KUALA LUMPUR, Oct 17 — Malaysia and Singapore announced significant progress on two new electricity interconnection projects aimed at strengthening cross-border power trade, reflecting both countries’ shared commitment to energy security, decarbonisation, and regional growth.
On the sidelines of the 43rd Asean Ministers on Energy Meeting (AMEM), the Singapore Energy Interconnections (SGEI), SP Group, and Tenaga Nasional Bhd (TNB) signed a Joint Development Agreement (JDA) to conduct detailed feasibility studies for a second electricity interconnection between Singapore and Peninsular Malaysia.
“Building on a pre-feasibility study by SP Group and TNB completed in May 2025, the proposed interconnector could support up to two gigawatts (GW) of capacity by 2030, complementing the existing link, which allows up to one GW of bi-directional electricity flows,” said the Energy Transition and Water Transformation Ministry and Singapore’s Trade and Industry Ministry in a joint statement today.
The JDA exchange ceremony was witnessed by Deputy Prime Minister cum Energy Transition and Water Transformation Minister Datuk Seri Fadillah Yusof and Singapore’s Minister-in-charge of Energy, Science, and Technology Dr Tan See Leng.
It was also announced that Singapore’s Energy Market Authority (EMA) has granted Conditional Approval (CA) to Sembcorp Utilities Pte Ltd (Sembcorp) and Sarawak Energy Bhd to import approximately one GW of low-carbon electricity from Sarawak.
“The project, powered primarily by hydropower, has been assessed as preliminarily technically and commercially viable and is expected to commence operations around 2035, subject to final approvals and subsea cable installation,” the ministries said.
The CA was presented at two back-to-back ceremonies today, firstly witnessed by Sarawak Premier Tan Sri Abang Johari Openg and Singapore’s Deputy Prime Minister cum Trade and Industry Minister Gan Kim Yong in Singapore, followed by a ceremony witnessed by Fadillah and Tan on the sidelines of the 43rd AMEM at the Kuala Lumpur Convention Centre (KLCC).
Meanwhile, Singapore’s Energy Market Authority (EMA) announced that it has preliminarily assessed the Sembcorp and Sarawak Energy consortium’s project proposal as technically and commercially viable for supplying electricity from hydropower in Sarawak.
For the project to progress, the consortium will need to secure all requisite approvals from relevant jurisdictions, including countries through which the transmission cables will pass.
“The CA provides the consortium with regulatory support from EMA to continue to develop the project to meet its proposed commercial operation date, which is expected to be around 2035.
“Low-carbon electricity imports form a key part of Singapore’s strategy to decarbonise the power sector, which currently accounts for 40 per cent of our carbon emissions,” it said in a separate statement.
