KUALA LUMPUR (Sept 20): The Energy Commission has maintained system access charges (SACs) for third parties to tap on the national grid under the third-party access mechanism introduced this quarter, according to its guidelines published on Friday.

SAC for non-firm or intermittent supply synonymous with renewable energy power generation has been maintained at 45 sen/kWh as revealed at an industry briefing last month, according to information released on the Energy Commission's website.

Similarly, SAC for firm supply, such as battery storage-supported solar farm, remains at 25 sen/kWh as previously announced.

The mechanism, dubbed Corporate Renewable Energy Supply Scheme (CRESS), allows renewable energy plants to be developed upon securing offtake from commercial end-users.

The guideline is effective on Friday, said the Ministry of Energy Transition and Water Transformation (Petra) in a separate statement. Application for CRESS opens from end-September.

Additionally, the guideline stated that one renewable energy plant developer is allowed to contract with more than one consumer for the respective project. A generation licence requires a minimum tenure of 21 years, the guideline said.

"Petra is confident that the implementation of the CRESS programme will support and be the catalyst to the energy transition goals and development of the electricity supply sector, particularly in efforts to increase the share of renewable energy capacity from 26% (equivalent to 10.6GW) to 40% by 2035 and 70% by 2050.

"This initiative will play a crucial role in reducing the carbon footprint of the electricity supply sector and decreasing the country's dependence on fossil fuels for power generation," it said.

Under the scheme, a renewable energy plant developer can negotiate its electricity selling price (called tariff) with an end-user on a commercial basis.

The two parties will utilise the national grid operated by Tenaga Nasional Bhd (KL:TENAGA) to deliver the electricity. They will then pay an SAC, also known as wheeling charges, to use the grid.

CRESS has been in the spotlight among power players and large-scale consumers as it does away with quota limits in past renewable energy programme roll-outs.

Renewable energy has been the theme for Malaysia's industry landscape, amid an influx of investments into data centre projects, which require energy 24 hours a day and favour green energy to meet certain global decarbonisation standards.

It is understood that a number of end-users are already working towards issuing request for proposals to assess the viability of the programme.

CRESS has received mixed responses, with some welcoming the move that further opens up the highly regulated power industry. Currently, solar farm developers bid for quota from the government, resulting in tariffs being pushed down amid intense competition. Data centres are expected to lift Malaysia's electricity capacity demand by 7GW from now to 2030, according to Petra data.

Others point to the SACs that have been proposed under CRESS, which amounts to 45 sen/kWh for non-firm or intermittent supply synonymous with renewable energy power generation. This, critics argue, is too high and makes the entire programme non-bankable.