Sweating over higher power bills

GEORGE TOWN: At a time when electricity bills are increasing and individuals are grappling with the financial burden of cooling their homes, the demand for air-conditioning units is surging.

Ahmad Aidil Shukri, 41, said his electricity bill has progressively increased in the past three months.

“I live in a landed property with four rooms that are air-conditioned. My bills have never exceeded RM280 in the past, but since January, they have gone up by a hundred each month.

“In January, the bill was RM320, which was okay, but in February, it went up to RM380, and then in March, it was RM433.

“I told my wife we had to monitor it and budget, but April’s bill just came in, and it is RM583,” he said.

While Ahmad Aidil is shocked, the lawyer said that during the fasting month, the units were switched on throughout the day.

“My kids were fasting, and whenever they napped, they switched it on.

“As much as it is a drastic increase, we know we have no choice. Using the fan just brings in more heat at this point,” he said.

Tuition teacher B. Premala, 67, said while two of her rooms are air-conditioned, she rarely used them until the beginning of this year.

“We have good fans, but the heat has been unbearable.

“I do not use it for long but have noticed that my electricity bill has gone up by RM50 to RM70 a month,” she said.

Businessman Jackson Tan, 50, said he and his wife, however, have been the lucky ones, managing to cut their bill in almost half after moving to a smaller room in their apartment.

“The master bedroom is exposed to direct sunlight, causing the heat to come in.

“Despite using the air conditioning, the room does not cool down until 4am.

“We are living on the seventh floor, so the sun does hit us directly.

“We noticed this during the heatwave and decided to move into our guest room, which is smaller and not exposed to the sun as the opposite wing blocks it out.

“Our bill went down from RM140 to RM75 a month,” he said.

Tan said he did not expect it but was glad the move was reflected in his bill.

“The guest room is 7.5sq m compared to the master, which is 12sq m, which means it cools faster. By 5am we have to switch it off as the room becomes cold,” he said.

An appliance store in a mall is completely out of stock when it comes to air-conditioning units, air-coolers, and stand fans.

According to supervisor Muhaidah Majid, most of their display units have also been snapped up.

“We have to place coloured stickers on our dummy units to inform people that those are fake.

“Some do not mind buying the display units rather than waiting a week or more for new stock to arrive.

“We lost two customers yesterday because they wanted units immediately, but we did not have any.

“Sales have been great, with us selling up to 15 units a month.

“Usually we can only sell one or two,” she said.

Muhaidah said recently that they sold five to a single family.

“Customers tend to buy a few units at a time, and recently we have had constant orders.

“We have completely sold out our air-coolers and do not even have a display unit.

“Even the stand fans are gone, except for the expensive ones.

“We had small rechargeable table fans, but even those have sold out.

“The other day someone insisted on buying the display piece despite it being there for a while,” she said.

She said many are making use of the government rebates as well, which apply to air conditioning units, but mostly because of the heat.

Winx Choo, 31, who works at a shop selling hand, neck and stand fans, said the current fad is the neck fan.

“It is rechargeable, and you do not need to hold it.

“We wear it around the neck, but the speaker parts have tiny fans instead. It is helpful for those who work with their hands.

“Hand-held fans are still equally popular as they are lightweight and easy to use,” she said.