More can opt for RE as govt raises Green Electricity Tariff quota
12 Jan 2023
The government has increased the available quota of the Green Electricity Tariff (GET) to 6,600 gigawat-hour (GWh), from the 4,500 GWh offered last year.
The increase in quota by 46% follows the increase in renewable energy (RE) generation capacity in the country, as well as encouraging demand from consumers, the Ministry of Natural Resources, Environment and Climate Change (NRECC) said in a statement.
“NRECC is fully committed to offering green electricity supply from RE sources to users, especially commercial companies and industry participants that would like to reduce their carbon footprint in an effort to ensure environmental sustainability,” said Minister Nik Nazmi Nik Ahmad.
“The GET programme provides an option for businesses, investors and organisations operating in Malaysia to fulfil their Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) commitment through the utilisation of electricity from RE sources,” he added.
According to the ministry, the previous GET quota allocation was taken up by 1,994 consumers from the domestic, commercial and industry category.
First implemented in 20222, the GET is a strategic initiative by the government to provide green electricity generated from renewable sources to customers of Tenaga Nasional Berhad (TNB) who intend to reduce their carbon footprint.
Subscribers will receive a certificate that verifies their RE source electricity supply through the Malaysia Renewable Energy Certificate (mREC), which is registered with an international certification body.
In exchange, GET subscribers are imposed a surcharge of 3.7 sen/kWh on top of the base tariff.
According to the ministry, they will also continue to be exempted from the imbalance cost pass-through (ICPT) mechanism in 1H2023. The current ICPT cycle imposes a surcharge of up to 20 sen/kWh in the same period to reflect elevated prices of fuel used for conventional power generation.
The exemption was first given in 2022 as an incentive for users to adopt the GET scheme.
Those who subscribe to GET include companies such as multinationals, who pay the surcharge in order to be positioned as a user of green energy and shore up their ESG credentials amid pressure from investors, financiers, and customers to be cleaner and environmentally conscious.
The GET quota by the government ties to the available RE capacity in the national grid. Peninsular Malaysia’s installed RE capacity, which stood at 7,995mw as at June 2021, rose to 8,700mw in March 2022, according to reports.
Consumers that would like to subscribe or renew the GET programme can do so by applying through Tenaga Nasional Bhd’s (TNB) website or visit the nearest Kedai Tenaga TNB.
Source: The Edge Markets
