June 3, 2026

AFA in Your TNB Bill: What Malaysians Should Know

AFA in Your TNB Bill: What It Means for You

If you have been checking your TNB bill more closely, you may have noticed a term called AFA, which stands for Automatic Fuel Adjustment.

This was introduced as part of Malaysia’s new electricity tariff structure under Regulatory Period 4 (RP4), which took effect on 1 July 2025. According to Suruhanjaya Tenaga (ST), AFA replaced the previous ICPT mechanism and allows fuel-related generation costs to be adjusted automatically based on current fuel prices and foreign exchange movements, with updates reported monthly.

1) So, what is AFA actually?

In simple terms, AFA is a way to reflect the real cost of generating electricity.

Here’s the basic idea:

TNB’s base tariff is set based on estimated electricity supply costs.
But in real life, fuel prices do not stay the same.
Global prices for fuels like coal and gas can move up or down.
Currency exchange rates can also affect generation costs.

Because of that, AFA helps adjust part of the bill based on actual market conditions instead of relying only on older estimates. ST says this new mechanism is more dynamic because it automatically tracks current fuel prices and exchange rate movements.

2) Why was AFA introduced?

AFA was introduced to make electricity pricing more transparent while aligning it more closely with actual fuel and currency cost changes.

Since these costs can rise or fall over time, the new mechanism allows adjustments to be made more regularly. This helps consumers understand why their electricity bills may change from month to month.

3) Does AFA always mean you pay more?

Not necessarily.

This is where many people get confused. AFA is not automatically a surcharge. TNB states that the AFA charge can be in the form of either a rebate or a surcharge, depending on actual conditions.

A good example is the latest update for June 2026:

The AFA rate for June 2026 is +2.59 sen/kWh

The AFA rate for May 2026 is +1.38 sen/kWh

The AFA rate for April 2026 is -0.47 sen/kWh
In March 2026, the AFA rate was -2.15 sen/kWh

That means AFA was still a rebate in April, but the latest update for June 2026 shows that AFA has changed to a surcharge of +2.59 sen/kWh. This means affected users will now see an additional AFA charge instead of a rebate from May 2026.

4) Who needs to pay attention to AFA?

Based on TNB’s FAQ:

Domestic customers using more than 600 kWh per month are subject to AFA.
Non-domestic customers are also subject to AFA, which generally includes businesses, commercial buildings, offices, factories, retail outlets, and other premises that are not billed under domestic household tariff.
For Solar ATAP users, AFA is calculated based on the total imported kWh from the grid. TNB also explains that this can still happen because customers may use grid electricity at night, even if they export solar energy during the day.

That means having solar does not automatically remove AFA from your bill. If you still import electricity from the grid, AFA may still apply.

5) What should consumers take away from this?

The biggest takeaway is this: AFA may be outside your control, but your electricity usage is not.

For homes and businesses with higher electricity usage, changes in fuel-related costs can have more impact. That is why energy efficiency, smarter usage habits, and reducing unnecessary grid dependence matter even more under the new tariff structure. This is a practical inference from how ST and TNB describe AFA’s link to imported electricity and fuel-cost adjustments.

Final thought

AFA is a billing mechanism that reflects actual fuel and currency costs in electricity generation. Once you understand how it works, your TNB bill becomes easier to read and easier to manage.