Malaysia seeks investor-funded grid upgrades for data centres
Johari said operators would also be billed for committed power capacity they leave unused, while a taskforce has agreed on at least 30% local content.
Investors developing data centres should include necessary transmission works in their project budgets instead of shifting the expense to local players, Minister of Investment, Trade and Industry Datuk Seri Johari Abdul Ghani said in the Dewan Rakyat on Oct 15.
Tenaga Nasional Bhd would advise on what upgrades were required, Johari said. He said making investors responsible for these costs was intended to shield economic activities already operating before the data centres arrived.
Operators would also face charges covering their entire committed electricity capacity, including any unused portion. Johari explained that Tenaga Nasional could not simply assign spare capacity to another customer while remaining obliged to serve the original operator’s future demand.
He said power demand from data centres should be handled separately from household and other industrial requirements, with no subsidies. Where gas fuels generation, supply charges should reflect market gas prices. The approach was intended to preserve reserves for other economic activities.
On domestic participation, Johari said a data centre taskforce had agreed that local content should reach at least 30%. The government wants more opportunities for Malaysian suppliers and technical workers, including work involving construction, cooling systems, electrical equipment and engineering services.
Johari also sought computing access for Malaysian universities and companies undertaking research and development. Collaboration with universities could strengthen domestic capabilities, he said. He was answering Ampang MP Rodziah Ismail (PH-PKR), who questioned how the government weighs data centres’ economic contribution against resource consumption, incentives and opportunity costs.
