KUALA LUMPUR: The power reserve margin in Peninsular Malaysia is projected to be between 28 and 36 per cent from 2024 to 2030, which is above the minimum level necessary to accommodate electricity supply demand in the event of supply disruptions at any power plants.

Deputy Energy Transition and Water Transformation Minister Akmal Nasrullah Mohd Nasir (pix) said this level of power reserve margin will be maintained according to the Planning and Implementation Committee for Electricity Supply and Tariff (JPPPET) to ensure affordable electricity supply costs.

“The power reserve margin includes electricity generated by power plants operated by energy-generating companies utilising gas, coal, and renewable energy sources.

“The electricity supply from fossil and non-fossil energy generation companies will undoubtedly create source diversification for electricity supply generation to ensure the safety of the national electricity supply system,“ he said when replying to a question from Datuk Seri Amirudin Shari (PH-Gombak) in the Dewan Rakyat today.

Akmal Nasrullah also said that the JPPPET, established to determine the energy supply planning and the direction of the national electricity supply industry, is a government effort to ensure that the country’s electricity resources can be supplied sufficiently, sustainably, and at affordable rates for consumers.

Akmal Nasrullah said that during the JPPPET meeting on Nov 24 last year, the forecasted energy demand to accommodate electricity supply demand in Peninsular Malaysia, including industrial and electric transportation demand, was discussed and approved.

“For example, the projected electricity supply demand in Peninsular Malaysia for this year is 19,480 megawatts (MW), and we expect it to reach 20,049 MW by 2030, which is an increase of about 2.9 percent,“ he said.

He added that factors contributing to this increase are the growth in economic activity, industrial development such as the establishment of data centres, the resumption of economic and social activities after the COVID-19 pandemic and the higher projections for electric vehicles. -Bernama