> ## Content Index > Fetch the complete content index at: https://www.sotkn.com/llms.txt > Use this file to discover other available public pages before exploring further. # 9,000 MW More in Five Years: Who Gets Paid While Malaysia Looks for the Power Plants - URL: https://www.sotkn.com/markets/malaysia/malaysia-tnb-9000mw-power-plants-november-2026/ - Published: 2026-11-08T08:59:05.000Z - Updated: 2026-11-08T08:59:05.000Z - Description: Malaysia's utility says it needs about 9,000 MW more in five years, after a record 22,000 MW peak in August. Wires and substations are funded and moving. New rules now hand data centres power in phases. The new power plants are the step still waiting. - Author: Sean - Tags: #market-malaysia, Markets, #layer-ai-data-centers, #layer-power-energy *Malaysia’s national utility says it needs about 9,000 megawatts more power in five years, after demand hit a record 22,000 MW in August. Data centres are most of that growth. The wires are funded and moving. New rules now hand data centres their power in phases. The stuck step is the power plants that have not been picked yet.* **MALAYSIA PULSE** · AI DATA CENTRES · POWER · Data as at 8 Nov 2026 (TNB keynote and ministry reply 4 Nov) · Next update: NEWGEN26 winners, expected by end-2026 **Affects:** [AI Data Centers](https://www.sotkn.com/stack/ai-data-centers/) · [Microsoft](https://www.sotkn.com/stack/hyperscalers/what-does-microsoft-do/) · [Google](https://www.sotkn.com/stack/hyperscalers/what-does-google-do/) — Markets: [Malaysia](https://www.sotkn.com/markets/malaysia/) · [Singapore](https://www.sotkn.com/markets/singapore/) · [Korea](https://www.sotkn.com/markets/korea/) **In short:** On 4 November 2026, Tenaga Nasional Berhad (TNB) chief executive Shamsul Ahmad told an energy summit in Kuala Lumpur that Peninsular Malaysia’s peak demand passed 22,000 MW in August, the highest in the utility’s 77 years, and that TNB expects about 9,000 MW more over the next five years, led by data centres. He said grid connections can now arrive early, but “the only problem right now is where to find the power.” The same day, the energy ministry said in a written reply to Parliament that data centres must now file ten-year power plans, sign binding supply agreements with TNB, and receive grid access in phases. It put data centres at 7% of peninsular demand in 2026 and 21% by 2030\. The next big gas tender, NEWGEN26, had four bids for 3.6 GW. Stuck step: the new power plants. Map of who gets paid — not a buy list. Education only, not advice to buy or sell any security. Ringgit is RM; dollar figures are US dollars. A megawatt (MW) is a thousand kilowatts, roughly what a large shopping mall draws at full tilt; a gigawatt (GW) is a thousand megawatts. A gigawatt-hour (GWh) is energy used over time, like the reading on a meter. Our own sums are labelled. This piece is about the supply side — where the extra power comes from. It does not re-tell our October Pulses on the unused-power charge, the green power grid charge or the Johor substation queue ([paying for unused power](https://www.sotkn.com/markets/malaysia/malaysia-data-centre-unused-power-charge-october-2026/); [the CRESS grid charge](https://www.sotkn.com/markets/malaysia/malaysia-data-centre-green-power-grid-charge-october-2026/); [Johor’s substation queue](https://www.sotkn.com/markets/malaysia/malaysia-johor-data-centre-grid-connection-october-2026/)), or the 1 November water check. ### The numbers that matter this week August peak 22,000 MW+ Peninsular Malaysia · highest in TNB’s 77 years Record Five-year need \~9,000 MW Extra demand TNB expects · about 41% on top (our arithmetic) New Data centre share 7% → 21% Of peninsular demand, 2026 to 2030 · ministry reply Rising Grid spending RM43bn TNB network capex, 2025–2027 (RP4) Paid Phased access 10-year plans Binding supply agreements · power released in steps Rule New plants 3.6 GW bid NEWGEN26 · four bids · winners by end-2026 (RHB) Stuck step The Malaysian Reserve and Malay Mail, 4 Nov 2026; New Straits Times (RHB Research), 18 Oct 2026\. Status chips are Second Order’s read. **On this page:** [Why it matters](#why-it-matters) · [What TNB said](#what-tnb-said) · [The new rules](#new-rules) · [How big is data centre demand?](#how-big) · [Johor