Effective Date: 19 June 2026
Last Updated: 19 June 2026
Who this is for
| You are… | Read |
|---|---|
| Owner: settlement, meter purchase / installation, warranty | Part A: Owners |
| Tenant: you top up for room electricity | Part B: Tenants |
Rules for both parties: How we handle problems · How to contact us
Who is responsible for what
As a tenant, your tenancy is an agreement between you and your property owner. It covers your rent, your deposit, which room you occupy, the energy rate set for that room, and what happens when you leave. Powerlah is not your landlord and is not a party to your tenancy.
Powerlah provides the app, the payment service, and the meter.
We pass your top-ups to your property owner on a regular cycle, less our fees. Once that money is in your owner’s bank account, we no longer hold it, so a cash refund at that point has to come from your owner.
| Your request is about… | Who decides and pays |
|---|---|
| Your tenancy: you are moving out, you are changing rooms, your room or energy rate was set up wrongly, or you are in dispute with your owner | Your property owner pays any cash after settlement. Tell us and we confirm the unused balance and pass the request on (A3, B6) |
| Unused prepayment we still hold (not yet settled to your owner) | Powerlah may reverse it (B3) |
| Our payment service: you were charged twice, or a payment never reached your account | Powerlah (B5) |
| Our meter or app: a Powerlah meter fault while still under warranty, or a system bug | Powerlah (B5) |
Whoever owes the cash, we always correct your Powerlah account itself. If electricity was wrongly deducted from your prepayment, we put that prepayment back. You do not have to wait for the cash side to be settled between us and your owner.
Nothing in this section removes your rights under the Consumer Protection Act 1999 or your right to dispute a card charge with your bank. See B9.
Words we use
| Term | What it means |
|---|---|
| Top-up | A payment a tenant makes in the Powerlah app to add utility costs prepayment to their account. |
| Utility costs prepayment (“prepayment”) | The prepaid amount in a tenant’s Powerlah account. It can only be spent on metered electricity in the room assigned to that tenant. |
| Used electricity | kWh the meter has recorded and deducted from the prepayment at the then-current rate. |
| Unused prepayment | Prepayment in the account that has not yet been spent on electricity. |
| Settlement | The periodic payment Powerlah makes to an owner. It passes on what that owner’s tenants have prepaid, less our fees, as set out in the Owner Agreement. |
| Owner Agreement | The signed contract between the owner and Powerlah. This policy does not replace it. Where the two differ, the Owner Agreement applies to owners. |
| DOA (dead on arrival) | A meter that fails basic function before or at first commissioning. |
| RMA | Our written authorisation, given before you send a meter back for return, repair or replacement. |
Quick summary
| Situation | Owner | Tenant |
|---|---|---|
| Prepayment sitting in a tenant’s account | We usually pay it to you on a monthly basis. We do not hold tenant prepayments based on actual electricity usage. | You can spend it on room electricity. It does not expire. |
| Electricity actually used | The matching amount as calculated based on your property configuration and covered under your settled payment. | Not refundable. |
| Prepayment not yet used | After settlement, you hold this money, so you pay cash refunds. Before settlement, we may still reverse it. | Transfer it to another room with the same owner, or ask for a cash refund under B3. |
| Tenant moves out / wrong room or rate setup | You settle the unused balance with the tenant under A3. Having been paid does not cancel their claim. | Your unused prepayment is not forfeited. After settlement, your owner is responsible for cash refunds. |
| Charged twice, payment never applied, unauthorised charge, or our fault | We recover any amount we paid you that was charged in error. | We restore your prepayment or reverse the payment. |
| Faulty or unused meter | Return an unused meter, get a DOA refund, or use the 365-day warranty (repair or replace). We refund the installation fee only if the install failed or never happened. | We restore prepayment that was wrongly deducted. |
Part A: Owners
A1. What settlement covers
We do not pay you for electricity used at your property. We pass on what your tenants have prepaid.
Each settlement period, we pay you the top-ups your tenants made in that period, less our fees. Your Owner Agreement sets those fees and the settlement timing. This policy does not set any percentage.
This means we normally pay you before the electricity is fully used. Any part of a settlement that matches prepayment the tenant has not yet used is not finally yours. The tenant can still spend it on electricity, transfer it, or ask for it back. Treat it as money you hold on the strength of that tenant’s claim, not as revenue you have earned.
Because you hold that money after settlement, you settle tenancy-related cash refunds with your tenant directly (A3). We settle payment and equipment problems that are ours (B5), and recover from you afterwards where A2 says so.
Once a meter accurately records electricity as used, the matching amount is settled use and is final, subject to A2.
