Electricity discount. The Malaysian government recently announced the Extra Economic Stimulus Package 2020 (PRE2020) and the Prihatin Rakyat Economic Stimulus Package (PRIHATIN) to reduce the negative impact of the COVID-19 outbreak on the Malaysian economy as well as to safeguard the welfare of the people. In view of these, Tenaga Nasional Berhad (TNB), a multinational utilities company, announced that its customers will enjoy a discount on electricity consumption charges over a period of six months from April 1 to September 30, 2020.

The discount eligibility is based on the total monthly consumption

(0–200 kWh = 50%; 201–300 kWh = 25%;

301–600 kWh = 15%; and 7 600 kWh = 2%) with the total discount = % Discount x Consumption (kWh). The following table shows the average monthly amount paid

(in RM) by 25 households before and after the discount.

Amount Paid (RM)
Household Before Discount After Discount 1 238 182 2 399 467 3 380 235 4 413 411 5 177 131 6 429 397 7 162 108 8 434 348 9 454 398 10 402 379 11 375 263 12 104 87 13 186 147 14 336 279 15 555 483 16 397 255 17 163 153 18 110 109 19 422 306 20 127 102 21 265 171 22 291 276 23 160 126 24 261 241 25 478 368

a) Do the amounts listed indicate that, on average, the monthly amount paid after discount are lower than the amount paid before discount?

b) Is there any household did not end up paying lesser after the discount? Why would this have happened? Explain.

c) Any other reason that may have made a household to not get as much of a discount?