The Energy Commission ( ms, Suruhanjaya Tenaga), abbreviated ST, was created under the Energy Commission Act 2001 as a new regulator for the

energy In physics, energy (from Ancient Greek: ἐνέργεια, ''enérgeia'', “activity”) is the quantitative property that is transferred to a body or to a physical system, recognizable in the performance of work and in the form of hea ...

industry in

Peninsular Malaysia Peninsular Malaysia ( ms, Semenanjung Malaysia; Jawi: سمننجڠ مليسيا), or the States of Malaya ( ms, Negeri-negeri Tanah Melayu; Jawi: نڬري-نڬري تانه ملايو), also known as West Malaysia or the Malaysian Peninsula, ...

and

Sabah Sabah () is a state of Malaysia located in northern Borneo, in the region of East Malaysia. Sabah borders the Malaysian state of Sarawak to the southwest and the North Kalimantan province of Indonesia to the south. The Federal Territory o ...

. The Commission was established to ensure that the energy industry is developed in an efficient manner so that Malaysia is ready to meet the new challenges of globalisation and liberalisation, particularly in the

energy supply Energy supply is the delivery of fuels or transformed fuels to point of consumption. It potentially encompasses the extraction, transmission, generation, distribution and storage of fuels. It is also sometimes called energy flow. This supply o ...

industry. The commission regulates and promotes all matters relating to the

electricity Electricity is the set of physical phenomena associated with the presence and motion of matter that has a property of electric charge. Electricity is related to magnetism, both being part of the phenomenon of electromagnetism, as describ ...

and

gas Gas is one of the four fundamental states of matter (the others being solid, liquid, and plasma). A pure gas may be made up of individual atoms (e.g. a noble gas like neon), elemental molecules made from one type of atom (e.g. oxygen), or ...

supply industry within the scope of applicable

legislation Legislation is the process or result of enrolling, enacting, or promulgating laws by a legislature, parliament, or analogous governing body. Before an item of legislation becomes law it may be known as a bill, and may be broadly referred to ...

namely Electricity Supply Act 1990, License Supply Regulation 1990, Gas Supply Act 1993, Electricity Regulation 1994, and Gas Supply Regulation 1997. In performing its role the commission takes the self-regulation approach.

History

Prior to privatisation in 1990, the responsibility for planning and operation of the electricity supply industry in

and

vested in the National Electricity Board and the Sabah Electricity Board respectively while the Electrical Inspectorate Department, under the Ministry of Energy was responsible for licensing of private generation and the safety of electrical installations and equipment. Whereas in

Sarawak Sarawak (; ) is a state of Malaysia. The largest among the 13 states, with an area almost equal to that of Peninsular Malaysia, Sarawak is located in northwest Borneo Island, and is bordered by the Malaysian state of Sabah to the northeast, ...

, the

Sarawak Electricity Supply Corporation Sarawak Energy is the electric utility company of the Malaysian state of Sarawak. It is one of Malaysia's three electrical companies, the other two being Tenaga Nasional, supplying the Peninsular Malaysia, and Sabah Electricity, which serves t ...

(SESCO) was the supply authority while the State Inspectorate was responsible for licensing and safety matters in the state. In 1990, the Electrical Inspectorate Department was abolished and the Department of Electricity Supply formed under the Electricity Supply Act 1990 as the industry and safety regulator of the electricity supply industry in Peninsular and Sabah. However, in Sarawak, the State Electricity Ordinance is still in force providing the State Electrical Inspectorate with the legal power to continue with its regulatory functions. In 1993, the Department of Gas Supply under the Prime Minister’s Department was formed for regulating the gas distribution industry. The Director General of Electricity Supply was also appointed as the Director General of Gas Supply. Administratively, the two departments are jointly known as the Department of Electricity and Gas Supply. With the anticipation of industry deregulation, the Energy Commission Act 2001 was approved by the

parliament In modern politics, and history, a parliament is a legislative body of government. Generally, a modern parliament has three functions: representing the electorate, making laws, and overseeing the government via hearings and inquiries. Th ...

to take over the functions of the Department of Electricity and Gas Supply. The Energy Commission was established under this act on 1 May 2001 and became fully operational on 2 January 2002.

