The Klang Sessions Court in Selangor has ordered a wood processing company to pay RM476,124.65 in compensation to Tenaga Nasional Bhd (TNB) following the discovery of tampered electricity meters at its premises. Judge Mohd Sabri Ismail delivered the decision after allowing a civil suit filed by the national utility giant against the defendant, Top Status KD Sdn Bhd. The court ruled that the utility company had successfully proven its claims regarding revenue loss resulting from illegal modifications to the electrical installation.
In a written judgement dated 18 March 2026, Judge Mohd Sabri dismissed the defendant’s argument that a significant drop in electricity consumption was due to factory closures during the Movement Control Order (MCO). The court noted that the period of disputed losses began on 31 December 2019, well before the first MCO was implemented on 18 March 2020. Consequently, the defendant failed to provide a credible explanation for the drastic decrease in power usage recorded between December 2019 and October 2020.
The court further found that the testimony provided by the defendant’s witnesses amounted to a “bare denial” and failed to challenge the accuracy or methodology of TNB’s loss calculations. Judge Mohd Sabri emphasised that under Section 38(3), (4), and (5) of the Electricity Supply Act 1990, TNB holds the legal right to recover revenue losses through civil proceedings once meter tampering is proven. The defendant was found to have failed in its burden of proof to rebut the evidence presented by the plaintiff.
The tampering was uncovered on 30 October 2020, when TNB technicians inspected the meter installation at the defendant’s premises in Port Klang, Selangor. The inspection revealed several irregularities, including missing terminal seals and the presence of unauthorised additional circuits. These modifications allowed for the remote control of voltage circuits via specialized wiring between the CT coil and fuses, effectively bypassing accurate recording of electricity consumption for the red and yellow phases.
Following the discovery, TNB calculated the total revenue loss and associated operational costs at RM476,124.65. While the wood processing firm maintained that it had no knowledge of the tampering and insisted the low readings were a result of reduced business activity, the court upheld TNB’s right to full compensation. This ruling reinforces the legal consequences for industrial consumers found manipulating utility meters to evade legitimate operational costs in Malaysia.
