A Tenaga Nasional Bhd (TNB) account holder won his final appeal in the Court of Appeal today and was spared from paying about RM850,000 in outstanding electricity bills for alleged meter tampering.
In his ruling, Justice Choo Kah Sing said the manner in which TNB had calculated the loss of revenue sought from M Loganathan was erroneous.
He said this was because the electricity usage before and after the date of inspection was consistent, with the amount always ranging between RM5,000 and RM7,000 a month.
Choo said the utility giant had erred in calculating the loss of revenue which it claimed was RM850,537.86.
“We set aside the sessions court and High Court rulings,” said Choo, a member of the three-panel bench.
Bench chairman Justice P Ravinthran, later ordered TNB to pay Loganathan RM30,000 in costs.
Justice Azhahari Kamal Ramli was also on the bench to hear Loganathan’s appeal.
According to the facts of the case, the electricity meter for the power supply of an ice factory in Klang was located about 300m away from the premises managed by Loganathan’s brother, Pathmanabhan. Loganathan is the registered account holder.
On June 16, 2014, Pathmanabhan reported to TNB that there was a drop in the electricity bill, prompting the company to carry out an inspection on July 9, 2014.
The shortcomings were rectified. However, in July 2020, TNB filed a suit against Loganathan for loss of revenue due to alleged meter tampering.
Pathmanabhan disputed the tampering allegation and contended that towards the last quarter of 2011, the usage of electricity in the factory had decreased due to poor business and manpower shortage.
TNB erroneously calculated the loss of revenue based on the electricity usage utilised during the peak of his business, which is before the last quarter of 2011.
Counsels R Thayalan and P Yashodhan represented Loganathan while Sathya Kumardas and Daud Suliman appeared for TNB.
