PUTRAJAYA (April 2): The Energy Commission (EC) said that the new round of competitive bidding it launched in March for new power plants in Peninsular Malaysia was a strategic move to address shifting timelines in earlier power projects.

The schedule changes have delayed the expected commission dates of several plants dished out via direct awards in recent years. EC chief executive officer Siti Safinah Salleh said these players are now "at different levels of development”.

“We can share that some of these power plants have shifted (the dates) of when they can actually be commissioned.

“So we do take all that into account in our power sector planning, and that's why we included the new capacity requirements as we plan for NewGen26 (RFP for New Generation Capacity in 2029-2031),” she told the press at the EC’s annual review here.

The EC's latest request for proposal — the second such request it made in two years — is open until July 1.

It follows the first round of bidding — NewGen25 — launched last year and awarded in February, which saw Tenaga Nasional Bhd (KL:TENAGA) emerging as the sole winner with a proposed 1,400MW combined cycle gas plant (CCGT) in Paka, Terengganu.

Before NewGEN25, power plant projects were directly awarded to companies linked to Tenaga, Malakoff Corp Bhd (KL:MALAKOF), YTL Power International Bhd (KL:YTLPOWR), Kinergy Advancement Bhd (KL:KAB), and several others.

One of the reasons power plant developers awarded the project in the first round are facing delays is the shortage of gas turbine.

Only a number of developers, such as Malakoff and YTL Power, have managed to secure gas turbines amid the global shortage. Others either have yet to secure slots or are facing financial constraints as supplier are asking for deposits of up to one-third of the gas turbine price, according to channel checks by The Edge.

Siti Safinah said it is the developers' responsibility to ensure the operationalisation of their power plants, to meet the timelines set.

“The shortage today is because [the slots] have been booked by certain countries or developers… [The situation] may not be the same in the next three months. This is what we understand from the gas turbine manufacturers.

“Those gas turbine requirements... At the end of the day, it is really the developer's responsibility” to meet the timeline to ensure the operationalisation of the power plants, she said.

It is understood that power demand in Peninsular Malaysia may jump more than 5GW in the next few years, fueled by data centre developments.

There will be a net new capacity addition of 100MW this year, said Siti Safinah. More power will come online in stages as the data centres are developed.

To prepare for contingencies, the EC has also extended the power purchase agreement for nine power plants, to secure 4.8GW of power until 2029-2030.