Malaysia may ask Tenaga to cut power tariffs-report

KUALA LUMPUR, Jan 13 (Reuters) - Malaysia may ask national power utility Tenaga (TENA.KL) to lower electricity tariffs before a scheduled review in June following the sharp fall in fuel prices, state news agency Bernama reported on Tuesday.

The government will study the possibility of national oil company Petronas [PETR.UL] lowering the price of natural gas it supplies to Tenaga before deciding on the cut, said Energy, Water and Communications Minister Shaziman Abu Mansor.

"If the gas price shows a downtrend, surely the electricity tariff can be lowered," Shaziman was quoted by Bernama as saying.

Natural gas accounts for about 60 percent of Tenaga's fuel requirement with the rest coming from coal. The high cost of electricity was recently cited by the U.S. Chamber of Commerce in Malaysia as a major drag on investment.

Currently, Tenaga buys gas from Petronas at a fixed price of 14.31 ringgit ($4) per million British Thermal Units.

Shaziman said the price review could happen before June.

"If possible, we want to speed up the power tariff reduction," he said.

Power tariffs were raised 24 percent last June as the government slashed costly fuel subsidies at a time when crude prices traded at around $125 a barrel.

Separately, the Sun newspaper said in a SMS alert on Tuesday that a proposal on the matter will be presented to the cabinet on Wednesday.

(Reporting by Soo Ai Peng; Editing by David Chance)