KUALA LUMPUR: ASEAN Power Grid’s (APG) enhanced memorandum of understanding (MoU), projected to be finalised by the end of this year, will focus on standardising rules and regulations, aligning technical requirements and establishing a financial model.
Deputy Prime Minister Datuk Seri Fadillah Yusof said the enhanced MoU would pave the way for implementation under the Philippines’ chairmanship next year.
“So, these are the areas that we need to focus on. And if we can come to an agreement on the three principal issues, then hopefully by next year, it can be translated into action,” he said during the Ministerial Plenary session titled “Enabling Asia’s Future Energy Ecosystem” at the Energy Asia 2025 Conference today.
The APG, introduced in 1997, is a region-wide initiative to interconnect the electricity infrastructure among the bloc’s 10 member countries, aiming to achieve fully integrated grid operation by 2045.
Fadillah, who is also the Energy Transition and Water Transformation Minister, said Malaysia, as the ASEAN chair in 2025, is committed to enhancing regional energy connectivity and accelerating the development of the APG.
“Vietnam, Cambodia and Laos have hydropower and wind. Malaysia has solar, and Indonesia has ocean energy.
“If all ASEAN countries work together with our big population and mix of energy sources, we could become one of the world’s top renewable energy suppliers,” he said.
Besides, he said ASEAN is considering the need for a regional regulator to streamline development and ensure standardised rules across member states.
“One of the ideas that we are looking at right now is (whether) we need what we call the ASEAN regulator so that we have one entity that looks at it from the viewpoint of all ASEAN members,” he said.
Meanwhile, he noted that the 43rd ASEAN Senior Officials’ Meeting on Energy, beginning today, aims to align regional energy strategies and strengthen cooperation on shared priorities.
The three-day meeting will focus on two key priorities, mainly renewing the APG MoU and establishing a framework for subsea power cable projects.
According to the Ministry of Energy Transition and Water Transformation (PETRA) secretary-general Mad Zaidi Mohd Karli, the updated APG MoU is key to improving cross-border electricity connectivity and boosting regional energy security.
The meeting will also discuss draft guidelines for subsea cable projects, including plans to export hydropower from Sarawak to high-demand areas in Southeast Asia.
