EGAT Joins Hands With TNB To Enhance Capacity Of Thailand-Malaysia Interconnection And Support ASEAN Power Grid

EGAT joined hands with TNB to sign an MOU for the feasibility study on the proposed enhancement of the interconnection capacity between Peninsular Malaysia and Thailand to support the ASEAN Power Grid, enhance electricity procurement security, and move toward becoming the ASEAN energy trading hub in the future.

On February 9, 2023, General Prayut Chan-o-cha, Prime Minister and Minister of Defense of Thailand, and Dato’ Seri Anwar bin Ibrahim, Prime Minister of Malaysia, witnessed the exchange ceremony of  Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) between the Electricity Generating Authority of Thailand (EGAT) and Tenaga Nasional Berhad (TNB) to jointly develop the Thailand-Malaysia interconnection, held at the Government House of Thailand, Bangkok. The MOU was signed by Mr. Boonyanit Wongrukmit, EGAT Governor, and Dato’ Indera Ir. Baharin bin Din, TNB CEO, along with the witnesses: Mr. Prasertsak Cherngchawano, EGAT Deputy Governor – Strategy, and Datuk Shamsul bin Ahmad, TNB Chief Regulatory and Stakeholder Management Officer.

Mr. Boonyanit Wongrukmit, EGAT Governor revealed that the cooperation between TNB and EGAT is an important step in raising the standard of the interconnection between both countries to support the ASEAN Power Grid, build power system security, and can be used for energy trading when their is high demand or during the crisis. The goal is to become the ASEAN energy trading hub in the future. Both organizations will jointly study the enhancement of the interconnection capacity between Peninsular Malaysia and Thailand for a period of three years, including designing the most efficient transmission system, studying related laws and regulations, as well as assessing cost and risk, as the term of the Thailand-Malaysia HVDC interconnection, which has been operating since 2002, will end in 2027.

Dato’ Indera Ir. Baharin bin Din, TNB CEO added that TNB and EGAT are determined to drive the success of the ASEAN Power Grid with the study of the enhancement of the interconnection capacity between Peninsular Malaysia and Thailand. TNB has also commissioned an interconnection with Singapore and an interconnection from Sumatra Island to Peninsular Malaysia and Kalimantan to Sabah with the help of Perusahaan Listrik Negara (PLN). TNB hopes to learn from EGAT’s expertise, such as energy storage system development as well as other collaborations in the future.