and SEA3](#johor) · [Where the power could come from](#supply) · [Our math](#our-math) · [Who gets paid](#money-goes) · [What is stuck?](#still-stuck) · [Dates next](#dates) · [FAQ](#faq) ## Why does a utility’s demand forecast matter for AI data centres? Think of a town that builds a giant new water park. The pipes from the reservoir to the park can be laid in a year. But if the reservoir itself is not big enough, the new pipes only move the same water around. Somebody has to dig a bigger reservoir, and that takes much longer than laying pipe. Malaysia’s data centre boom has reached that point. For two years the bottleneck people talked about was the connection: how fast TNB could run lines and build substations to each new campus. TNB has worked hard on that. Its chief executive said this week that some connections are now being delivered ahead of schedule. His point was that the pipe is no longer the only problem. The reservoir — the power stations that make the electricity — has to grow too. For anyone mapping AI infrastructure, that matters because an AI data centre is a building that turns electricity into computing. If the power is late, the chips sit idle, the leases start late and the cloud region opens late. The basics are in the Explained layer ([what an AI data center is](https://www.sotkn.com/explained/what-is-an-ai-data-center/); [how much power one uses](https://www.sotkn.com/explained/how-much-power-does-an-ai-data-center-use/); [how power gets from the grid to the GPU](https://www.sotkn.com/explained/data-center-power-distribution-explained/)). And location follows power. Johor became South-east Asia’s biggest data centre hub as builders looked beyond Singapore for room to grow ([where AI data centers are located](https://www.sotkn.com/explained/where-are-ai-data-centers-located/)). If power stops being easy to find, the next campus may go somewhere else. ## What exactly did TNB say? Shamsul Ahmad, TNB’s president and chief executive, gave the keynote at the Clean Energy Transition Asia summit in Kuala Lumpur on Wednesday 4 November. He said Peninsular Malaysia recorded peak electricity demand above 22,000 MW in August 2026, the highest in the utility’s 77-year history, and called what TNB is seeing “totally unprecedented.” He said TNB expects demand requirements to rise by about 9,000 MW over the next five years, driven by rapid data centre expansion and industrial growth. That will need more investment in the network, especially in the next regulatory period, RP5, which covers 2028 to 2030. For the current period, RP4, which runs from 2025 to 2027, he said about RM43 billion of approved and planned capital spending has been set aside for the network. A major piece is about 500 kilometres of new 500-kilovolt transmission lines, targeted for completion by 2030\. “Grid is the lifeline,” he said, and TNB must strengthen the network ahead of demand rather than respond only when capacity is urgently needed. He also said TNB is aiming its network work at the corridors where data centres cluster, especially Johor, and that its Green Lane pathway can cut the grid connection timeline for eligible high-voltage data centre projects from about 36 months to 12 months, depending on technical needs. Some connections are arriving ahead of schedule. But, he added, faster access to the grid must be backed by enough generation. “So the only problem right now is where to find the power.” The rest of the speech was about the tools TNB has for the gap. A 400 MWh battery storage project in Peninsular Malaysia. More than 6.5 million smart meters, rising to about nine million by 2029\. And cross-border power: existing links with Thailand and Singapore of about 1.1 GW combined, feasibility studies for a second Malaysia–Singapore interconnection of about 2,000 MW, the Laos–Thailand–Malaysia–Singapore project trading up to 200 MW, and a proposed Vietnam–Malaysia–Singapore renewable link. “The grid must not become the constraint to Malaysia’s ambitions,” he said. “It must become the enabler.” ![Chart: about 9,000 MW of extra demand in five years against what is lined up on the supply side, from 3.6 GW of NEWGEN26 bids to a proposed 2,000 MW Singapore link still under