A2. When we adjust your settlement
Tenancy-related cash refunds are yours to pay the tenant directly (A3). This section covers only the cases we reverse or restore ourselves under B5, which include payment failures, unauthorised charges, and confirmed Powerlah meter or system faults, and chargebacks. In those cases we act first, then recover from you under your Owner Agreement where we had already passed the money to you.
| What happened | Usual effect on your settlement |
|---|---|
| A tenant’s bank reversed a top-up (chargeback) | We already passed that top-up to you, so we deduct the amount from a later settlement, or invoice you if no settlement is due. |
| Electricity was accurately metered and used | The matching amount stays yours as settled use. We do not reverse it because the tenant changed their mind. |
| We confirm a Powerlah meter or system fault wrongly charged a tenant, and we restore that prepayment under B5 | We may correct the amount on a later statement. |
| A tenant was charged twice, or a payment never reached their account | Usually no effect on you, because there was no real top-up to pass on. If we did pay it to you by mistake, we recover it. |
| A top-up was unauthorised or fraudulent | Unused fraudulent prepayment is not treated as settled use, and we recover any part of it we paid you. Electricity that was actually and properly used is handled under your Owner Agreement. |
We recover from you only the amount we actually paid you for that top-up. We reverse our own fee ourselves.
Having been paid already does not end a tenant’s claim to unused prepayment. How we make any recovery under this section follows your Owner Agreement.
A3. Tenant move-out and other tenancy refunds
Your tenant’s relationship for the room, the rent, the deposit and the energy rate is with you. Once we have settled a top-up into your bank account, we no longer hold that money, so you settle these cash refunds with your tenant:
- the tenant moves out with unused prepayment
- the tenant changes rooms or leaves your property
- the room, tenant assignment or energy rate was set up wrongly by you or your agent
- any other tenancy dispute that leads to a claim for unused prepayment
When a tenant leaves a room or asks for a tenancy-related refund:
- Their unused prepayment is not forfeited.
- They may transfer it to another Powerlah room under the same owner where the platform allows that.
- For a cash refund of unused prepayment after settlement, the tenant asks you. We can confirm the unused balance from our records and pass the request on, but we do not pay that cash ourselves once the money is in your account.
- You should settle the unused balance with the tenant after the final meter reading, using the figures we provide.
- You should not use Powerlah’s switch turn-off feature to enforce rent payment.
If we still hold a top-up that has not yet been settled to you, we may reverse it ourselves and tell you. After settlement, cash for tenancy reasons is your responsibility.
A4. Tariff and room setup accuracy
You must set room assignments and room energy rates correctly, and keep them the same as what you disclose to tenants. Wrong setup is a tenancy matter between you and the tenant (A3).
If your wrong rate or wrong room setup takes too much from a tenant’s prepayment, we correct the tenant’s Powerlah ledger (we put the excess prepayment back). Any cash the tenant is then owed comes from you under A3, because we have usually already settled that money to you. Platform software faults and in-warranty meter defects are different: we restore the prepayment under B5, and any settlement correction between you and Powerlah follows A2 and your Owner Agreement.
A5. Meter purchase refunds
We sell or supply meter hardware to the owner or an authorised purchaser, never to a tenant. A purchase refund covers the price of the device only. It never comes out of, and is never paid from, a tenant’s prepayment.
| Situation | What you get |
|---|---|
| Dead on arrival: the meter fails basic function before or at first commissioning | A full refund of the purchase price, or a free replacement. You choose, as long as we have stock. |
| Return of an unused meter: unopened or like-new, with seals intact | A refund of the device price if you return it within 14 days of delivery, or within the period stated on your order if that period is different. We deduct any restocking fee we disclosed. You must get RMA authorisation before sending it back. |
| Wrong item, or the meter is not as described | We send the correct unit, or refund that meter’s full purchase price. |
| You change your mind after the meter is installed or energised | No refund of the purchase price. If the meter has a manufacturing defect, use the warranty (A7). |
| Manufacturing defect within the warranty period | We repair or replace the meter first (A7). We refund the hardware purchase price only if repair or replacement is not reasonably available. |
| Abuse, tampering, broken seals, unauthorised modification, wiring by an installer we did not authorise, or liquid, fire or surge damage outside the meter’s specifications | No purchase refund, and the warranty may be void. |
How to claim: use the owner portal or email [email protected] with the order ID, meter serial or QR, proof of purchase, and any photos or diagnostics we ask for. We issue approved hardware refunds as a credit note or a reversal to the original payment method. We never pay them from a tenant’s prepayment.
