KUALA LUMPUR, July 15 — Cumulative energy savings during the implementation of the National Energy Efficiency Action Plan (NEEAP) to date is 39,382GWh, equivalent to RM10.5 billion, said the Energy Transition and Water Transformation Ministry (Petra).
Petra said until December 2023, the annual energy saving rate was 5.9 per cent, or 8,667GWh, which is worth more than RM2.1 billion.
It said energy users including data centre operators that use electricity equivalent to or exceeding three million kWh in six consecutive months are subject to the Efficient Management of Electrical Energy Regulations (Emeer) 2008.
“To date, there are 22 data centres regulated under Emeer, of which 20 data centres are located in Selangor and Kuala Lumpur, one in Penang and one in Johor Bahru,” said Petra in a written reply today to Datuk Mohd Shahar Abdullah’s (BN-Paya Besar) question about actions to promote energy efficiency in data centre operations and electricity and water reserve margins.
It said the Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission, as the regulatory agency for data centres, is developing a technical code on green data centre specifications.
The code addresses energy usage to improve energy efficiency in data centres and reduce carbon emissions from the sub-sector.
Meanwhile, Petra is finalising the Energy Efficiency and Conservation Bill to strengthen the legal framework related to energy efficiency.
“When this act is enforced on the industrial, commercial and residential sectors, including data centres later, the government expects the national energy consumption savings until 2050 to reach 2,017 million GJ, equivalent to RM97.1 billion, with a reduction in carbon emissions of 197,877kMg of CO2,” it said.
Meanwhile, to ensure the projected electricity supply margin reserve is at least at the minimum level of 25 per cent due to the entry of data centres into the country, the Planning and Implementation Committee for Electricity Supply and Tariff (JPPPET) on May 24 approved the Peninsular Malaysia Electricity Supply Development Plan 2024-2050 to ensure the electricity supply security.
As an immediate mitigation plan, the JPPPET also agreed several power plants will have their operating periods extended to ensure the security of electricity supply due to the inclusion of the data centres.
“In the long term, additional new generation capacity of 700MW in 2030 and 2.8GW between 2031-2034 has been planned in the Peninsular Malaysia Electricity Supply Development Plan 2024-2050,” it said.
As for the water reserve margin, Petra said, the National Water Services Commission recommends a reserve margin of between 10 and 15 per cent.
In 2023, the average margin reserve of treated water for Peninsular Malaysia and Labuan was 14.7 per cent.
“Based on this record, the margin reserve for treated water supply remains stable to support increased data centre investments into the country,” it added.
— Bernama
