PUTRAJAYA: The government will introduce the Corporate Renewable Energy Supply Scheme (CRESS) in September this year to increase corporate entities’ access to green electricity.
The Ministry of Energy Transition and Water Transformation (PETRA), in a statement today, said that through the concept of open grid access, third parties can supply (sell) or obtain (buy) electricity via the grid network system with a predetermined system access charge.
The introduction of the CRESS programme is part of the ministry’s efforts under the GREENS MADANI Initiative, or Government Renewable Energy Enhancement for Niche Sector, which aims to support the energy transition aspiration of high-priority sectors.
“Corporate companies in Malaysia need to be provided with options to reduce their carbon footprint through green electricity supply.
“At present, companies can meet their green electricity commitments by installing solar photovoltaic (PV) systems through the Net Energy Metering (NEM) and Self Consumption (SelCo) programmes, purchasing Renewable Energy (RE) certificates through the Malaysia Green Attributes Trading System (mGATS), or subscribing to the Green Electricity Tariff (GET),” it said.
On Aug 31, 2022, the government also introduced the Corporate Green Power Programme (CGPP) to help companies meet their ESG commitments through the virtual purchase of green electricity.
Under the CRESS programme, eligible RE generators and corporate companies can arrange for green electricity supply under agreed terms through the existing supply system.
According to the statement, corporate companies can directly obtain RE from identified generators with third-party access (TPA), and these RE generators can also supply renewable electricity to corporate users through the TNB grid network by participating in the NEDA market.
PETRA said that the Energy Commission would regulate the implementation of CRESS under the Electricity Supply Act 1990, while the Single Buyer (SB) and Grid System Operator (GSO) would act as the market and system operators, respectively.
“These two entities will manage the coordination of access and dispatch aspects in the electricity supply system based on regulatory determinations agreed upon by the government.
“TNB will continue to play its role as a utility electricity supplier, consistently delivering the generated and needed electricity to users both within and beyond the green electricity supply period,” it said.
According to PETRA, the Energy Commission would conduct several briefing sessions on procedures and guidelines for industry players.
It further said that the implementation of the open grid access through the CRESS programme is a progressive step towards energy market liberalisation. It is expected to reduce the risk and cost of the national electricity supply system while providing fair opportunities for developers to compete healthily.
The implementation of the CRESS programme under the GREENS MADANI initiative aligns with the government’s aspiration to increase RE capacity from the current 26 per cent (10.6GW) to 40 per cent by 2035 and 70 per cent by 2050 to reduce dependence on fossil fuels.
This programme will reduce carbon emissions by 701,000 tCO2 annually, generate direct investments exceeding RM10 billion and create nearly 14,000 new job opportunities in the sustainable energy industry.
