Malaysia renews 10-year action plan on energy efficiency, targeting $21.5 billion savings

KUALA LUMPUR - Malaysia on Tuesday renewed a 10-year action plan to improve energy efficiency, targeting savings of around $21.5 billion.

The renewed National Energy Efficiency Action Plan will run until 2035 and aims to reduce energy demand by 11.6%, according to a statement from the energy transition and water transformation ministry.

This would lead to cumulative energy savings of 815,382 terajoules compared to business-as-usual projections, equivalent to a reduction of 26.1 million metric tons of CO2-equivalent emissions, the statement said.

The first NEEAP, which ran between 2016 and 2025, delivered electricity savings of 60,886 gigawatt-hours or approximately 16.1 billion ringgit ($3.9 billion), exceeding its target of 52,233 gigawatt-hours, Economy Minister Akmal Nasir said at the launch of the plan.

This was equivalent to an estimated reduction of 35.6 million tons of CO2-equivalent, he said.

Malaysia has been pushing companies and investors to focus on energy sustainability, with demand for power expected to rise substantially amid a boom in AI infrastructure. The country is the fastest-growing data-centre hub in Southeast Asia, attracting billions of dollars in investments from major global tech firms including Amazon and Microsoft.

In 2023, Malaysia passed a law requiring the biggest energy consumers to implement power-saving measures, as part of its pledge to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 45% across the economy by 2030, and to reach net-zero emissions by 2050.

($1 = 4.0890 ringgit)

-Reporting by Rozanna Latiff/Reuters