study](https://storage.ghost.io/c/cd/10/cd10e222-131f-4ba4-b4a9-ca4214e8c12d/content/images/2026/11/malaysia-tnb-9000mw-power-plants-november-2026-print.png) The need is set; most of the supply is still a bid or a study. · Education only. ## What are the new rules for data centres asking for power? The same day, Malay Mail reported a written parliamentary reply from the Ministry of Energy Transition and Water Transformation to the MP for Rompin, who had asked about the electricity and water footprint of large computing campuses and what it means for reserve margins. The reply set out three conditions. Data centre operators seeking a grid connection in Peninsular Malaysia must submit ten-year staggered energy projection plans — a year-by-year forecast of how much power they will actually use. They must sign binding Electricity Supply Agreements with TNB. And grid access is released in phases, after technical checks of actual load and local transmission capacity, instead of in one bulk allocation up front. The ministry’s word for what it is trying to stop is “phantom demand”: power booked on paper that does not turn into real use, but still forces the system to hold capacity in reserve. It also urged operators to buy green power directly from independent producers through the Corporate Renewable Energy Supply Scheme (CRESS), and pushed operators of very large campuses to build their own on-site power, such as micro gas turbines and rooftop solar. Two things were left open. The reply did not say what happens to an operator whose real draw falls short of its ten-year plan, and it did not set out a way to take back stranded capacity and give it to someone else. The rule has a structure, but not yet a penalty. This sits on top of earlier steps the minister described to Parliament on 20 October: an Ultra-High Voltage tariff for data centres since July 2025, a higher Connected Load Charge to discourage asking for more capacity than needed, a rule that data centres use at least 30% renewable energy, and a self-generation framework the Energy Commission is preparing. We covered the unused-power side of that story in October ([paying for power you do not use](https://www.sotkn.com/markets/malaysia/malaysia-data-centre-unused-power-charge-october-2026/); [why contracted power is not the same as used power](https://www.sotkn.com/explained/contracted-power-explained/)). What is new this week is the phasing and the ten-year plan — and the utility saying plainly that generation, not connection, is now the hard part. ## How big is data centre demand going to get? The ministry’s reply gave two numbers that make the scale easy to see. In 2026, data centres are expected to use about 10,544 GWh, about 7% of peninsular electricity demand. By 2030 it expects about 39,289 GWh, or 21%. That is about 3.7 times as much energy in four years (our arithmetic). The ministry said this growth is already built into the Peninsular Generation Development Plan, and that the regional reserve margin — the spare power plant capacity above peak demand — should stay between 25% and 27% through 2035, through new renewables, new thermal plants and keeping existing plants running longer. In October the minister gave the capacity view. As of August, data centre projects had been approved for 12.3 GW of electricity supply capacity, while maximum demand from the sector is projected to reach 8.39 GW by 2030\. The gap between those two numbers is the paper bookings the new phased rules are meant to squeeze. The 4 November reply put actual draw from active facilities at about 1,374 MW in August. ![Chart of data centre electricity use in Peninsular Malaysia: 10,544 GWh or 7% of demand in 2026 against 39,289 GWh or 21% by 2030](https://storage.ghost.io/c/cd/10/cd10e222-131f-4ba4-b4a9-ca4214e8c12d/content/images/2026/11/malaysia-tnb-9000mw-power-plants-november-2026-shift.png) Data centres go from 7% to 21% of peninsular demand in four years. · Education only. Peninsular Malaysia: power and data centres Peak demand, Aug 202622,000 MW+ · 77-year record Extra demand, next 5 years\~9,000 MW (TNB) Data centre energy, 202610,544 GWh · \~7% of demand Data centre energy, 203039,289 GWh · \~21% of demand Approved data centre supply12.3 GW (Aug 2026) Data centre max demand, 20308.39 GW (projection) Reserve margin