Data centers in Malaysia are only consuming less than half of their declared demand according to data from the Energy Commission, as briefed by Malaysian Deputy Minister of Investment, Trade and Industry Liew Chin Tong in Parliament yesterday. Data from the commission showed data centers utilizing only 603 megawatts of electricity as of June 2025 — about 47 per cent of their declared maximum demand of 1,276 MW. Based on analyses of data centre power requirements, such as end-customer commitment and actual energy consumption, the commission came to the conclusion that there is a likelihood of “speculative applications”.
As such, the projected energy capacity has been revised to reduce the risk of stranded assets and cost transfers to other consumers, Liew said.
To ensure stability in power supply, the government expected data centers to utilize 85 per cent of the declared maximum demand, he added.
In contrast, the water usage by data centers in Selangor, Kuala Lumpur, Putrajaya and Johor, was low according to data from state operators. Data centers in Johor consume only 9.07 million litres, or 0.6 per cent of the state’s total on a daily basis. Those in Selangor, Kuala Lumpur and Putrajaya consume even less – 0.47 million litres — or just 0.012 per cent of total water use in those states.
Between 2021 and June 2025, the government approved 143 data centre projects worth RM144.4 billion (US$ 34.5 million) in investments which is expected to create about 1,400 jobs, said Liew.