The Malaysian government has unveiled a package of measures to accelerate its Corporate Renewable Energy Supply Scheme, including a fixed grid-access charge for firm power and mandatory 10-year contracts, aimed at improving project bankability and encouraging development.
Malaysia’s Ministry of Energy Transition and Water Transformation (PETRA) has announced a package of changes to the Corporate Renewable Energy Supply Scheme (CRESS) to improve project bankability and encouraging new renewable-energy development.
CRESS, introduced in 2024, is a third-party-access mechanism that allows renewable energy developers to supply electricity directly to corporate green consumers using Malaysia’s existing grid, as an alternative to procuring power solely through state utility Tenaga Nasional Berhad (TNB).
PETRA said 11 renewable energy developers and eight green consumers had registered with the scheme’s Single Buyer entity since 2024, covering projects with a combined capacity of 3,148 MW. The ministry’s press release does not identify the companies involved, nor does it specify how much of that capacity has advanced to construction, financing or operation. The figure represents registered project capacity rather than confirmed built or operational capacity.
A central element of the reform package concerns the system access charge (SAC), the fee renewable developers pay to use Malaysia’s grid to deliver power to corporate buyers. Under the original 2024 framework, the SAC was set separately for firm (dispatchable) and non-firm output, initially at MYR 0.25 ($0.06)/kWh and MYR 0.45/kWh respectively. Those rates were later reduced to MYR 0.20/kWh and MYR 0.40/kWh in 2025.
PETRA said stakeholders raised concerns about SAC transparency and predictability during a May 25 engagement session, arguing that greater certainty was needed to support long-term project financing. Under the new CRESS Acceleration Package, it is introducing a fixed MYR 0.14/kWh SAC rate for firm-supply projects, alongside a mandatory 10-year minimum contract term between developers and consumers. Projects must achieve commercial operation by Dec. 31, 2028, to qualify for the reduced rate.
Those that miss the deadline will be subject to whatever SAC terms are in effect at that time, and PETRA said extension requests will not be considered. The package is open to both existing registered participants and new entrants that meet its conditions.
Separately, PETRA said it would work to improve the principles used to set the SAC from Regulatory Period 5 (RP5), a regulatory window beginning in 2028 under Malaysia’s Incentive-Based Regulation tariff-setting framework. PETRA said the goal is a more transparent, reasonable charge that reflects actual system costs without unfairly shifting costs to other electricity consumers.
This RP5 commitment appears to represent a stated policy direction rather than a finalized SAC methodology or published tariff schedule. It is separate from the MYR 0.14/kWh Acceleration Package rate, which applies only to qualifying projects meeting the 2028 COD deadline.
PETRA said technical requirements covering solar and BESS configuration, system operation, firming capability and grid-connection information would be further refined by Malaysia’s Energy Commission. Under CRESS’s existing rules, a solar project seeking firm-output classification must pair with a BESS sized at least 50% of the project’s export capacity, capable of sustaining that output for four consecutive hours. If the battery system is unavailable, the project becomes subject to the higher non-firm SAC rate. The September announcement does not itself publish new technical specifications beyond stating that refinement is planned.
PETRA’s announcement frames the reforms as part of a wider effort to expand renewable capacity as electricity demand rises, driven in part by growing data center development in Malaysia. According to Malaysia’s National Energy Transition Roadmap, the country has targeted 31% renewable capacity by 2025, rising to 40% by 2035 and 70% by 2050.
Malaysia’s CRESS framework differs from corporate renewable procurement approaches elsewhere in Southeast Asia. Vietnam’s Decree 80/2024, for example, established both grid-connected and private-wire direct power purchase agreement models, with its first grid-connected agreement entering operation in 2026. Thailand, meanwhile, has piloted a similar wheeling-based approach focused initially on large data center consumers, but final commercial terms remained unresolved as of 2026. And Singapore’s corporate renewable market, by contrast, relies more heavily on utility green-power products and imported electricity, given limited domestic renewable-generation capacity.
Concerns over SAC bankability have already shaped how developers structure CRESS projects. In August 2025, Gentari and Gamuda announced a 1.5 GW solar-plus-battery storage partnership under the CRESS framework, aimed at supplying hyperscale data centers one of the largest projects publicly announced under the scheme to date, and an early indication of how storage is being paired with solar to meet the firm-output requirements the new SAC rate is designed to reward.
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