target25–27% to 2035 The Malaysian Reserve and Malay Mail, 4 Nov 2026; The Star, 20 Oct 2026\. Figures as published. ## What does Johor’s build-out look like now? Johor is where most of the new demand lands. The Guardian reported on 7 November that operating data centre capacity in Johor grew from 94 MW in 2023 to 1,110 MW in 2026, with another 3,088 MW under construction or planned. The state’s chief minister puts data centre investment in Johor at US$40 billion. Energy consultancy Wood Mackenzie estimates data centres already use 24% of Johor’s power, and that this could reach 40% by 2035. On 5 November Microsoft gave an update on Southeast Asia 3, or SEA3, its upcoming cloud region in Johor Bahru. It said SEA3 will be its second cloud region in Malaysia, after Malaysia West in Greater Kuala Lumpur, which went live in May 2025 with three availability zones and close to 200 services. Microsoft said SEA3 will grow to become its largest cloud region in South-east Asia. Microsoft did not give a megawatt figure or an opening date. It did say SEA3 will use closed-loop cooling with air-cooled chillers that avoid evaporating water, and backup generators designed to run on renewable biofuel. Those two choices answer Johor’s water and carbon pressures. They do not shrink the campus’s need for grid power, which is what this week’s news is about. Microsoft is not alone. Google’s US$15 billion plan for 2027 and 2028, which we covered on 4 November, came with a promise of more than 1 GW of new clean energy for the grid ([Google’s Malaysia power catch-up](https://www.sotkn.com/markets/malaysia/malaysia-google-15bn-data-centre-clean-power-november-2026/)). Both cloud giants are now telling Malaysia, in effect, that they will help bring power. Neither has said how many megawatts it will draw, or when. For how the clouds compare on capacity, see [AWS vs Azure vs Google Cloud](https://www.sotkn.com/explained/aws-vs-azure-vs-google-cloud/). ## Where could the extra power come from? There are four main routes, and each runs on its own clock. New gas plants. The Energy Commission’s NEWGEN26 tender for new generation had four bids with a combined 3.6 GW, according to RHB Research as reported by the New Straits Times on 18 October. RHB expects the winners to be named by the end of 2026, and sees TNB and YTL Power — both of which have reserved gas turbines — among the likely winners. A reserved turbine matters because, worldwide, big gas turbines are sold out for years; we saw that in GE Vernova’s order book this month. Captive plants. RHB also sees room for the same reserved turbines to be used in captive power plants that supply data centres directly, which is what the ministry’s push for on-site power points toward. The Energy Commission is still writing the self-generation framework. Solar and storage. The sixth Large Scale Solar programme, LSS6, could be worth RM13 billion to RM15 billion, with the earliest awards expected in the first quarter of 2027, RHB said. CRESS projects must start commercial operation by the end of 2028, which gives developers a construction window of about 18 to 24 months. A recent 10% cut in the system access charge is expected to speed up those deals, RHB said. Solar only produces in daylight, which is why the battery projects matter. Imports. TNB is studying a second Malaysia–Singapore interconnection of about 2,000 MW, on top of about 1.1 GW of existing links with Thailand and Singapore. A cross-border line can move power both ways, and Singapore has its own data centre power squeeze ([Singapore’s power plan and green fuel](https://www.sotkn.com/markets/singapore/singapore-power-plan-data-centres-green-fuel-october-2026/)). A link under study is not yet a source of power for Johor. On the equipment side, the same names keep coming up: turbines, transformers, switchgear and cables. Our map of who makes them is in the Explained layer ([who makes data center power equipment](https://www.sotkn.com/explained/who-makes-data-center-power-equipment/)), and the turbine queue is in our US Pulse ([GE Vernova’s turbine slots run to 2032](https://www.sotkn.com/markets/us/us-ge-vernova-q3-turbine-slots-november-2026/)). ## What do the numbers say? Size of the jump. About 9,000 MW on top of a 22,000 MW peak is about 