Govt ready to re-engage industry players on Cress charges, says Fadillah

KUALA LUMPUR: The government is prepared to re-engage industry players to review the fee structure of the Corporate Renewable Energy Supply Scheme (Cress).

Deputy Prime Minister Datuk Seri Fadillah Yusof, who is also Energy Transition and Water Transformation Minister, said renewable energy developers paid a system access charge (SAC) of 14 sen per kilowatt-hour (kWh), while end-users of green energy paid a separate charge of four sen per kWh.

He said the charge for developers was initially set at 20 sen before being reduced to 14 sen following engagement sessions. The four-sen charge for end-users had been in place before the announcement.

He said confusion arose after media reports combined the two charges into a single rate of 18 sen per kWh.

Fadillah was winding up the debate on the Supply Bill 2027 at the policy stage for his ministry in the Dewan Rakyat yesterday.

He said the Cress charge comprised three components: operational and regulatory costs, market development costs, and system augmentation costs.

However, Yeo Bee Yin (DAP-Puchong) interjected that the effective rate for electricity transmission under Cress was 18 sen per kWh.

She said industry players had understood the SAC to be 14 sen until the Energy Commission clarified the combined rate about two weeks ago, disappointing them.

Fadillah said the government had taken note of industry players' concerns.

Meanwhile, he said the Energy Commission was developing a comprehensive framework and guidelines for self-generation facilities, as well as requirements for data centres to use at least 30 per cent renewable energy, as approved by the government.

He added that data centres were also encouraged to participate in Cress to obtain green energy directly.