AFA mechanism promotes more transparency, cost-reflective, cost-efficient and reduce the timing gap in fuel prices and foreign currency exchange.
When fuel price increase/decrease, AFA will reflect accordingly.
In summary, AFA mechanism helps to better manage the fuel price volatility.
As published by TNB in its website, AFA for October 2026 is recorded as a surcharge of RM 391 million (equivalent to 3.61 sen/kWh). The surcharge is mainly due to higher fuel prices, which resulted in increased generation costs during the period.
As per recent announcement by the Government, domestic consumers with monthly consumption of 800 kWh and below will not be affected by AFA until December 2026.
The coal price for October 2026 is recorded at 123.76 USD/MT (Base price: 97 USD/MT). Based on the exchange rate of 4.0834 RM/USD for October 2026, this translates to a coal price of 23.16 RM/mmBTU (Base price: 19.14 RM/mmBTU at 4.307 RM/USD).
The Tier 2 gas price for October 2026 is recorded higher than the Base price:
As published by TNB in its website, AFA outlook from November 2026 to January 2027 is projected to range from +4.27 sen/kWh to +7.59 sen/kWh. This projection is based on the Base Case (Emerging Conflict) scenario, mainly driven by higher fuel prices resulting to higher energy cost.
In the latest outlook, fuel prices are trending upward, reflecting the impact of the geopolitical event (US-Israel-Iran conflict) and climate change due to El Niño.
Average coal price of 137 USD/MT as compared to 123 USD/MT (equivalent to 25 RM/mmBTU as compared to 22 RM/mmBTU)
Average Tier 2 gas price of 59 RM/mmBTU as compared to 58 RM/mmBTU
AFA is a mechanism under the Incentive-Based Regulation (IBR) framework that allows for automatic monthly adjustments to reflect the variation (either rebate or surcharge) in the variable component of the Energy Charge, where it is subjected to the (i) movement in the global fuel prices (e.g. coal & gas) and (ii) movement in the foreign currency (e.g. USD to RM).
AFA mechanism promotes more transparency, cost-reflective, cost-efficient and reduce the timing gap in fuel price and foreign currency exchange.
The monthly AFA helps to:
1. Reflects current fuel prices
AFA stays aligned with current market conditions
2. Improves transparency
Customers can see that the increase or decrease of AFA is tied to fuel price movements
AFA reflect monthly adjustment to electricity tariff based on the fuel cost changes driven by movements in the global fuel prices and foreign exchange rate.
The difference between Imbalance Cost Pass-Through (ICPT) and AFA are tabulated as below:
AFA is calculated by comparing the actual fuel cost used in electricity generation against the base fuel cost set in the tariff. If actual costs are higher, a surcharge is applied; if lower, a rebate is given.
Coal
97 USD/MT equivalent to 19.14 RM/mmBTU (based on exchange rate of 4.307 RM/USD)
Gas
AFA is influenced by movements of fuel prices and exchange rate, system conditions (i.e. generators availability, weather conditions which will affect hydro lake levels and solar generation), as well as geopolitical events.
For instance, when coal and gas prices increase above their base prices, the cost of generating electricity rises, which contributes to a higher AFA rate.
Global factors such as supply-demand conditions, currency movements, and geopolitical developments can influence fuel prices, which in turn affect AFA as illustrated further below:
