18/10/2025

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SATURDAY | OCT 18, 2025

Tariff restructure key to stronger power ecosystem

Malaysia’s trade shows resilience, rises to RM257.5b in September KUALA LUMPUR: Malaysia’s trade continued to show resilience in September 2025, growing by 9.8% year-on-year (y-o-y) to RM257.51 billion, reversing the previous month’s contraction amid global trade uncer-tainties. In a statement yesterday, the Ministry of Investment, Trade and Industry (Miti) said export growth remained robust for the third straight month, rising 12.2% y o-y to RM138.68 billion, while imports rebounded by 7.3% to RM118.82 billion, resulting in a trade surplus of RM19.86 billion. The ministry said September’s export growth was recorded across all sectors, with expansion in the manufacturing sector led by electrical and electronic (E&E) products, which posted their highest value, increasing by nearly RM11 billion. It said other main contributors included machinery, equipment and parts, as well as optical and scientific equipment. “Meanwhile, the mining sector rebounded after 13 months of contraction, mainly due to higher exports of metalliferous ores and metal scrap. “As for the agriculture sector, palm oil and palm oil-based agriculture products recorded the largest increase,” it said. According to Miti, Malaysia recorded an uptick in exports to major trading partners, namely Asean, China, the United States, Taiwan and the European Union. “Exports continued to expand to free trade agreement partners with significant increases registered for Mexico, India, Australia, New Zealand, Turkiye, the United Kingdom, Pakistan and Canada,” it said. For the period from January to September 2025, trade, exports and imports recorded their highest cumulative value, with trade rising 4.4% to RM2.235 trillion y-o-y, with exports rising 4.8% to RM1.170 trillion and imports up by 4% to RM1.064 trillion, resulting in a trade surplus of RM105.65 billion. – Bernama

Ű BY HAYATUN RAZAK sunbiz@thesundaily.com

determined rates to more cost-re flective pricing. Key changes included an average base tariff of 45.4 sen/kWh and the introduction of new categories (low, medium, and high voltage) for non-domestic users. A new fuel cost adjustment mechanism called Automatic Fuel Adjustment (AFA), replacing the older Imbalance Cost Pass-Through mechanism. Under AFA, adjustments in fuel costs and foreign exchange rates are passed monthly. Domestic users consuming less than 1,000kWh benefit from rebates and stable pricing. In contrast, high-consumption industrial users such as data centres and heavy manufacturers now

o Decentralised generation, rooftop solar and new industrial demand profiles require different approach to cost recovery, says Energy Commission Malaysia CEO

KUALA LUMPUR: The electricity tariff reform introduced in July this year was a crucial step to streng then Malaysia’s energy ecosystem – supporting a more decentralised model as homes, businesses and industries increasingly generate their own solar power while safeguarding grid stability amid the growing adoption of renewables. Energy Commission Malaysia CEO Siti Safinah Salleh ( pic ) said 60% of Malaysia’s solar output now comes from the distribution level, such as rooftop and commercial systems, not large-scale solar farms. “Many people do not know that our system is changing. Decentralised generation, rooftop solar and new industrial demand profiles now require a different approach to cost recovery. That is exactly how I told it to our Cabinet to get that approval (of the tariff change), because our system is changing,” she told SunBiz at the Asean Energy Business Forum yesterday. She said Malaysia has now reached phase three of renewable integration, where variable renew able energy such as solar is begin ning to reshape the country’s system profile. “Before this, peak electricity demand typically occurred around 3pm, but it has now shifted to just before 9pm due to the surge in daytime solar generation.” According to Siti Safinah, data from the national grid shows a new load curve resembling “two small hills and one larger evening peak”, indicating how renewables have changed consumption patterns.

together grid planners, fuel sup pliers and distribution operators to coordinate long-term energy plan ning. “It is only fair that we change the way we price electricity as the system evolves. Everyone, including regulators, utilities and consumers, needs a mindset change to build a more flexible, resilient grid.” Malaysia’s electricity tariff

