Data centres must store two days' water, have backup power on site

KUALA LUMPUR: Data centres must maintain on-site water storage equivalent to at least two days' supply and have backup generators to help prevent disruptions to public utilities, the Dewan Rakyat was told.

Energy Transition and Water Transformation Minister Datuk Seri Fadillah Yusof said the requirements formed part of measures to ensure data centre operations did not place undue pressure on the country's water and electricity supply.

He was responding to Wan Ahmad Fayhsal Wan Ahmad Kamal (PN-Machang), who asked about the government's contingency plans to prevent data centres from disrupting public electricity and water supplies during droughts or supply interruptions.

On water supply, Fadillah said data centre proposals were assessed by the Data Centre Task Force (DCTF), jointly managed by the Investment, Trade and Industry Ministry and the Digital Ministry.

He said areas with low water reserve margins would not be considered for data centre developments, based on the views and recommendations of state water operators.

The National Water Services Commission (Span) also required data centre operators and developers to use alternative water sources for cooling, including recycled and reclaimed water, as well as rainwater harvesting.

Every water operator also had an emergency action plan, with measures including water deliveries by tanker lorries, static water tanks and cross-state assistance coordinated by Span.

If supply reached critical levels, mitigation measures could include scheduled supply or water rationing, he said.

On electricity, Fadillah said every data centre application was assessed by the Energy Focus Group, managed by the Energy Commission, before being referred to the DCTF.

Data centres were encouraged to generate their own electricity through the Solar for Self-Consumption initiative to avoid shifting costs to other consumers.

The government had also approved a requirement for data centres to obtain at least 30 per cent of their energy from renewable sources, he said.

Backup generators would also be required and could be used for demand control during critical periods when operating reserves were low.

In a supplementary reply, Fadillah said contracted electricity demand from data centres stood at 2,346 megawatts (MW) as of August, while actual consumption was about 1,374MW, or 58.5 per cent of the contracted capacity.

"Sometimes what happens in the early stage is when they apply for an electricity supply contract, they make an estimate of how much they want. But the actual use is not as much as what was applied for," he said.

Wan Fayhsal also asked whether Malaysia would follow Indonesia in purchasing floating nuclear power plants, including those offered by Rosatom.

Fadillah said the government was considering nuclear energy as part of its energy options, but Malaysia would first need to address its international treaty obligations and comply with International Atomic Energy Agency standards on regulation, safety, manpower and technology.

"Preparedness is more important to us, because we want to ensure not only the security of energy supply, but that our people are protected from all risks," he said.

He said Indonesia's arrangement was between mining companies and Rosatom, rather than a government contract.

The government would facilitate similar business-to-business arrangements involving data centre power suppliers, he added.