Malaysia Well-placed To Lead ASEAN Power Grid Development - TNB

By Wan Muhammad Aslah Wan Razali

KUALA LUMPUR, May 23 (Bernama) -- Malaysia has a strong foundation to lead the development of smart and sustainable energy in the ASEAN region, particularly through efforts to realise the ASEAN Power Grid (APG), said Malaysia’s Tenaga Nasional Bhd (National Energy Limited) senior chief strategy, regulatory and sustainability officer Muhamad Nazri Pazil.

He said Malaysia’s strategic location at the heart of ASEAN, world-class grid infrastructure, mature energy ecosystem, and policies supporting the energy transition agenda provide the country with an advantage to play a larger regional role.

“From the strategic position that we have, it allows us to collaborate with other utility partners through the APG.

“With the APG, we can share energy. When there is high demand in a particular country, we can help,” said Muhamad Nazri during Bernama TV’s Ruang Bicara programme on Thursday.

He said that the Energy Transition Conference (ETCon26), which will take place from June 3 to 5, 2026, at the Kuala Lumpur Convention Centre, will serve as an important platform for ASEAN states to discuss ways to accelerate the realisation of the APG.

Muhamad Nazri said the conference would involve participants from Malaysia, the ASEAN region, and beyond ASEAN, with about 2,000 delegates from various countries and technical backgrounds expected to attend.

“In the context of ETCon, it is highly significant because we are providing that platform.

“There will be participation from ASEAN countries, and we can discuss how to further accelerate our aspiration to realise the APG,” he said.

Commenting further on cross-border energy cooperation, Muhamad Nazri said the Laos-Thailand-Malaysia-Singapore (LTMS) initiative is the first interconnection that enables commercial power transfer and supports supply security purposes.

He said another five projects are in the planning and feasibility study stages, including the Vietnam-Malaysia-Singapore (VMS) interconnection, the Sarawak-Peninsular Malaysia-Singapore link, as well as enhanced interconnection capacity between Malaysia, Thailand and Singapore.

“If there is connectivity among ASEAN countries, we will be able to strengthen energy supply security.

“We know there are geopolitical issues now and gas costs are rising, so when we have renewable energy that can be shared, costs can be controlled,” he said.

Muhamad Nazri said such cooperation would also enable renewable energy from countries such as Laos, which has hydropower resources, and Vietnam, which has wind energy resources, to be transmitted to other countries, including Malaysia and Singapore.

On ETCon26, he said the conference would be officiated by Malaysia’s Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim, while Deputy Prime Minister and Energy Transition and Water Transformation Minister Fadillah Yusof will deliver the keynote address on the opening day.

He said more than 80 speakers have confirmed their participation, while 40 sponsors will set up booths throughout the conference.

Muhamad Nazri said ETCon26 would also focus on how energy and artificial intelligence (AI) can be integrated to drive the energy transition in Malaysia and across Asia.

He said ETCon26 should not merely remain a conference platform, but must be translated into clear follow-up actions through strategic collaboration, investment and implementation.

“At ETCon26, there will be 16 strategic partnership exchanges and launches,” he said.

Muhamad Nazri added that the ultimate goal of ETCon is to become a catalyst for the actual implementation of the energy transition, with impacts visible in the short, medium and long term.

-- BERNAMA