TNB earmarks RM43bil to upgrade national grid with AI, battery storage systems
KUALA LUMPUR: National utility company Tenaga Nasional Bhd has committed RM43 billion to upgrade the national grid infrastructure, said Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim.
He said that the upgrade will incorporate artificial intelligence and battery energy storage systems to build greater resilience and flexibility for the future.
"We must invest in improving efficiency and reducing emissions within our existing energy systems, a formidable task, given that fossil fuels still account for nearly 80 per cent of global supply.
"Most importantly, this transition must be anchored in equity," the prime minister said in his keynote address at the Energy Asia 2025 conference today.
Anwar also issued a reminder that decarbonisation efforts that ignore the needs of the poor and vulnerable risk deepening inequality.
Touching on ASEAN, he highlighted that the bloc has already laid the groundwork for this pragmatic pathway through the ASEAN Carbon Capture and Storage (CCS) Deployment Framework and Roadmap, which aims to streamline policies and facilitate the flow of capital and carbon across borders.
"Malaysia is doing its part. Earlier this year, we passed the Carbon Capture, Utilisation and Storage Bill 2025 to provide a regulatory foundation for this emerging sector.
"Petronas is leading the charge with plans to develop three CCS hubs in our offshore waters, serving not just the oil and gas sector but also other hard-to-abate industries," he said.
Anwar added that Malaysia's CCS efforts involve more than 10 international partners, including Japan, South Korea, and global energy firms such as Total and Shell.
"Petronas is also working with ENEOS Corporation, Mitsubishi and JX Nippon to explore the transportation and storage of carbon dioxide from the Tokyo Bay area to Malaysia. This positions CCS not only as a vital decarbonisation tool but also as a promising new revenue stream for the region," he said.
The Energy Asia 2025 conference, with the theme "Delivering Asia's Energy Transition", taking place from June 16 to 18, is an opportune moment for Malaysia and the region to take stock of progress made towards energy transition objectives and reinforce national commitments to achieving net-zero goals.
The conference is timely, coming at a critical juncture in economic diversification and sustainable development as nations transition from traditional oil to renewable energy and embrace new technologies such as hydrogen and carbon capture.
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