She said the Energy Commission is assessing how to prepare the grid for this new pattern by introducing battery energy storage systems and other flexible technologies to stabilise supply. “We hope to see a smaller, smoother ‘duck curve,’ not a big one. It’s very important that we continue to monitor, forecast and predict how the system behaves, identify operational measures to manage variability, and feed those insights into forward planning.” She added that understanding how new demand segments such as data centres and high-tech industries are shaping electricity consumption is also essential for future planning. “We also can see that these high consumption users will soon account for a major share of the national load profile.” Siti Satinah said the commission also needs to account for changing weather patterns in its planning. “As you know, on the Peninsular Malaysia side, we are not blessed with strong wind resources to develop large-scale wind energy. However, we have much greater solar potential, so our planning is naturally geared toward the solar profile in this region.” She said the commission has set up several task forces that bring

restructuring, which took effect in July under Regulatory Period 4, was the country’s first major overhaul of the power pricing framework in more than a decade. The new structure unbundles energy, capa city and network costs and introduces a monthly auto

face rates that reflect the real cost of supply.

matic fuel ad justment, shifting from uni form, centrally

Marine & General ready to face uncertainties after steady Q1 performance PETALING JAYA: Marine & General Bhd views the prospects for its upstream division as closely tied to exploration and drilling activity while for the downstream division, it anticipates steady operational levels, supported by continued demand for Malaysian-flagged tankers. Europe that may impact supply and demand dynamics. The group’s performance in the first quarter of FY26 has been encouraging, broadly in line with expectations, providing a steady foundation for the year ahead. downtime and a challenging market environment. The results also reflect the group’s ability to sustain revenue growth while continuing to optimise its fleet and diversify operations. previously, mainly due to temporary downtime for nine vessels under going repair, equipment installation, and certification in preparation for new contracts.

In line with a stable domestic economy, the downstream division recorded fleet utilisation of 83%, compared to 84% in the prior financial year. It operated a fleet of four chemical tankers and two clean petroleum product (CPP) tankers, which includes one vessel on bareboat charter, bringing its fleet to six vessels. As part of its fleet optimisation strategy, the division disposed of three older vessels over the past two years and, in April 2025, signed a RM55.2 million agreement to acquire a CPP tanker, pending completion in FY26. This fleet rationalisation has reduced the division’s average vessel age from 10.6 years to 9.8 years. Further, the downstream division maintained its strong safety perfor mance, recording about 4.9 million man-hours without LTI in FY25.

Daily charter rates improved over the prior year, although they remain below the peak levels recorded in 2014. The division expanded its operations to include commercial and technical management of third-party vessels, providing professional fleet management services to investors with smaller fleets without incurring the overhead of setting up full vessel management teams. In addition, the upstream division continued to uphold its strong safety culture, achieving about 18.9 million man-hours without any lost-time injury (LTI) as at the end of FY25. The last LTI incident occurred in April 2013.

Speaking at the end of the AGM, Marine & General executive chairman Tan Sri Mohd Azlan Hashim said the group is pleased and encouraged by the positive response from attendees to this year’s AGM. “The company managed to present a clear review of its perfor mance and address questions raised during the session. I sincerely hope that our shareholders will continue to support the board as we nurture the company’s recovery and strengthen its long-term growth,” he said. For the group’s upstream division, vessel utilisation during the financial year eased to about 70% from 78%

At its 28th AGM yesterday, shareholders were briefed on the group’s financial performance. For the financial year ended April 30, 2025, the group posted conso lidated revenue of RM352.1 million, compared to RM348 million in the previous financial year. The group recorded profit before tax of RM52.3 million and profit after tax of RM66.5 million. While profit before tax was lower than the RM68.3 million recorded in the previous financial year, the group demonstrated resilience, maintaining profitability amid temporary vessel

Future fleet expansion will be carefully assessed in line with market conditions and the group’s long-term strategy to become a leading tanker operator in Malaysia. Looking ahead, the Marine & General board has cautioned that the industry continues to face uncer tainties stemming from evolving regulatory requirements, expected pressure on oil prices due to global supply exceeding demand, the development of green energy alternatives, and ongoing geopolitical conflicts in the Middle East and