National Energy Policies and the Electricity Sector in Malaysia

Since its independence in 1957, Malaysia has gone a long way towards developing its economy and infrastructures. As one of the fast growing developing nations, its world renowned infrastructures include the Petronas Twin Towers, the SMART tunnel and the Bakun hydro dam. A key component that enables this growth is its secure, affordable and reliable electricity sector. Even though the initial electricity facilities here were constructed by the British during colonization, Malaysia continued to nurture its development and improve its reliability through her national policies, to ensure that it continued to support her growth and prowess. The main national policy pertaining to the electricity sector in Malaysia is the National Energy Policy. It was formulated in 1979 to ensure efficient, secure and environmentally sustainable supplies of energy, including electricity. Later, other policies were also formulated to address arising issues and concerns in the energy sector. Among them were the National Depletion Policy, the Four Fuel Diversification Policy and the Fifth Fuel Policy. This paper reviews and discusses their implementation and various impacts on the electricity sector in Malaysia