KUALA LUMPUR (July 14): The government has raised the green electricity tariff (GET) to 21.8 sen/kWh (kilowatt-hour), from 3.7 sen /kWh imposed currently, in line with regional green electricity retail price benchmarks, said Minister of Natural Resources, Environment and Climate Change Nik Nazmi Nik Ahmad.

Speaking at a press conference, Nik Nazmi also confirmed that those who subscribe to GET will not be imposed imbalance cost pass-through (ICPT) charges moving forward, as the energy is not generated from fossil fuels.

Further, the GET subscription is now no longer limited to the previous individual quota of 30% consumption.

Interested consumers will be able to subscribe to GET for 100% of its consumption, said Nik Nazmi, who had previously increased the programme’s total quota to 6,600GWh, from 4,500Gwh offered in 2022.

The adjustments will be effective Aug 1, the minister said. The existing GET tariff of 3.7 sen/kWh will be maintained in July, the minister said.

Those who do not actively subscribe to the higher GET tariff will be automatically opted out of the programme from August. 

Funds collected from the GET programme will be used for renewable energy (RE) project development and capacity addition, he said.

“The government hopes that the people will have more confidence in the GET programme, as the offering is now based on the principles of generation and supply of green energy, while the subscription will provide added value in supporting the nation's energy transition efforts,” he added.

First implemented in 2022, the GET is a strategic initiative by the government to provide green electricity generated from renewable sources to customers of Tenaga Nasional Bhd (TNB) who intend to reduce their carbon footprint.

Subscribers will receive a certificate that verifies their RE source electricity supply through the Malaysia Renewable Energy Certificate (mREC), which is registered with an international certification body. Subscribers are charged the GET tariff on top of the base tariff, which is set at 39.95 sen/kWh on average.

Those who do not subscribe to GET will instead be charged under the ICPT mechanism, which adjusts electricity tariff based on swings in power generation fuel prices.

For 2H2023, the ICPT surcharge is set to 10 sen/kWh for domestic users who consume more than 1,500 kWh in a month. Medium- and high-voltage commercial and industrial users are charged 17 sen/kWh, while non-domestic consumers in the low voltage category such as SMEs have an ICPT surcharge of 3.7 sen/kWh.