A6. Installation refunds
Installation is a service you buy separately from the meter. It is unrelated to tenant prepayment.
| Situation | What you get |
|---|---|
| We never started the install, or Powerlah cancelled it before any site work | A full refund of the installation fee we disclosed. |
| The install failed or was never completed for reasons within our control (we did not show up, commissioning was incomplete, or the meter could not go live after reasonable attempts) | A full refund of the installation fee. The meter itself follows A5: keep it, return it unused, or rebook the install. |
| The install is complete and the meter is commissioned (online and measuring correctly) | The installation fee is not refundable if you change your mind. |
| The install is defective (wiring or commissioning error by Powerlah or an installer we authorised) | We put it right at our cost. If we still cannot bring the meter into proper service, we refund the installation fee and give you the A5 options for the device. |
| The site was not ready, access was denied, or an electrician you arranged made an error | The fee for the wasted visit is not refundable, provided we disclosed that charge beforehand. A rebooking fee may apply. The meter still follows A5. |
| You or a third party install the meter without Powerlah authorisation | There is no installation fee to refund, because we did not charge one. Incorrect installation may void the warranty (A7). |
Installation refunds never include tenant top-ups, platform subscription fees (if any), or amounts we have already settled to you from tenant top-ups.
A7. Hardware warranty (365 days)
- We repair or replace a meter that has a manufacturing defect, through a Powerlah RMA. Only the property owner or an authorised installer can start this.
- The warranty runs for 365 days from install date.
- Confirmed in-warranty repair or replacement is free. If the meter tests healthy, we may charge the call-out or “no fault found” fee we disclosed. We waive that fee if we confirm a warranty fault.
- If we confirm that a meter fault caused a wrong deduction from a tenant’s prepayment, we restore that prepayment under Part B while we repair or replace the meter.
Abuse, tampering, or damage that is not a manufacturing defect may be excluded, as set out in your Owner Agreement.
A8. Cancelling Powerlah service (owner)
If you cancel platform service for a property:
- Amounts matching electricity your tenants have already used stay yours under the statements we have settled.
- Tenants keep their right to transfer unused prepayment or to be refunded it. Cash refunds for unused prepayment after settlement remain your responsibility under A3. We recover under A2 only for the Powerlah-paid cases in B5 and for chargebacks.
- We may hold back a short-term exit reserve from your final settlements to cover pending chargebacks and fault-related restores.
- Installed meters are not automatically refunded when you cancel. Unused or uninstalled stock can still be returned under A5 if the return window is still open. The warranty continues for the rest of its term under A7.
- Cancelling does not make unused tenant prepayment yours, including any part of it we have already paid you. You must still settle those balances with your tenants.
Notice periods and any exit fees are in your Owner Agreement.
A9. Chargebacks
If a tenant’s bank disputes a top-up, we may:
- hold the part of your payout that relates to that top-up,
- contest the dispute with evidence, and
- adjust your settlement under A2 if we lose the dispute on unused amounts, or on amounts that should not have been settled to you.
Please respond to reasonable requests for evidence, such as billing settings, room assignment records, and access logs where relevant.
Disputes over owner hardware or installation payments follow A5 to A7 and your purchase or work-order records.
A10. Owner disputes
Owner matters, including RMA, meter and installation refunds, settlement adjustments, tenancy-related unused-prepayment refunds you owe tenants under A3, and business-to-business settlement disputes, go through the owner portal and the channel named in your Owner Agreement. They do not go through the tenant tribunal route in B9. Contact [email protected] or your account manager.
Part B: Tenants
B1. What you buy
When you top up, you buy prepaid utility costs for the room assigned to you.
- You can only spend it on Powerlah. It is not a TNB account, and you cannot spend it anywhere else.
- Your prepayment does not expire.
- We deduct prepaid utility costs at a rate configured by your property owner, including any applicable payment and platform fees.
B2. Electricity you have used
Once the meter has recorded electricity as used and deducted it at the correct disclosed rate, we do not refund that amount in cash because you changed your mind. If you believe the deduction was wrong, see B5.
B3. Prepayment you have not used
You can do any of the following with unused prepayment:
- Spend it on electricity in your assigned room.
- Transfer it, free of charge, to another Powerlah room under the same verified account and the same owner, where the platform allows that. This is the fastest option and the one we prefer.
- Ask for a cash refund of the unused amount. Who pays that refund depends on whether we still hold the money:
| When you ask | Who pays the cash refund |
|---|---|
| Before we settle that top-up to your owner | Powerlah may reverse it to your original payment method after identity and ledger checks |
| After we have settled that top-up into your owner’s bank account | Your property owner. We confirm your unused balance and pass the request on; we do not pay that cash ourselves because we no longer hold the money |
We do not forfeit unused prepayment when your tenancy ends, or because your owner has already been paid.
If you have used part of a top-up, only the remaining unused amount can be transferred or refunded.
B4. Change of mind
Once a top-up is successfully added to your account, there is no general cooling-off period and no cash refund simply because you regret the top-up. Instead, use the prepayment, transfer it, or ask for a refund of the unused amount under B3.
B5. When Powerlah always helps
We reverse the payment or restore your prepayment once we verify any of the following:
- Duplicate charge: you were charged twice for the same top-up.
