THE Government should decentralise power generation to create competition which in turn, can lower electricity cost in Malaysia.
Parti Sosialis Malaysia (PSM) central committee member Sharan Raj urged the Government to open the electricity grid to allow other entities to produce its electricity needs elsewhere and transport it to the required consumption site.
“In exchange, Tenaga Nasional Bhd (TNB) could collect a transmission fee for the use of the electricity grid,” he told FocusM.
In 2019, former Energy, Science, Technology, Environment and Climate Change Minister Yeo Bee Yin announced the Net Energy Metering (NEM 2.0) policy to diversify the nation’s electricity generation and provide a more transparent power generation module for both the industry and consumers.
Under the policy, Malaysia was poised to achieve 20% electricity supply from renewable energy (RE) source, particularly in solar-generated form, by 2025.
Elaborating on the matter, Sharan said the Government proceeded to introduce the Feed-in-Tariff (FiT) system in 2012 to offer long-term contracts and guaranteed pricing to renewable energy producers.
“Renewable energy was a costly affair back then but after eight years, the cost of RE is between 32.05 and 54.13 sen per kWh which is nearly twice the non-RE electricity generation cost.
“So, FiT is merely subsidising profit margin which is killing incentives to bring RE cost down,” observed Sharan. “FiT has become the RE version of independent power producers (IPP) fiasco by promising risk-free profits for RE.”
Get corporate entities to join
However, Sharan noted that NEM 2.0 has boosted RE consumption by industries and household, causing RE prices to drop.
Therefore, he urged the Government to allow other entities to generate power, where they can produce it elsewhere and sell it to other places.
“For example, Sime Darby Bhd could produce electricity using its palm oil waste from its plantations in rural areas, to power its automotive showrooms and corporate office in Selangor.
“Franchise operators like QSR Brands Bhd could purchase agriculture waste from farmers in Kelantan to generate electricity using biomass for its Kentucky Fried Chicken (KFC) and Pizza Hut outlets.
“Even BMW could invest in mini hydro using streams in rural Kedah to power its factory in Kulim,” said Sharan.
The PSM leader added: “Opening the electricity grid will mobilise capital and competition from outside the energy sector to bring down the cost and increase RE penetrations.
“Malaysia will benefit greatly by reducing fossil fuel imports and create new green jobs.” – Dec 10, 2020
