PETALING JAYA, Dec 14 — The government is in the early stages of amending the Electricity Supply Act 1990 to include the current regulatory landscape of the Malaysian energy sector and in line with the electricity market reforms.
Act 447 is to provide for the regulation of the electricity supply industry, the supply of electricity at reasonable prices, the licensing of any electrical installation, the control of any electrical installation, plant and equipment with respect to matters relating to the safety of persons and the efficient use of electricity.
Energy Transition and Public Utilities Ministry senior undersecretary of electricity supply division Mareena Mahpudz said the ministry was currently engaging with regulators such as the Attorney General’s Chamber and was expected to resolve the issues arising from the discussion soon.
“Most of the issues raised (in the report released today) have not been addressed by the law as the Act was formulated many years ago. The biggest task given to the ministry actually is to amend the law and it is not easy,” she told a forum today.
Mareena was one of the panellists discussing the report titled “Competitive Neutrality in the Malaysian Power Sector: Removing Barriers for a Greener and More Inmovative Energy Industry” released by the Institute for Democracy and Economic Affairs (Ideas) today.
In the report, Ideas outlined two recommendations for Malaysia’s power sector.
The think tank proposed a comprehensive reform of the electricity supply industry to increase the share of renewable energy, to foster a more competitive market in line with the fundamental principles of the National Energy Transition Roadmap (NETR).
It also proposed enhancing competitive neutrality, both broadly across government-linked companies (GLCs) and specifically within the electricity supply industry to unlock new investment opportunities and propel the growth of sustainable, green practices.
Ideas senior fellow Renato Lima de Oliveira said implementing competitive neutrality in Malaysia’s energy sector would aid energy transition.
“There are obstacles for free and open competition in the energy sector such as ownership restrictions, concentration in the hands of a few players, land ownership access challenges when we go to solar emergy because solar is land intensive and that comes under state governments’ purview,” he noted.
De Oliveira said adopting competitive neutrality framework would be one of the instruments towards further growth of the energy industry, which has a total of 36 gigawatt of installed capacity in renewable energy.
“We have the opportunity to change the market to open up new revenue flows, including energy export. Investors will come if they see the market is not tilted towards certain players and if the regulations are actually fair and predictable as well as supportive of growth,” he pointed out.
The report was authored by De Oliveira which delves into crucial aspects of Malaysia’s power industry, addressing obstacles and proposing pathways for a more level-playing field among industry players to enable an efficient transition toward renewable energy use in Malaysia.
— Bernama
