KUALA LUMPUR (Aug 29): The Malaysian government will proceed with the establishment of the National Energy Council, said Economy Minister Mohd Rafizi Ramli, in order to facilitate the implementation of the National Energy Transition Roadmap (NETR).

The council will be chaired by Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim, with the Ministry of Economy as the secretariat, Rafizi said at the launch of the second phase of the NETR here.

As energy transition emerges as a key economic pillar for Malaysia, the council “would set forth high-level strategic directions and policies, allowing for the working committees to coordinate and report the progress in turn”, he said.

The first council meeting is expected to be held in October, Rafizi added.

Malaysia first mulled the establishment of the National Energy Council in September last year, following the launch of the National Energy Policy 2022-2040 by the previous administration at the time.

Since the change in government in November last year, the energy industry has experienced a series of changes, such as the transition into a targeted subsidy mechanism for electricity prices, adjustment of renewable energy (RE) tariffs to reflect international pricing, lifting of the RE export ban, and expansion of the RE quota and installed capacity target to accelerate the industry transition.

Meanwhile, Anwar, when launching the NETR on Tuesday, also announced the establishment of an RE exchange by 2024.

The exchange, Anwar said, will act as “a market aggregator that will enable price discovery and monetise excess power”.

Rafizi, touching on the exchange, added that it is necessary for the country to command the price premiums of RE that come from cross-border trading. At the same time, a single market aggregator previously touted by Rafizi will play a role in ensuring that the exchange is trusted by market participants, he said.

“What we could say for certain is that we will never be able to fully unlock the true potential of RE without establishing a physical energy exchange in the country.

“As the exchange matures, market-creating products could be created to further unlock value of different markets that yield healthy returns to its participants,” Rafizi said.

“The exchange could also facilitate closer interconnectedness of Southeast Asia, which mutually benefits the region as a single economic bloc,” he added.

Read also:
Nuclear still on the cards in Malaysia’s energy transition
Energy minister urges TNB to provide grid development plan
Malaysia to set aside RM2b to fund marginally bankable energy projects, says PM
Malaysia to invest RM13b by 2040 to improve energy efficiency 
Malaysia to see 10%-15% GDP uplift from its energy transition policy 
Maybank to unveil transition finance framework soon, says sustainability officer