41% more in five years, or about 1,800 MW a year on average (our arithmetic). For scale, that yearly figure alone is larger than all of Johor’s operating data centre capacity today. Share of the growth. If data centres are 7% of demand in 2026 at 10,544 GWh, total peninsular demand is about 150,600 GWh. If they are 21% in 2030 at 39,289 GWh, the total is about 187,100 GWh. Total demand grows by about 36,500 GWh and data centres grow by about 28,700 GWh — close to four-fifths of all the growth (all our arithmetic; the 7% and 21% are rounded, so treat this as a rough guide). Everything else in the economy grows by only about 5% over those four years on the same sums. Average draw. 10,544 GWh over a year is an average draw of about 1.2 GW; 39,289 GWh is about 4.5 GW (our arithmetic). The 1.2 GW lines up with the 1,374 MW the ministry said active facilities drew in August. The ministry’s 8.39 GW maximum demand projection for 2030 is higher than the 4.5 GW average because peak and average are different things — the grid has to be built for the peak. Data centres inside the 9,000 MW. Going from about 1.4 GW of actual draw in August to the 8.39 GW projected maximum in 2030 would add about 7 GW, or roughly three-quarters of TNB’s five-year figure (our arithmetic). Peak numbers from different sources do not add up neatly, so this is a sense of scale, not a forecast. It tells the same story as the energy sums: most of the new power is for data centres. What is lined up. The four NEWGEN26 bids total 3.6 GW, about 40% of 9,000 MW, and that is bids, not winners (our arithmetic). The proposed second Singapore link at 2,000 MW would be another 22% if it were built, and it is still a feasibility study. Most of the remaining gap would have to come from solar, storage, captive plants and keeping old plants running — the mix the ministry described. Paper bookings. Approved data centre supply of 12.3 GW is about 1.5 times the 8.39 GW maximum demand the ministry expects in 2030 (our arithmetic). That is the gap the ten-year plans and phased access are meant to close. Grid spending. RM43 billion over the three RP4 years is about RM14.3 billion a year of network spending (our arithmetic). TNB said more will be needed in RP5. Supply agreements. RHB said TNB signed five new supply agreements with data centre operators in the first half of 2026, covering 856 MW, against a target of ten agreements and up to 1.5 GW this year. That leaves up to about 640 MW to sign in the second half (our arithmetic). TNB has signed 8.4 GW in total and completed 5.7 GW, so about 2.7 GW is signed but not yet completed (our arithmetic). For how long these campuses take to build compared with a power plant, see [how long it takes to build an AI data center](https://www.sotkn.com/explained/how-long-does-it-take-to-build-an-ai-data-center/). The short version from this week’s sources: a Green Lane grid connection takes about 12 months and a CRESS solar plant about 18 to 24 months to build, while the new gas plants are still at the bid stage. ## Who gets paid while the power plants wait? ![Infographic: who gets paid while Malaysia looks for the power plants, from TNB's grid build and data centre builders to turbine holders, solar developers and the stuck generation step](https://storage.ghost.io/c/cd/10/cd10e222-131f-4ba4-b4a9-ca4214e8c12d/content/images/2026/11/malaysia-tnb-9000mw-power-plants-november-2026-infographic.png) Who gets paid / stuck step while the new power plants wait. · Education only. 1 · TNB’s grid build **Who:** RM43bn of network spending in 2025–2027; \~500 km of 500 kV by 2030 **Paid:** Approved spending under a regulated framework Paid 2 · Data centre builders **Who:** Johor: 1,110 MW operating, 3,088 MW planned or building **Paid:** Paid as halls are built and leased Paid 3 · Turbine holders **Who:** TNB and YTL Power have reserved gas turbines (RHB) **Paid:** NEWGEN26 winners expected by end-2026 Next 4 · Solar and storage developers **Who:** LSS6 RM13–15bn; CRESS plants due by end-2028 **Paid:** Awards from Q1 2027 (RHB) Next 5 · New generation **Who:** \~9,000 MW more demand; 3.6 GW bid so far **Paid:** Not yet picked Stuck step First, TNB’s grid business. The RM43 billion of network spending for 2025 to 2027 is approved and planned, and