BATU PAHAT, Nov 29 — In what can be described as a shocking amount, a computer shop technician from Yong Peng here was billed RM47,258.05 for power consumption by Tenaga Nasional Berhad (TNB).

Kuan Chin Ee, 41, was taken aback when told that he must settle the amount.

He said the amount was shocking as he paid his utility bills on time and was only told about the amount by TNB earlier this month.

“This happened in October when two TNB staff had persuaded my maid to let them enter my house as they needed to take a look at my electricity meter.

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“The staff then open up my meter and took some photos before telling my maid to inform me to go to TNB’s office regarding my electricity usage,” Kuan claimed at a press conference organised by Johor MCA Youth at a coffeeshop here today.

Johor MCA Youth chief Ling Tian Soon was present.

Kuan said he was shocked when the TNB staff accused him of stealing electricity and claimed that they received a complaint about it from the house owner.

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“It doesn't make any sense at all. I am the house owner and I have never made a complaint on stealing electricity,” he said, adding that he also received a warning letter from TNB this month, to settle the due amount as soon as possible.

Kuan said he was upset that the TNB staff entered his home without any his permission.

He said that he has lodged a report with the Batu Pahat district police alleging trespass.

Ling, who also represented the local MCA complaints and public service bureau, said he was surprised at Kuan’s case that he described as not making sense due to the amount owed.

He explained that even if Kuan’s bill was about RM300 a month, it would take about 157 months to reach the said amount.

“Basically, that is 13 years worth of unpaid electricity bills. He owns a house and not a factory,” said Ling.

Another case highlighted by the Johor MCA Youth was that of a 34-year-old female farm hand Soh Hwee Hoon whose vacant house in Yong Peng here was billed for RM1,600 in unpaid electricity bills.

She claimed that before April this year her bills were only about RM3.00 to RM5.00 a month since she took possession of the house in 2017.

“However, for the month of April I was billed for RM1,266 and it continued to increase at the rate of about RM100 for each consecutive month.

“In October I then received a letter from TNB clarifying that there was technical issues with my electricity metre that had caused inaccurate readings,” said Soh, adding that TNB had also assured her that RM300 will be credited to her account for the following month due to the error.

However, Soh said the amount of RM1,266 was definitely more than the RM300 amount that TNB has agreed to refund her.

“There is about RM900 that I still have to settle with TNB,” she said.

Ling urged TNB to explain the situation and rectify it as soon as possible as there were obvious errors in the two cases.

“TNB, as a responsible government-linked corporation (GLC), must look into the matter as the two complainants are only employed and the excessive billings was unnecessary for them,” he said.

In May, TNB officially admitted that it had experienced technical issues from May 15 to 20 in its billing system causing consumers to complain about the sudden spike in electricity bills nationwide.

Following that, a special task force was set-up to monitor and review all reports or complaints received.

Earlier, many consumers had complained through social media that their electricity bill had increased and they felt cheated, as TNB had remained silent on the matter.