Roles and Responsibilities

The Energy Commission is the regulator for the electricity and gas supply industry based on the powers provided by the Energy Commission Act 2001 and other related acts. The following are the roles and responsibilities identified by the Energy Commission: *

Economic regulation Regulatory economics is the economics of regulation. It is the application of law by government or regulatory agencies for various purposes, including remedying market failure, protecting the environment and economic management. Regulation Re ...

, which includes to promote efficiency and economy in the

generation A generation refers to all of the people born and living at about the same time, regarded collectively. It can also be described as, "the average period, generally considered to be about 20–⁠30 years, during which children are born and gr ...

production Production may refer to: Economics and business * Production (economics) * Production, the act of manufacturing goods * Production, in the outline of industrial organization, the act of making products (goods and services) * Production as a stati ...

, transmission, distribution, supply and the use of electricity and in the gas supply industry and the use of gas supply through pipelines; promoting and safeguarding competition; enabling fair and efficient market conduct or, in the absence of a competitive market, to prevent the misuse of

monopoly A monopoly (from Greek el, μόνος, mónos, single, alone, label=none and el, πωλεῖν, pōleîn, to sell, label=none), as described by Irving Fisher, is a market with the "absence of competition", creating a situation where a speci ...

or market power in respect of the generation, production, transmission, distribution and supply of electricity and the gas supply industry. It also includes licensing, enforcement of license conditions for licensee and application providers and ensuring compliance to rules and performance/service quality. *Tariff, to ensure that electricity tariff in the country reflect fair pricing which is affordable to consumers and less costly to

industries and

commercial Commercial may refer to: * a dose of advertising conveyed through media (such as - for example - radio or television) ** Radio advertisement ** Television advertisement * (adjective for:) commerce, a system of voluntary exchange of products and s ...

enterprises, while allowing a reasonable profit to the

utility As a topic of economics, utility is used to model worth or value. Its usage has evolved significantly over time. The term was introduced initially as a measure of pleasure or happiness as part of the theory of utilitarianism by moral philosoph ...

. *Technical regulation, to achieve secure, reliable, safe system and realisation of fair and transparent conduct of

the grid The Grid is an English electronic dance group, consisting of David Ball (formerly of Soft Cell) and Richard Norris, with guest contributions from other musicians. They are best known for the hits "Swamp Thing", "Texas Cowboys", "Crystal Cle ...

and distribution operator, the development and enforcement of technical codes and standards. *Consumer protection, which emphasizes the empowerment of consumers while at the same time ensures adequate protection measures in areas such as dispute resolution, affordability of services and service availability. *Safety regulation, to protect person(s) from dangers arising from the generation, production, transmission, generation, distribution, supply and use of electricity as provided under the electricity supply laws, arising from the supply of gas through pipelines, and the use of gas as provided under gas supply laws.

Projects

Several

energy efficiency Energy efficiency may refer to: * Energy efficiency (physics), the ratio between the useful output and input of an energy conversion process ** Electrical efficiency, useful power output per electrical power consumed ** Mechanical efficiency, a ra ...

projects have been started by the commission, mostly related to efficient electricity generation and use: * Capacity Building in Integrated Resources Planning (IRP) at Government and Related Agencies * Ministry of Energy, Green Technology and Water Low Energy Office (LEO) at Putrajaya * Small Renewable Energy Programme (SREP) * Demand Side Management (DSM) * Energy efficiency campaigns

References

External links

*
Energy Commission Act(2001)
{{authority control Regulation in Malaysia Energy in Malaysia Federal ministries, departments and agencies of Malaysia Government agencies established in 2001 Ministry of Energy, Technology, Science, Climate Change and Environment (Malaysia) Energy regulatory authorities

History

Roles and Responsibilities

Projects

See also

References

External links