TNB AFA Rate This Month: +3.61 Sen/kWh, 800 kWh Exempt
The Automatic Fuel Adjustment (AFA) on Malaysian electricity bills is +3.61 sen per kWh for October 2026, set by the Energy Commission (ST) and down from +3.67 sen in September, paultan.org reported on Oct. 1. It is the sixth month in a row that the AFA is a surcharge. Households using 800 kWh or less a month pay no AFA, no RM10 retail charge and no sales and service tax (SST) until Dec. 31, 2026. The threshold goes back to 600 kWh on Jan. 1, 2027.
The exemption started on Sept. 1 and is backdated, so it shows on bills issued in October. TNB's chief executive, Datuk Shamsul Ahmad, said whatever was charged will be rebated in the October bill (The Star).
TNB AFA rate by month in 2026
| Bill month, 2026 | AFA, sen per kWh | What it means |
|---|---|---|
| Oct. | +3.61 | surcharge |
| Sept. | +3.67 | surcharge |
| Aug. | +3.80 | surcharge |
| July | +3.59 | surcharge |
| June | +2.59 | surcharge |
| May | +1.38 | surcharge |
| Apr. | −0.47 | rebate |
| Mar. | −2.15 | rebate |
| Feb. | −2.77 | rebate |
| Jan. | −4.99 | rebate |
The rates are the ones reported by paultan.org for each month. A positive number is a surcharge on every kWh and a negative number is a rebate. AFA replaced the old fuel-cost pass-through when the new tariff began on July 1, 2025. It moves up or down by up to 3 sen/kWh automatically, and bigger changes need Cabinet approval. The computed rate has been above that 3 sen band for five months, paultan.org noted (Oct. 1).
Who pays the AFA now? The 800 kWh exemption
| Monthly use | AFA | RM10 retail charge | SST |
|---|---|---|---|
| 800 kWh or less | not charged | not charged | not charged |
| More than 800 kWh | charged on the whole month's use | charged | charged |
Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim announced on Sept. 17 that domestic users up to 800 kWh would be exempt from the AFA, the retail charge and SST from September to Dec. 31, up from 600 kWh, because the haze and hot weather had pushed up electricity use (Malay Mail). The AFA exemption is all-or-nothing: a household that crosses the threshold pays the surcharge on its whole month's use, not just the excess, paultan.org explained. Above 800 kWh the AFA, the retail charge and SST are all incurred, TNB's Shahannom Izham said (The Star).
TNB says more than eight million domestic users, almost 90% of those in Peninsular Malaysia, are covered by the 800 kWh threshold, which is about a million more than at 600 kWh. It expects to absorb RM120 million to RM150 million in AFA surcharges from September to December (The Star).
How much does the exemption save?
| Monthly use | Removed from the bill, at September's +3.67 sen |
|---|---|
| 700 kWh | about RM39: AFA RM25.70, retail charge RM10, SST about RM3.50 |
| 800 kWh | about RM47 |
These are paultan.org's figures at September's rate (paultan.org). TNB said a household using about 700 kWh can expect a bill about 13% lower (The Star). At October's +3.61 sen the AFA alone would be RM25.27 at 700 kWh and RM28.88 at 800 kWh, by our arithmetic.
What is in a TNB bill?
| Bill component | Rate |
|---|---|
| Generation charge | 27.03 sen/kWh up to 1,500 kWh a month, 37.03 sen/kWh above that |
| Capacity charge | 4.55 sen/kWh |
| Network charge | 12.85 sen/kWh |
| Retail charge | RM10 a month, waived at 800 kWh or less until December 2026 |
| AFA | +3.61 sen/kWh for October 2026, waived at 800 kWh or less until December 2026 |
Up to 1,500 kWh a month, the generation, capacity and network charges add up to 44.43 sen/kWh before the retail charge and the AFA, paultan.org worked out. The AFA is positive because fuel costs are above the baselines used to set the tariff. In October, coal was US$123.76 a tonne against a US$97 base, and Tier 2 gas was RM58.92 per mmBTU against a RM46 base, the same report said.
What happens in January 2027?
| TNB's outlook | AFA, sen per kWh |
|---|---|
| Nov. 2026 | +4.27 (was +2.81 a month ago) |
| Dec. 2026 | +4.46 (was +5.48 a month ago) |
| Jan. 2027 | +7.59, which would be the highest since AFA began in July 2025 |
TNB calls its outlook an estimate. The final figure depends on actual fuel costs and any government support (paultan.org). The 800 kWh exemption ends on Dec. 31, and TNB's pledge to absorb the surcharge covers September to December only. On what comes after December, Shamsul said TNB would hold further talks with the government on how to limit the impact on consumers (The Star).
When will the November AFA rate be announced?
The monthly rate has been reported between the last days of the previous month and the first week of the month this year: Dec. 26 for January, Feb. 3, Mar. 6, Mar. 31 for April, May 7, June 2, July 1, Aug. 1, Sept. 2 and Oct. 1 (paultan.org). November's rate should therefore appear between Oct. 30 and the first days of November, and TNB's estimate is +4.27 sen/kWh. This page is updated when it does.
Where to check your usage and the rate
- Your usage: TNB says customers can follow daily and monthly use on the myTNB app (The Star).
- The monthly rate: the Energy Commission sets it each month.
Figures are from paultan.org's reports of Oct. 1 and Sept. 17, 2026, The Star's report of Sept. 19 and Malay Mail's report of Sept. 17, and are correct as of Oct. 15. The rates apply to TNB customers in Peninsular Malaysia. Check your bill or TNB for your own charges.
