MalayMail/Bernama-July 6
Petrol station manager Peter Wong’s electricity bill used to be around RM280 a month but he has been smiling since installing 10 solar panels in his house last year as he enjoys almost free electricity. Wong, 37, started worrying about his rather steep power bills three years ago after the movement control order (MCO) was enforced. “My house has three air-conditioning units and during the MCO, and also during the heat wave, we would keep them turned on for longer hours. “As I couldn’t bear the higher electricity bills, I decided to invest in 10 solar panels with a capacity of 4.7 kWp (kilowatt peak), with eight facing east and two facing west on the roof of my double-storey terrace house in Georgetown (Penang),” he told Bernama.
The solar panel installation cost Wong over RM20,000 but after seeing the huge drop in his power bill, he was satisfied because it meant he could potentially save about RM280 per month on electricity and even have a negative balance if his household power usage comes to less than RM280 a month. Wong is among those who benefitted from the government’s initiative to push for solar energy usage through the Net Energy Metering (NEM) program which involves a 10-year contract with Tenaga Nasional Bhd (TNB) to feed excess electricity generated by solar panels into the power grid.
“Even when there is no one at home, the electricity from my solar panels goes into the power grid. TNB buys it and what we ‘sell’ is reflected in our power bill,” Wong said, adding however solar panels are not ideal if one’s monthly power bill falls under RM200. Read more at:
