner switches, laptops and televisions. The usual red light that is visible after turning off an appliance indicates certain amount of electricity is still being used thus the best thing to do would be to plug out the plug of the electrical appliances after use as this would reduce energy wastage as well protect the equipment’s in case of lightning.
In conclusion, we understand many of us miss our coffee shop sessions and unrestricted movement however the MCO is in place for our safety and together we shall curb this disease so that we can go back to our usual lifestyle. Fomca as always will continue encouraging consumers to be energy savvy especially during the MCO as most of us spend more time at home so try to at least follow few of the given tips and we are sure you would be able to save electricity.

*This statement is submitted by Saravanan Thambirajah, CEO, Federation of Malaysian Consumers Association (Fomca).