Energy Commission of Malaysia
Encyclopedia
The Energy Commission of Malaysia was created under the Energy Commission Act 2001 as a new regulator for the energy
Energy
In physics, energy is an indirectly observed quantity. It is often understood as the ability a physical system has to do work on other physical systems...

 industry in Peninsular Malaysia
Peninsular Malaysia
Peninsular Malaysia , also known as West Malaysia , is the part of Malaysia which lies on the Malay Peninsula. Its area is . It shares a land border with Thailand in the north. To the south is the island of Singapore. Across the Strait of Malacca to the west lies the island of Sumatra...

 and Sabah
Sabah
Sabah is one of 13 member states of Malaysia. It is located on the northern portion of the island of Borneo. It is the second largest state in the country after Sarawak, which it borders on its southwest. It also shares a border with the province of East Kalimantan of Indonesia in the south...

. The Commission was established to ensure that the energy industry
Energy industry
The energy industry is the totality of all of the industries involved in the production and sale of energy, including fuel extraction, manufacturing, refining and distribution...

 is developed in an efficient manner so that Malaysia is ready to meet the new challenges of globalization and liberalization, particularly in the energy supply
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...

 industry.

The commission regulates and promotes all matters relating to the electricity
Electricity
Electricity is a general term encompassing a variety of phenomena resulting from the presence and flow of electric charge. These include many easily recognizable phenomena, such as lightning, static electricity, and the flow of electrical current in an electrical wire...

 and gas
Natural gas
Natural gas is a naturally occurring gas mixture consisting primarily of methane, typically with 0–20% higher hydrocarbons . It is found associated with other hydrocarbon fuel, in coal beds, as methane clathrates, and is an important fuel source and a major feedstock for fertilizers.Most natural...

 supply industry within the scope of applicable legislation
Legislation
Legislation is law which has been promulgated by a legislature or other governing body, or the process of making it...

 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
Self-policing
Self-policing, a form of self-regulation, is the process whereby an organization is asked, or volunteers, to monitor its own adherence to legal, ethical, or safety standards, rather than have an outside, independent agency such as a governmental entity monitor and enforce those standards.-To the...

 approach.

History

Prior to privatization
Privatization
Privatization is the incidence or process of transferring ownership of a business, enterprise, agency or public service from the public sector to the private sector or to private non-profit organizations...

 in 1990, the responsibility for planning and operation of the electricity supply industry in Peninsular Malaysia
Peninsular Malaysia
Peninsular Malaysia , also known as West Malaysia , is the part of Malaysia which lies on the Malay Peninsula. Its area is . It shares a land border with Thailand in the north. To the south is the island of Singapore. Across the Strait of Malacca to the west lies the island of Sumatra...

 and Sabah
Sabah
Sabah is one of 13 member states of Malaysia. It is located on the northern portion of the island of Borneo. It is the second largest state in the country after Sarawak, which it borders on its southwest. It also shares a border with the province of East Kalimantan of Indonesia in the south...

 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
Independent Power Producer
An Independent Power Producer is an entity, which is not a public utility, but which owns facilities to generate electric power for sale to utilities and end users...

 and the safety of electrical installations and equipment. Whereas in Sarawak
Sarawak
Sarawak is one of two Malaysian states on the island of Borneo. Known as Bumi Kenyalang , Sarawak is situated on the north-west of the island. It is the largest state in Malaysia followed by Sabah, the second largest state located to the North- East.The administrative capital is Kuching, which...

, the Sarawak Electricity Supply Corporation
Sarawak Electricity Supply Corporation
Syarikat SESCO Berhad is the privatized organization responsible for the generation, transmission and distribution of electricity for the Sarawak state in Malaysia. It was privatized on 1 July 2005.SESCo provides electricity to about 382 000 customers...

 (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
Prime Minister of Malaysia
The Prime Minister of Malaysia is the indirectly elected head of government of Malaysia. He is officially appointed by the Yang di-Pertuan Agong, the head of state, who in HM's judgment is likely to command the confidence of the majority of the members of that House of Representatives , the...

 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
Deregulation
Deregulation is the removal or simplification of government rules and regulations that constrain the operation of market forces.Deregulation is the removal or simplification of government rules and regulations that constrain the operation of market forces.Deregulation is the removal or...

