KUALA LUMPUR (Dec 15): Malaysia is calling on power utility firms to support the country’s digital push with grid upgrades, better efficiency and closer cooperation across the sector. 

Utilities should speed up projects that reduce wasted electricity, shorten grid connection times and make power systems more resilient to extreme weather, Deputy Prime Minister Datuk Seri Fadillah Yusof said. Investors and operators should also work closely with utilities to limit pressure on the grid, he said.

“We expect data-centre and AI-compute investors to design for efficiency and clean energy from day one, working closely with utilities to manage grid impacts responsibly,” said Fadillah.

Fadillah, who is also the minister of energy transition and water transformation, was speaking at the Global AI, Digital and Green Economy Summit 2025.

Malaysia is welcoming more than 40 power-hungry data centre projects that together could consume more than six gigawatts of energy at a time when the country has committed to its long-term climate goal for carbon neutrality.

Sharing data and operational experience would allow electricity demand from different users to be managed more reliably at the system level, Fadillah said.

Financiers, meanwhile, should take into account project quality, system resilience and how quickly projects deliver results when funding energy transition initiatives, he said.

“We invite financiers to price integrity, resilience, and speed to impact properly, and we encourage our Asean partners to expand interconnectors and harmonise rules so clean power can flow where it is needed most,” Fadillah added.

At the regional level, Fadillah encouraged Asean countries to strengthen cross-border power connections and align regulations to enable cleaner electricity to flow easily across the region.