Changing Consumption
The government has also sought to encourage conservation with a progressive tariff schedule for residential electric power. The first 600 KWh of power is charged at only BN$0.01 ($0.008) per KWh. After 600 KWh, tariffs rise to BN$0.08 ($0.06), BN$0.10 ($0.08) once consumption surpasses 2000 KWh and to BN$0.12 ($0.09) after 4000 KWh. However, Brunei Darussalam’s top rate is still less than half the average US and European rate. While initially the introduction of the new tariffs in 2012 did little to slow residential power usage, by December 2013 there was a 12%, or 266 GWh, in electricity usage, which rises to 16% if 4% growth is taken into account.