Electricity subsidies for poor to be announced soon

The government is set to announce new electricity subsidies for the hardcore poor within the next few weeks, Energy, Technology, Science, Climate Change and Environment Minister Yeo Bee Yin (above) said today.

"The government, in a few weeks' time, will announce subsidies for the hardcore poor.

"We will announce a new scheme of subsidies for the 179,000 people who are registered with e-Kasih," Yeo said.

She was speaking to reporters after launching the Conference of the Electric Power Supply Industry 2018 at the Kuala Lumpur Convention Centre.

In her speech earlier, Yeo spoke about reforms which her ministry intended to implement through the setting up of an agency.

She said the agency will have a three-year mandate to drive and implement these planned reforms before it is dissolved.

"Once the reforms are done, it (the agency) will close," she said, adding that the time frame was necessary to ensure the reforms were implemented in a timely manner.

The reforms, she said, would focus on three key thrusts - to increase industry efficiency and future-proof the industry's structures, empower consumers as well as democratise the electricity supply industry.

She also said that eventually, part of the reforms would include "depoliticising" the electricity supply industry, although she noted this would take longer than three years.

"If the system is not efficient, then government intervention is important.

"The system has to be efficient first before the government can get out," she said. - Mkini