RHB describes TNB as backed by a regulated earnings framework. On our read, that means the wires and substations are paid for through approved spending, whether or not every data centre fills up on time. The 500 kV programme to 2030 adds more. Second, the companies building data halls in Johor and around Kuala Lumpur, and the contractors and equipment makers working for them. Johor’s pipeline of 3,088 MW is planned or being built now. On our read, builders get paid as they deliver halls, even if the power behind each hall arrives in steps. Third, whoever already holds gas turbines. RHB named TNB and YTL Power. If both win NEWGEN26 contracts, RHB estimates a small lift to its own valuations of each; we leave the targets out. The bigger point is simple: in a world where turbines are booked for years, a turbine already reserved is worth a lot, whether it goes into a tendered plant or a captive plant next to a campus. Fourth, solar and battery developers. LSS6 and CRESS give them a pipeline with dates attached, and the ministry is steering data centres toward buying green power directly. RHB named Solarvest and Samaiden as beneficiaries of LSS6; it also noted that the CRESS access charge is paid by electricity buyers, which leaves developers’ project economics largely unchanged. Who waits. Data centres asking for power now get it in steps, tied to a ten-year plan and a binding agreement, not in one block. Cloud regions like SEA3 open when their power is ready. The 24 applications on hold for water checks wait for that too ([Malaysia’s water check](https://www.sotkn.com/markets/malaysia/malaysia-data-centre-water-check-approvals-october-2026/)). And ordinary customers wait to see whether the cost of new plants stays with the data centres that cause it — the cost causation principle the minister set out in October. ## What is stuck, exactly? The stuck step is the new power plants. TNB has a funded plan for wires. The ministry has a rule for handing out grid access in phases. Data centre builders have land, money and customers. What does not yet exist is enough new generation, picked, financed and under construction, to cover about 9,000 MW of extra demand in five years. It is not the connection. TNB says Green Lane connections take about 12 months and some arrive early. It is not the money for the grid: RM43 billion is approved and planned. It is not demand: August’s peak was a record, and the ministry expects data centres alone to reach 21% of demand by 2030\. And it is not the paperwork for data centres, which this week got stricter rather than looser. It is the slow step. A gas plant or a large solar-and-battery project takes years to approve and build, and the turbines for gas plants are scarce worldwide. NEWGEN26 is the first big public marker: four bids for 3.6 GW, with winners expected by year-end. Until those winners are named and their start dates are known, nobody can say how much of the 9,000 MW is covered, and when. One more detail is worth watching. The ministry says the reserve margin stays at 25% to 27% through 2035\. That only holds if plants arrive on time. The phased-access rule is a safety valve: if generation runs late, TNB can slow the release of grid access to data centres rather than let the margin fall. That protects other users, but it moves the wait onto the data centres and their customers. This is the same shape we keep seeing across AI infrastructure: the party that owns the slow step does not get paid on time, while the parties around it are paid on their own clocks ([where the stuck step moves](https://www.sotkn.com/analysis/where-does-the-stuck-step-move/)). Korea’s grid queue shows the same pattern from another angle ([279 of 522 told no supply](https://www.sotkn.com/markets/korea/korea-ai-data-centre-grid-queue-october-2026/)). ## Which dates test the read? ![Calendar of dates that test the read: phased grid rules now, NEWGEN26 winners by end-2026, LSS6 awards from Q1 2027, RP5 from 2028, CRESS plants by end-2028, 500 kV lines by 2030](https://storage.ghost.io/c/cd/10/cd10e222-131f-4ba4-b4a9-ca4214e8c12d/content/images/2026/11/malaysia-tnb-9000mw-power-plants-november-2026-calendar.png) Dates that test the read. · Education only. Dates from The Malaysian Reserve and Malay Mail (4 