SEB: Sesco offers automatic six-month instalment plan for one-time bill adjustments

KUCHING (Oct 13): Sarawak Energy Berhad’s (SEB) retail and operational arm, Syarikat Sesco Berhad (Sesco), is offering an automatic six-month instalment plan to ease the financial impact caused by one-time bill adjustments.

This move is in response to customer concerns regarding higher-than-expected bills resulting from prolonged estimated readings, SEB stated in a statement yesterday.

“These adjustments result from the transition from prolonged under-estimated readings to actual consumption data. The automatic instalment plan will be applied to affected customers, with the option for those requiring additional flexibility to arrange a longer repayment period by contacting Sesco.

“Flexible payment options have long been part of Sesco’s standard operating procedure to assist customers in managing their bills,” SEB said.

SEB Retail vice president Ng Shou Fui explained: “We understand that some customers may face challenges with their electricity bills, particularly those who have experienced prolonged estimated readings due to meter inaccessibility.”

She said the adjusted bill, issued after SEB obtained actual meter readings, reflected the accurate consumption over that period.

While this may lead to a one-time adjustment bill, she said SEB is committed to helping customers manage the adjustments.

“Customers previously billed based on estimates due to circumstances like locked gates or inaccessible meter locations will receive an accurate bill once actual readings are taken,” she added.

According to her, Sesco has implemented several measures to inform customers about inaccessible meters, including indicating estimated bills clearly and issuing locked gate notices through meter readers.

Sesco is committed to ensuring that these adjustments do not impose an undue financial burden on customers, even when access to their premises has been restricted for an extended period, she said.

“We want to assure our customers that we are here to assist them. Our automatic six-month instalment plan is designed to ease financial pressure, and if additional flexibility is needed, customers can reach out to us directly,” pointed out Ng.

She said Sesco manages 780,000 meters, and about three to four per cent of accounts receive estimated bills, while one per cent out of these customers were undercharged.

“We will continue to engage with these customers to ensure that actual readings can be obtained,” she added.

To help reduce discrepancies between estimated bills and actual meter readings, SEB urged customers to verify that the billed reading matched the physical meter readings regularly.