KUALA LUMPUR (Feb 13): Tenaga Nasional Bhd (KL:TENAGA) has emerged as the biggest winner in the government’s bidding exercise for new gas power plants and extension of operations for existing ones.

A consortium between Tenaga and Aurora Power Generation Sdn Bhd bagged the win with its proposed 1,400MW combined cycle power plant in Paka, Terengganu, the Energy Commission (EC) said in a statement.

“The capacity requirement is intended to support the anticipated growth in electricity demand, primarily from new data centres and to ensure the stability of electricity supply in the system,” EC said.

“The process was carried out in accordance with the international competitive bidding standard,” it added.

The bidding exercise, which the EC said attracted existing and new players, was launched in 2025 and is the first competitive bidding for thermal power plants since 2012.

Tenaga, in a company filing, said it has received a letter of notification from the EC for the project, and has fulfilled all applicable requirements stipulated in the LON. 

Construction for the project, which involves a power purchase agreement of 15 years, is estimated to take three years, it said.

"The project is expected to enhance the security and reliability of electricity supply in Peninsular Malaysia, particularly in the eastern region," Tenaga said. 

"The project will strengthen the resilience of the transmission network and support future regional power interconnection initiatives, including the proposed transmission link between Vietnam, Malaysia and Singapore," it added.

It is understood that Tenaga has a separate gas power plant in the works in Paka with partner AM Generation Sdn Bhd — featuring a similar 1,400MW capacity.

For operations for existing power plants, three power plants linked to Tenaga has secured PPA extensions until Dec 31, 2029, namely the Gelugor power plant in Penang (310MW), Putrajaya power plant (249MW), and Tuanku Ja’afar power plant (PD1) in Port Dickson (703MW).

Edra Power Holdings Sdn Bhd separately secured extensions for independent power producers (IPPs): Panglima Power Sdn Bhd (700MW) in Melaka, and Kuala Langat Power Sdn Bhd (675MW) in Selangor.

National oil company PETRONAS, through its indirect subsidiary Pengerang Power Sdn Bhd, secured an additional capacity of 150MW, the statement read.

Malakoff Corp Bhd (KL:MALAKOFF), as announced previously, secured an extension for three plants held by Segari Energy Ventures Sdn Bhd in Perak (1,303MW), GB3 Sdn Bhd, also in Perak (429MW), and Prai Power Sdn Bhd in Penang (350MW), also until Dec 31, 2029.

Shares of Tenaga closed eight sen or 0.57% lower at RM13.96 on Friday, giving the group a market capitalisation of RM81.37 billion.

Malakoff shares slipped half a sen or 0.63% to close at 78.5 sen, giving it a market capitalisation of RM3.93 billion.