Nov 2026), The Star (20 Oct 2026) and RHB Research via the New Straits Times (18 Oct 2026). RHB dates are the broker’s expectations. ## How does this compare with Singapore and Australia? Singapore’s squeeze is about land and green fuel, and its newest projects are testing batteries before they get paid ([DayOne’s Singapore VPP waits on FEED](https://www.sotkn.com/markets/singapore/singapore-dayone-sg1-vpp-feed-november-2026/)). A second 2,000 MW Malaysia–Singapore link, if it is built, would tie the two markets more tightly. Australia’s story this week is a power line that stalled and a share raid that followed ([NEXTDC’s 20 November verdict](https://www.sotkn.com/markets/australia/australia-nextdc-goodman-digital-realty-raid-november-2026/)). Malaysia’s twist is that the utility itself is saying the wires are on track and the power stations are the harder part. Inside Malaysia, the October map still holds: data centre power use climbing, unused bookings charged, green power routed through CRESS, and Johor queuing at substations ([Malaysia’s data centre power use](https://www.sotkn.com/markets/malaysia/malaysia-data-centre-power-use-october-2026/); [DayOne’s financing and substation](https://www.sotkn.com/markets/malaysia/malaysia-dayone-financing-substation-october-2026/); [chip exports passing through](https://www.sotkn.com/markets/malaysia/malaysia-chip-exports-pass-through-october-2026/)). This week moves the bind one step up the chain, from the substation to the power station. Second-order read. Malaysia’s grid is funded and getting faster, and the rules for handing out power just got tighter. The people paid now are the ones building wires and halls. The ones paid next hold turbines and solar pipelines. The step that decides the timing is the one that has not been picked: new power plants big enough for about 9,000 MW more in five years. Watch the NEWGEN26 winners and their start dates. **Get the Wire.** Second Order’s free daily brief on what moved in the AI chip map. [Read the Wire →](https://www.sotkn.com/the-wire/) · [Subscribe free →](https://www.sotkn.com/#/portal/signup) **How we check this.** TNB’s 22,000 MW peak, the 9,000 MW five-year figure, its network spending, the 500 kV programme and the proposed second Singapore link come from its chief executive’s 4 November keynote as reported by The Malaysian Reserve. The phased grid rules, the 7% and 21% data centre shares and the reserve margin come from the energy ministry’s written parliamentary reply as reported by Malay Mail on 4 November. The 12.3 GW of approvals and the 8.39 GW 2030 projection come from the minister’s 20 October reply as reported by The Star. Supply agreement counts and the NEWGEN26 bid figures are RHB Research’s, as reported by the New Straits Times on 18 October. SEA3 details come from Microsoft. Johor capacity figures come from The Guardian’s 7 November report. Every sum we worked out is labelled “our arithmetic”. Price targets and ratings are left out on purpose. The references we used are listed at the end. [Our editorial standards →](https://www.sotkn.com/editorial-standards/) ## FAQ **What did TNB say on 4 November?** Speaking at the Clean Energy Transition Asia summit in Kuala Lumpur, TNB president and chief executive Shamsul Ahmad said Peninsular Malaysia's peak electricity demand passed 22,000 MW in August 2026, the highest in the utility's 77-year history, and that TNB expects about 9,000 MW more over the next five years, driven by data centres and industry. He said some grid connections are arriving early, but that faster connection must be matched by enough generation: the only problem right now is where to find the power. **What changed for data centres asking for grid power?** In a written parliamentary reply reported on 4 November, the energy ministry said data centre operators in Peninsular Malaysia must now submit ten-year staggered energy projection plans and sign binding Electricity Supply Agreements with TNB. Grid access is released in phases, checked against actual load and local transmission capacity, instead of being handed out in one large block up front. **How big will data centres be in Malaysia's power demand?