- Never applied: we took the payment, but the prepayment never appeared in your account.
- Unauthorised use: someone else used your payment method or your account.
- Our error: a Powerlah meter fault, a Powerlah system bug, or a switch turn-off while you still had usable prepayment.
We charge no processing fee in these cases. While we investigate a live supply problem, we can pause a cut-off, give you a temporary grace allowance, or both.
Wrong room setup or a wrong energy rate set by your owner is not a Powerlah error. We correct your Powerlah ledger if electricity was wrongly deducted, then your owner settles any cash under A3 and B6.
B6. Moving out, room changes and other tenancy matters
Your tenancy, including move-out, room changes, deposits and the energy rate for your room, is between you and your property owner. Powerlah is not your landlord, nor is it a party to your tenancy agreement.
When your room assignment ends, or when a tenancy issue leaves you with unused prepayment:
- Your unused prepayment does not expire and is not forfeited.
- Transferring it to another Powerlah room under your account and the same owner is the quickest option, where the platform allows that.
- For a cash refund after we have settled the top-up to your owner, ask your owner. We will confirm the unused balance after the final meter reading and can pass your request on with those figures.
- If we still hold the top-up because it has not yet been settled, see B3.
- Electricity you have already used is not refundable.
- Any automatic top-up is cancelled when the room is unassigned.
- Please raise the request within 30 days of the room being unassigned, or at any time while your account is open. Asking later does not forfeit your prepayment, but it may take longer to confirm the balance.
B7. Fees and timing (tenants)
| Request type | Fee |
|---|---|
| Transfer unused prepayment to another room | Free |
| Fault, duplicate charge, payment never applied, or unauthorised charge | Free |
| Cash refund of unused prepayment that Powerlah still holds (not yet settled to your owner) | A fee covering payment processing costs we cannot recover, currently between RM5 and RM10. We show you the exact amount before you confirm. |
| Cash refund of unused prepayment after settlement to your owner | Settled between you and your owner. Powerlah does not charge a fee for confirming the balance. |
Our targets for matters we handle:
| Step | Target |
|---|---|
| We acknowledge your request | Within 3 business days; within 1 to 2 business days if your supply is cut off or your meter is faulty |
| We complete an approved transfer, or a Powerlah cash reverse of unsettled unused prepayment | Within 14 working days after verification is complete |
| We restore prepayment we confirm was wrongly deducted | Within 24 hours of confirming it |
| We confirm your unused balance and pass a post-settlement refund request to your owner | Within 5 business days after verification is complete |
After we send a refund we are responsible for, your bank or card issuer may take a few more business days to post it. Timing for cash your owner pays is between you and your owner.
B8. Hardware and your top-ups
Returning a meter does not turn your top-ups into cash. Meter warranty claims are an owner process (A5 to A7). If we confirm that a meter fault wrongly deducted your prepayment, we restore that prepayment under this policy while the meter is repaired or replaced.
B9. Your rights and complaints
Nothing in this policy limits rights you have under the Consumer Protection Act 1999 that cannot be excluded, or your right to dispute an unauthorised card charge with your bank.
If your request is a tenancy matter (move-out, room change, wrong room or rate setup), contact your property owner first. We can confirm your unused balance and pass the request on. For payment failures, unauthorised charges or Powerlah meter or system faults, contact Powerlah Support first.
If that does not resolve the matter, you can:
- complain to KPDN through e-Aduan or 1-800-886-800, and then
- bring a claim to the Tribunal for Consumer Claims Malaysia (TTPM) at https://ttpm.kpdn.gov.my/, which normally hears claims of up to RM50,000.
How we handle problems
- You report the issue. Tenants can use the app or by email (transfer, unused prepayment after move-out, duplicate or unauthorised charge, meter or cut-off problem).
- We acknowledge your report and investigate using your account records, meter logs, and settlement records.
- We decide whose responsibility it is:
- Powerlah: duplicate charge, payment never applied, unauthorised use, or a confirmed Powerlah meter or system fault. We restore the prepayment or reverse the payment first. If we had already settled that money to the owner, we recover it under A2.
- Owner: move-out, room change, wrong room or rate setup by the owner, or any other tenancy-related claim for unused prepayment after settlement. We confirm the unused balance, correct the tenant’s ledger if electricity was wrongly deducted, and pass the cash request to the owner. The owner pays the tenant.
- We handle hardware and installation issues separately under A5 to A7. Doing so does not replace restoring a tenant’s prepayment where B5 applies.
How to contact us
| Who | Channel |
|---|---|
| Owners | Owner portal, [email protected], or your account manager |
| Tenants | Support in the Powerlah app, or [email protected] |
Please include your property, room or meter ID, any payment or settlement reference, and a short description of the problem.