KUALA LUMPUR (Nov 25): A huge opportunity is emerging for Tenaga Nasional Bhd (TNB) across the entire electricity supply chain in Malaysia from electricity supply to transmission and demand.

As the policies shift following the launch of the National Energy Transition Roadmap, TNB is set to develop around three gigawatt of new solar and hydro-solar hybrid capacity under its purview, signalling a renewed focus into the domestic renewable energy (RE) landscape.

Several policy decisions announced by the government are also positive to the group, including a push for data centre industry growth, a growing electric vehicle market, and looming exports of RE.

More importantly, the utility giant wants to play a leading role in the energy transition infrastructure space, according to chief executive officer Datuk Seri Baharin Din.

In an exclusive interview with The Edge, Baharin shares how TNB could both facilitate more RE installations as the grid operator, at a much faster pace compared to levels seen in recent years.

To facilitate electricity exports, the government has announced a plan to carve out the single buyer entity from TNB to make it independent in order to be the aggregator of the upcoming energy exchange.

Additionally, the government has indicated that it will take time to establish a third-party access (TPA) framework, which industry players had hoped to facilitate a willing-buyer willing seller market through the open up of TNB’s grid infrastructure.

Baharin explains that TNB “wouldn’t want to block” the TPA, and shares why the restructuring of tariffs is a prerequisite before the framework can be properly implemented.

He also shares TNB’s journey to decarbonise its power generation division, which has bogged down the valuation of the group’s other businesses comprising transmission and distribution — its largest revenue contributor — and the growing RE division.

Shares in TNB have rebounded to near their three-year high, with analysts largely bullish on the counter with the latest changes in the industry landscape.

What are the opportunities for TNB in the energy transition, and what does it need to prepare to do so? Get the full story in this week’s issue of The Edge Malaysia.

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