Buying green power through CRESS just got a cheaper grid fee: 14 sen per kWh, down from 20 - and a RM34m solar build lands 19 days later
Malaysia has cut the grid fee on green power bought through CRESS to 14 sen per kWh for firm supply, from 20 sen. The deal comes with a 10-year minimum contract and a hard 31 December 2028 start-up deadline. On 7 October, solar builder Northern Solar booked a RM34m contract for a 9.5 MW plant and pointed to the cut as a source of more work.
Six sen. That is how much less a green power supplier pays per kWh to send electricity across Tenaga Nasional Bhd's (TNB) grid under Malaysia's new CRESS Acceleration Package.
First, the two terms. CRESS is the Corporate Renewable Energy Supply Scheme. It lets a business buy green electricity straight from a solar or other renewable developer, with the power carried over the existing grid, Petra (the Ministry of Energy Transition and Water Transformation) says. The SAC, or system access charge, is the toll for that trip: the fee the renewable supplier pays TNB to use the national grid, as The Edge describes it.
Petra announced the package on 18 September 2026. Its release sets the SAC at 14 sen per kWh for "firm" supply. Firm, in plain words, means steady, dependable delivery, not just whatever the panels make at noon. The Energy Commission (Suruhanjaya Tenaga) publishes separate rules on firming solar with battery storage for CRESS. The previous rate was 20 sen, The Edge (7 Oct 2026) and The Star (22 Sep 2026) report. The Star says the SAC started at 25 sen when CRESS opened in 2024 and dropped to 20 sen on 29 August 2025.
The package carries three conditions, per Petra's release. Contracts between developer and buyer run at least 10 years. A project reaches commercial operation by 31 December 2028 to keep the 14 sen rate. Miss that date and the project falls back to whatever SAC applies at the time, with no extensions. The package is open to developers and buyers already registered with the Single Buyer, and to new ones who meet the conditions. Since 2024, 11 developers and eight buyers have registered, covering 3,148 MW of projects, Petra says.
Now the market signal. Northern Solar Holdings Bhd accepted a letter of award on 7 October for a RM34m contract to engineer, procure, build and commission a 9.5 MW large-scale solar plant, The Edge reports (7 Oct 2026). Commercial operation is scheduled by 1 May 2027. The buyer is not named, citing confidentiality. The award takes Northern Solar's 2026 wins to about RM153.4m, after RM119.4m of large-scale solar contracts in March. Its unbilled order book stood at RM189.3m at end-June 2026.
The company tied its outlook to the CRESS changes. "Lower grid-access charges and greater contractual certainty can help developers move projects towards financing and construction. As these projects progress, they create additional demand for engineering, construction, and commissioning services," managing director Lew Shoong Kai said, per The Edge.
For buyers, The Star quotes Siemens Energy's Evan Ng: the six-sen cut could improve project economics by up to 10%, based on power purchase tariffs of about 55 to 60 sen per kWh. He also said it could widen CRESS beyond data centres to some high-voltage and medium-voltage users. That is his estimate for projects, not a bill figure for any site.
Analogy: think of a farmer selling produce to a restaurant across town. The farmer pays a toll to use the highway. Cut the toll by 30% and the farmer has more room on price. The restaurant still decides whether the deal beats its usual supplier.
Good: The fee cut is on paper from the ministry, with a number, a contract length and a deadline. Ten-year terms give a buyer a long, known price runway. One listed builder already points to it as a source of future work, and the ministry names solar-plus-battery setups in the technical rules it plans to improve.
Bad: Northern Solar's job is a 9.5 MW utility-scale plant for an undisclosed buyer, not a factory roof. The company did not say this plant is a CRESS project. CRESS is also a different route from Solar ATAP, where a business puts panels on its own roof and uses the power on site. One route buys green power from someone else's plant. The other makes it on your building. A site can weigh both.
Ugly: The awarding party is undisclosed, and the plant is not due to run until May 2027. Petra's release gives no start date for the 14 sen rate, and the Energy Commission's application process page for the package reads "To Be Updated Soon" as of 8 October. Petra also plans to rework how the SAC is set from the fifth regulatory period starting 2028. The Star quotes BIMB Research flagging that the existing review and adjustment rules for the fee were not clarified. We will not invent a per-kWh saving for any site. None of these sources publishes one.
Soft next step: if you are weighing a CRESS green power contract against solar and a battery on your own roof, start with when your site uses power and how much of it runs after dark. Then a short consult at Sovryn Energy /consult if you want that shape read against your meter.
Source: The Edge Malaysia, 7 Oct 2026 - Northern Solar bags RM34m solar plant contract a day after Main Market transfer. Primary source for the RM34m / 9.5 MW contract, 1 May 2027 COD, RM153.4m year-to-date, RM189.3m order book, Lew quote, the SAC definition and 20 to 14 sen cut. Does not name the buyer or say whether the plant is a CRESS project. Petra media release (Malay), 18 Sep 2026, hosted by the Energy Commission - Kerajaan perkukuh pelaksanaan CRESS dan memperkenalkan Pakej Pemerkasaan CRESS. Confirms 14 sen/kWh for firm supply, 10-year contract, 31 Dec 2028 COD cut-off with no extensions, open to registered and new parties, 11 developers / 8 buyers / 3,148 MW, SAC principles reworked from 2028. Does not state the old 20 sen rate or an effective date. Bernama, 18 Sep 2026 - Govt Introduces CRESS Acceleration Package With SAC Rate Of 14 Sen/kWh. English report of the Petra release with the same figures and the CRESS definition. No effective date. The Star, 22 Sep 2026 - Solar gold rush gets CRESS lift. Confirms 20 to 14 sen, SAC history (25 sen in 2024, 20 sen from 29 Aug 2025), Siemens Energy and BIMB Research comments. Analyst views, not site tariffs.