Yes, EECA 2024 applies to data centres in Peninsular Malaysia and Labuan that use 21,600 GJ or more of electricity and fuels in any 12 consecutive months (Energy Commission). That is 6,000 MWh, or about 0.68 MW of average total load, so every serious data hall is covered.
Once the Energy Commission serves written notice, the operator must appoint a Registered Energy Manager, run an energy management system, report every year and have an energy audit every five years (Act 861). The Act has applied since 1 January 2025; it does not apply in Sabah or Sarawak.
- 21,600 GJ
- Yearly energy that brings a premises under EECA (Energy Commission)
- 0.68 MW
- The same threshold as average total load (calculation below)
- 5 years
- Between energy audits (Act 861)
Does EECA 2024 apply to data centres? What is 21,600 GJ in MW?
Yes, once a data centre in Peninsular Malaysia or Labuan uses 21,600 GJ or more of electricity and fuels in any 12 consecutive months and receives written notice (Energy Commission). The conversion:
- 21,600 GJ ÷ 3.6 GJ per MWh = 6,000 MWh
- 6,000 MWh ÷ 8,760 hours = 0.685 MW of average total load
The threshold counts all energy the premises uses, IT and cooling together, not IT load alone.
What must a data-centre operator do?
| Duty | When |
|---|---|
| Appoint a Registered Energy Manager | Within 3 months of the notice |
| Run an energy management system | Within 1 year of that appointment |
| Submit an annual report | Within 30 days after each year |
| Have an energy audit by a Registered Energy Auditor | First within 1 year of the notice, then every 5 years |
Sources: Act 861; EEC Regulations 2024.
Who can be a Registered Energy Manager, and how do I register?
Registered Energy Managers are registered with the Energy Commission under the EEC Regulations 2024, which set the qualifications and the types of manager (EEC Regulations 2024). Registration is with the Energy Commission; check its current requirements before appointing.
What are the penalties?
Failing the duties after notice is an offence under EECA 2024, punishable by fine; the amounts are set in the Act’s offence provisions (Act 861).
Does EECA apply in Sabah and Sarawak?
No. EECA 2024 covers Peninsular Malaysia and Labuan only (Energy Commission). National rules such as the MITI guideline for DESAC applicants still apply in Sabah and Sarawak.
What does each report section mean for a data centre?
EECA’s annual report asks for energy use, a production or “variable” figure, energy intensity, and energy-saving measures. For a data centre, our reading:
| Report section | What it means for a data centre |
|---|---|
| Energy consumption | Facility energy over 12 months, the same total used for PUE |
| Variable (production) data | IT energy, or AI output: answers or tokens served |
| Energy intensity | GJ per MWh of IT energy, or GJ per million AI answers |
| Energy-saving measures and savings | Measures such as cooling changes or workload efficiency, with verified savings in GJ and RM |
Using AI output as the variable needs a way to count it. Our open method defines answers per MWh and energy per answer for exactly this.
How far over the threshold is a typical hall?
At 70% average IT load and the MITI guideline’s design PUE, a 5 MW hall is 8.7 times the threshold, a 20 MW hall 34.7 times and a 50 MW hall 71.5 times. Facility energy = IT MW × 0.70 × 8,760 h × PUE; times the threshold = facility MWh ÷ 6,000.
| IT load | Design PUE | IT energy / yr | Facility energy / yr | Times the threshold |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 5 MW | 1.7 | 30,660 MWh | 52,122 MWh | 8.7× |
| 20 MW | 1.7 | 122,640 MWh | 208,488 MWh | 34.7× |
| 50 MW | 1.4 | 306,600 MWh | 429,240 MWh | 71.5× |
What is not public
We could not confirm these from a published source as of 10 November 2026. Do not assume them:
- Data-centre-specific EECA guidance from the Energy Commission
- Which data centres have been served notice
Croutons Research publishes open data and methods on AI data centres in Malaysia. See the open method for measuring AI work per megawatt.
Sources
- Energy Commission, who EECA 2024 covers
- Energy Efficiency and Conservation Act 2024 (Act 861), Energy Commission PDF
- Energy Efficiency and Conservation Regulations 2024 (P.U.(A) 466/2024), Energy Commission PDF
Last checked 10 November 2026