** The ministry's reply put data centres at about 7% of peninsular electricity demand in 2026, or 10,544 GWh, rising to about 21%, or 39,289 GWh, by 2030\. On our arithmetic that is about 3.7 times as much energy in four years. **What is the stuck step?** New power plants. TNB's network spending is approved and moving, and the new phased rules sort which data centres get power first. But the extra generation that must feed the 9,000 MW has not been fully picked. The next big gas tender, NEWGEN26, had four bids for 3.6 GW, with winners expected by the end of 2026 according to RHB Research. **Is this investment advice?** No. Education only. It maps who gets paid and which step is stuck. It is not a recommendation to buy or sell any security, and we leave out price targets and ratings on purpose. --- ### References Outbound links below are nofollow. We list only the sources actually used. Internal sotkn.com links in the body are separate. 1. The Malaysian Reserve, TNB sees additional 9,000MW electricity demand over next five years, 4 Nov 2026\. [themalaysianreserve.com](https://themalaysianreserve.com/2026/11/04/tnb-sees-additional-9000mw-electricity-demand-over-next-five-years/?ref=sotkn.com) — TNB chief executive Shamsul Ahmad at the CETA Summit: the 22,000 MW August peak, about 9,000 MW more in five years, RM43 billion of RP4 network spending, about 500 km of 500 kV lines by 2030, the Green Lane timeline, 'where to find the power', the 400 MWh battery, smart meters and the proposed 2,000 MW second Malaysia–Singapore link. 2. Malay Mail, As data centre power share heads for 21pc, Putrajaya moves to avoid 'phantom demand' hogging Malaysia's grid, 4 Nov 2026\. [malaymail.com](https://www.malaymail.com/news/malaysia/2026/11/04/as-data-centre-power-share-heads-for-21pc-putrajaya-moves-to-avoid-phantom-demand-hogging-malaysias-grid/241892?ref=sotkn.com) — the ministry's written parliamentary reply: 10-year staggered energy projections, binding Electricity Supply Agreements, phased grid access, the 7% to 21% data centre share and GWh figures, the 25–27% reserve margin to 2035, CRESS and on-site power, and the missing penalty and claw-back rules. 3. The Star, 12.3GW energy capacity approved for data centres as of August, Parliament told, 20 Oct 2026\. [thestar.com.my](https://www.thestar.com.my/news/nation/2026/10/20/123gw-energy-capacity-approved-for-data-centres-as-of-august-parliament-told?ref=sotkn.com) — the 12.3 GW of approved supply capacity, the 8.39 GW 2030 maximum demand projection, the Ultra-High Voltage tariff, the Connected Load Charge, the 30% renewable rule and the self-generation framework. 4. New Straits Times, Lower access charges to spur renewable energy deals with data centres, 18 Oct 2026\. [nst.com.my](https://www.nst.com.my/business/corporate/2026/10/1558720/lower-access-charges-spur-renewable-energy-deals-data-centres?ref=sotkn.com) — RHB Research's read: TNB's 856 MW of new supply agreements in the first half, 8.4 GW signed and 5.7 GW completed, the 1.5 GW target, the four NEWGEN26 bids totalling 3.6 GW with winners by year-end, reserved turbines at TNB and YTL Power, LSS6 and CRESS timing and the expected separate fuel adjustment for data centres. 5. Microsoft Source Asia, How Microsoft's upcoming Southeast Asia 3 datacenter region will expand Malaysia's multi-region cloud opportunity, 5 Nov 2026\. [news.microsoft.com](https://news.microsoft.com/source/asia/features/how-microsofts-upcoming-southeast-asia-3-datacenter-region-will-expand-malaysias-multi-region-cloud-opportunity/?ref=sotkn.com) — SEA3 in Johor Bahru as Microsoft's planned largest Southeast Asia region, closed-loop air-cooled chillers, biofuel-ready generators, and Malaysia West's three zones and close to 200 services. 6. The Guardian, The datacentre arms race hits pause in south-east Asia, 7 Nov 2026\. [theguardian.com](https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2026/nov/07/datacentres-southeast-asia?ref=sotkn.com) — Johor's operating capacity rising from 94 MW in 2023 to 1,110 MW in 2026 with 3,088 MW more planned or under construction, the US$40 billion investment figure, and Wood Mackenzie's 24% to 40% share of Johor's power. Not investment advice. Do your own research. Education only. Map of who gets paid and which step is stuck — not a buy list. 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