Data centers would not be materially affected by the 8-9 per cent increase in the estimated cost of green electricity charges under the Malaysian Corporate Renewable Energy Supply Scheme (CRESS) announced yesterday by the Energy Commission, said a report by CGS International Securities Malaysia Sdn Bhd (CGSI) today.
Data centers currently pay about 60 sen per kilowatt-hour (kWh) for conventional electricity before automatic fuel adjustments (AFA). At the revised 48–50 sen/kWh, electricity from CRESS is about 17–20 per cent cheaper, providing a strong incentive for data centers.
The Energy Commission has revised the System Access Charge (SAC) which effectively raised the estimated all-in CRESS tariff to 48–50 sen per kWh, from its earlier estimate of 44–46 sen/kWh. The charge comprises 14 sen/kWh payable by renewable energy developers and an additional 4 sen/kWh due from green electricity consumers, giving a total of 18 sen/kWh.
As of August 2026, data centers in Malaysia have signed electricity supply agreements with electricity providers for up to 8.8GW.
CRESS allows corporate consumers to buy renewable electricity directly from green energy developers which will flow through Malaysia’s electricity grid under a third-party access arrangement. Malaysia targets 70 per cent renewable energy capacity by 2050.
However, the revised rates will likely slow down renewables usage by non-data center users such as E&E manufacturers, hospitals, shopping malls and other industrial users, which together have a combined potential electricity demand of 7GW to 8GW, the report added, which was quoted by a local publication.