, the Energy Commission Act 2001 was approved by the parliament
Parliament of Malaysia
The Parliament of Malaysia is the national legislature of Malaysia, based on the Westminster system. The bicameral parliament consists of the House of Representatives and the Senate. The King as the Head of State is the third component of Parliament....

 to take over the functions of the Department of Electricity and Gas Supply. The Energy Commission was established under this act on May 1, 2001 and became fully operational on January 2, 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
    Regulatory economics is the economics of regulation, in the sense of the application of law by government that is used for various purposes, such as centrally-planning an economy, remedying market failure, enriching well-connected firms, or benefiting politicians...

    , which includes to promote efficiency and economy in the generation
    Electricity generation
    Electricity generation is the process of generating electric energy from other forms of energy.The fundamental principles of electricity generation were discovered during the 1820s and early 1830s by the British scientist Michael Faraday...

    , production
    Natural gas processing
    Natural-gas processing is a complex industrial process designed to clean raw natural gas by separating impurities and various non-methane hydrocarbons and fluids to produce what is known as pipeline quality dry natural gas.-Background:...

    , transmission
    Electric power transmission
    Electric-power transmission is the bulk transfer of electrical energy, from generating power plants to Electrical substations located near demand centers...

    , distribution
    Electricity distribution
    File:Electricity grid simple- North America.svg|thumb|380px|right|Simplified diagram of AC electricity distribution from generation stations to consumers...

    , supply and the use of electricity and in the gas supply industry and the use of gas supply through pipelines
    Pipeline transport
    Pipeline transport is the transportation of goods through a pipe. Most commonly, liquids and gases are sent, but pneumatic tubes that transport solid capsules using compressed air are also used....

    ; promoting and safeguarding competition; enabling fair and efficient market conduct or, in the absence of a competitive market, to prevent the misuse of monopoly
    Monopoly
    A monopoly exists when a specific person or enterprise is the only supplier of a particular commodity...

     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
    Electricity tariff
    Electricity pricing varies widely from country to country, and may vary signicantly from locality to locality within a particular country. There are many reasons that account for these differences in price...

     in the country reflect fair pricing which is affordable to consumers and less costly to production
    Manufacturing
    Manufacturing is the use of machines, tools and labor to produce goods for use or sale. The term may refer to a range of human activity, from handicraft to high tech, but is most commonly applied to industrial production, in which raw materials are transformed into finished goods on a large scale...

     industries and commercial
    Business
    A business is an organization engaged in the trade of goods, services, or both to consumers. Businesses are predominant in capitalist economies, where most of them are privately owned and administered to earn profit to increase the wealth of their owners. Businesses may also be not-for-profit...

     enterprises, while allowing a reasonable profit to the utility
    Electric utility
    An electric utility is a company that engages in the generation, transmission, and distribution of electricity for sale generally in a regulated market. The electrical utility industry is a major provider of energy in most countries. It is indispensable to factories, commercial establishments,...

    .

  • Technical regulation, to achieve secure, reliable, safe system and realization of fair and transparent conduct of the grid
    National Grid, Malaysia
    National Grid, Malaysia is the high-voltage electric power transmission network in Peninsular Malaysia. It is operated and owned by Tenaga Nasional Berhad by its Transmission Division...

     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
    Dispute resolution
    Dispute resolution is the process of resolving disputes between parties.-Methods:Methods of dispute resolution include:* lawsuits * arbitration* collaborative law* mediation* conciliation* many types of negotiation* facilitation...

    , 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
Efficient energy use
Efficient energy use, sometimes simply called energy efficiency, is the goal of efforts to reduce the amount of energy required to provide products and services. For example, insulating a home allows a building to use less heating and cooling energy to achieve and maintain a comfortable temperature...

 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
    Putrajaya
    Putrajaya is a planned city, located 25km south of Kuala Lumpur, that serves as the federal administrative centre of Malaysia. The seat of government was shifted in 1999 from Kuala Lumpur to Putrajaya, due to the overcrowding and congestion in the Kuala Lumpur areas...

  • Small Renewable Energy Programme (SREP)
  • Demand Side Management (DSM)
  • Energy efficiency campaigns

External links

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