NEWS & UPDATES

KUCHING, 1st APRIL 2015, WEDNESDAY:  Sarawak Energy’s ongoing campaign against power theft recorded further progress when Sarawak’s Consumer Tribunal Court recently rejected a consumer’s application for a refund of arrears charged by SESCO.  The arrears were charged for the loss of revenue incurred by SESCO due to meter tampering.

The decision of the court to reject the consumer’s claims to waive arrears bill charged by SESCO confirms that SESCO is acting in accordance with the Ordinance and that the arrears calculation and appeal processes are proper.

However, Sarawak Energy finds it disappointing that the Tribunal’s decision was publicly questioned by a certain politician. This might send the wrong message to the public on the seriousness of power theft which is not only dangerous, but also illegal.  This irresponsible activity cannot be seen to be supported by anybody, least of all by public figures that should instead join the ongoing effort of curbing the illegal act.

The recent case brought to the Tribunal involved a claim to waive an arrears bill charged by SESCO to a customer.  The customer filed the claim against SESCO in Consumers Tribunal Court on 19th December 2014.

In the case, clear evidence showed that the meter was tampered with - the accuracy of the meter was running slower by about 82.5 %, which indicates firmly that the customer was also under-billed by 82.5%.

Sarawak Energy will continue to work with the public and government enforcement agencies to fight power theft in the state as it is not only wrong, but unfair to the majority of law abiding citizens who pay their electricity bills accordingly.

Sarawak Energy appreciates the growing support from responsible members of the public in providing reliable information to curb this unlawful activity.

Power theft is a crime under Section 35 of Electricity Ordinance and carries the penalty of a fine up to RM100,000 or 5 years imprisonment or both.  It can endanger lives as tampered metering circuits can cause the circuit protection system to malfunction, which will fail to cut off supply in the event of short circuit of internal wirings or faulty electrical appliances. This can result in electrocution and fire to property.