KUALA LUMPUR (Jan 30): YTL Power International Bhd's wholly owned subsidiary in Singapore is collaborating with Tenaga Nasional Bhd's (TNB) unit to supply 100 megawatts (MW) of electricity from Malaysia to Singapore via the newly upgraded interconnector.

YTL Power said YTL PowerSeraya Pte Ltd was awarded the electricity importer licence for Malaysia for a two-year trial by the Energy Market Authority of Singapore (EMA) after a competitive request for proposal process in October 2021.

The group said in a statement on Monday (Jan 30) that YTL PowerSeraya will purchase the electricity from TNB Pasir Gudang Energy Sdn Bhd, a wholly owned special vehicle company under TNB Power Generation Sdn Bhd (TNB Genco). TNB Genco in turn is wholly owned by TNB.

“Both parties [YTL PowerSeraya and TNB Genco] will work closely with the EMA and the Energy Commission [of Malaysia] to refine all technical settings and regulatory arrangements under the electricity import framework, and the agreement will be effective upon fulfilment of conditions precedent,” YTL Power said. 

The collaboration was made official at an exchange of documents ceremony for the cross-border electricity purchase agreement, and witnessed by Singapore’s Minister for Manpower and Second Minister for Trade and Industry Dr Tan See Leng, and International Trade and Industry Minister Tengku Datuk Seri Zafrul Abdul Aziz.

YTL Power said that the agreement marks the first time electricity from Malaysia will be supplied to Singapore on a commercial basis, adhering to the Energy Commission’s Guide for Cross-Border Electricity Sales (CBES Guide). 

It said the CBES Guide, which was released in December 2020 and revised in October 2021, was developed to facilitate cross-border electricity between Malaysia and a neighbouring country towards the vision of the Asean power grid.

YTL PowerSeraya chief executive officer John Ng said the group is honoured to work with TNB to contribute in diversifying Singapore’s energy sources and further enhancing the nation’s energy security. 

“We believe that this is the first step in our vision of a strong Asean power grid, where electricity imports may eventually form a key part of Singapore’s energy mix,” Ng said.

TNB Genco managing director Datuk Nor Azman Mufti also said the collaboration is a positive step for the strengthening of cross-border energy supply towards the realisation of a fully interconnected Asean power grid. 

“This will mark TNB Genco’s maiden foray into the Singapore market via cross-border electricity sales, and we hope this will become the catalyst to capture future projects in this market,” he said. 

YTL PowerSeraya said it is the only party in Singapore with prior experience in cross-border power trade and financial settlements having traded across the interconnector to supply electricity to TNB in Malaysia in 2011 and 2013.

Shares in YTL Power closed unchanged at 73 sen, valuing the group at RM5.96 billion. TNB dropped four sen to RM9.51, valuing the group at RM54.71 billion.