CRESS grid access charge now 18 sen/kWh after second revision in one month — sources

THE Energy Commission has effectively firmed up the national grid system access charge (SAC) for 3rd parties at 18sen/kWh from 14sen/kWh announced previously.

The additional charge to the green consumer is applicable until end-2027 and subject to regulatory period review every three years.

“At 18sen/kWh, the new effective SAC is now 10% lower compared to pre-Acceleration Package SAC of 20sen/kWh,” said TA Securities (TA).

The new effective SAC of 18sen/kWh is estimated to reduce CRESS supply cost to ~54sen/kWh which still positions CRESS at about 5sen/kWh (8%) discount to estimated DC tariffs, before taking into account AFA surcharges.

Based on the latest January 2027 AFA surcharge projection of 7.59sen/kWh, effective DC tariffs is estimated to rise to 66.6sen/kWh, making CRESS effectively 12.6sen/kWh or 19% cheaper.

“As such, we reckon CRESS supply under the Acceleration Package remains considerably more attractive than grid power, especially in an environment of elevated fuel cost, and does not derail our thesis of improving CRESS take-up over the next two years,” said TA.

According to the Ministry of Energy Transition and Water Transformation (PETRA), some 3.1GW CRESS projects have been registered, giving rise to potential EPCC prospect of RM12 bil-14 bil.

Meanwhile, TENAGA’s data as of June 2026 indicates that 2.2GW DCs are currently under construction with another 0.5GW ESA signed, which will bring total connected DC capacity to 8.4GW.

“No change to our Overweight stance on the Power & Utilities sector,” said TA.

Overall, the latest developments underscore the NETR’s 70% RE mix target and affirms the strong outlook for RE players.

Solar EPCC players such as SAMAIDEN, SUNVIEW, SLVEST and PEKAT remain among key potential beneficiaries of a potential acceleration in CRESS rollout.

“In the asset development space, potential CRESS beneficiaries under our coverage include TENAGA, MALAKOF and YTLPOWR, alongside the solar EPCC players that are also expanding into asset ownership,” said the research house.

Key risks to their sector call include unfavourable changes to current policies favouring RE and the energy transition, delays in project rollout, a spike in supply chain cost and unscheduled plant outages. —Oct 14, 2026

Main image: power-technology.com

The post CRESS rollout could unlock RM14bil in EPCC opportunities first appeared on Focus Malaysia .