The Ingenieur Oct-Dec 2014 Vol 60, 2014

KDN PP 11720/4/2013 (032270)
THE
VOL.60
OCTOBER-DECEMBER 2014
L E M B AG A J U R U TE R A M A L AY S I A
B OA RD OF E NGI NEERS MALAYSIA
INGENIEUR
M A G A Z I N E O F T H E B O A R D O F E N G I N E E R S M A L A Y S I A
Perception of
BEM - Survey
Summary
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INGENIEUR
46
CONTENTS
6 Presidents Message
Cover Feature
16 Renewable Energy Gains

Momentum
26 Technical Challenges in
the Renewable Energy
Programme in Malaysia
31 Electricity DemandGeneration Balance: The
Question of National Energy
Security
Announcement
7 Publication Calendar
The Ingenieur e-magazine
on Smartphones & iPad
Note to Editor
8 Article on Nostalgia
BEM News
11 Perception of BEM Survey

Summary
International Policy
46 United Nations Decade of

Sustainable Energy for All
2014-2024
Guidelines
50 MS ISO 50001:2011
Energy Management
Systems
Profile
16
6
2
VOL
DECEMBER 2014
VOL 60
55 OCTOBER
JUNE 2013
55 Elon Musk: Extraordinary

Engineer
Facility Management
58 Human Error in Maintenance
64
Feature
64 Power Management in a Power

Hungry World
66 Safe, Reliable, Efficient: Creating
First-Class Gas Supply in Malaysia
70 Championing Best Practices: Energy
Commission Workshop Discusses Plant
Reliability
76 Solarcity: Solar Power for Less
Lighter Moments
55
79 The Health Benefits of

Different Sleeping Positions
Engineering Nostalgia
80 Railway Viaduct, Jalan Kinabalu
80
50
INGENIEUR
EDITORIAL BOARD
LEMBAGA JURUTERA MALAYSIA

BOARD OF ENGINEERS MALAYSIA
2013-2014
PRESIDENT
YBhg. Dato Ir. Hj. Annies bin Md Ari
BOARD MEMBERS
YBhg. Dato Ir. Nordin bin Hamdan
YBhg. Datuk Wira Ir. Md Sidek bin Ahmad
YBhg. Datuk Ir. Hj Abdul Latif bin Mohd Som
YBhg. Dato Prof. Ir. Dr Hassan bin Basri
Ir. Mohtar bin Musri
Ir. Yahiya bin Awang Kahar
Ir. Zuraimi bin Haji Sabki
Ir. Prem Kumar M Vasudevan
Ir. Dr Abdul Majid bin Dato' Abu Kassim
Ir. Tan Yean Chin
Ir. Gunasagaran Kristnan
Ir. Gopal Narian Kutty
Ir. Prof. Dr Lee Teang Shui
Ir. Choo Kok Beng
Ar. Dr Tan Loke Mun
Sr. Nik Zainal Alam bin Hassan
EDITORIAL BOARD
ADVISOR
YBhg. Dato Ir. Hj. Annies bin Md Ari
CHAIRMAN
YBhg Dato Prof. Ir. Dr Hassan bin Basri
EDITOR
YBhg Dato Ir. Fong Tian Yong
EDITORIAL MEMBERS
Prof. Ir. Dr K S Kannan

Ir. Prem Kumar
Ir. Chan Boon Teik
PUBLICATION OFFICER
Pn Nik Kamaliah Nik Abdul Rahman
SECRETARY
Ir. Ruslan bin Abdul Aziz
REGISTRAR
Ir. Hizamul-din bin Ab. Rahman
EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR
Ir. Ashari bin Mohd Yakub

The Ingenieur is published quarterly by the Board of Engineers Malaysia (Lembaga Jurutera Malaysia)
and is distributed free to registered Professional Engineers.
The statements and opinions expressed in this publication are those of the writers.
BEM invites all engineers and readers to contribute relevant articles and views to the Publisher.
PUBLISHER
Lembaga Jurutera Malaysia
Tingkat 17, Ibu Pejabat JKR, Jalan Sultan Salahuddin,
50580 Kuala Lumpur.
Tel: 03-2698 0590 Fax 03-2692 5017
e-mail: nikkamalia@bem.org.my
website: www.bem.org.my
DESIGN AND PRODUCTION: Inforeach Communications Sdn Bhd
PRINTER: Art Printing Works Sdn Bhd, 29 Jalan Riong, 59100 Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
6
4
VOL
DECEMBER 2014
VOL 60
55 OCTOBER
JUNE 2013
PRESIDENTS MESSAGE
INGENIEUR
Managing Energy
Resources
nergy resources remain the driving force

behind the economic progress of a nation
since the invention of steam engines and
later, power generation. With more inventions
and innovations centered on powered facilities
and transportation, the concern on demand
and scarcity of energy resources, particularly
non-renewable resources, has drawn worldwide
attention.
The great scientist of the 19th century,
Lord Kelvin made a statement in 1881
that the world will soon run out of its most
important energy resource because supplies
are becoming exhausted. Today, we hear the
same alarm. Although some progress is being
made to introduce renewable energy as an
alternative supply, its application is lacking far
behind the consumption pattern of fossil fuels.
The emerging economies such as China, India
and Brazil are likely to continue to rely heavily
on non-renewable energy resources to power
their industries to compete in the world market,
especially in the manufacturing sectors.
The theme chosen for this publication is
most apt in the light of the above situation. The
policies and initiatives taken towards utilization
of renewable energy is one positive contribution
of the Malaysian Government as detailed in an
article entitled Renewable Energy (RE) Gains
Momentum. It identifies biogas, biomass, small
hydro and solar PV that can enjoy the Feed-in
6
6
VOL
DECEMBER 2014
VOL 60
55 OCTOBER
JUNE 2013
Tariff (FIT) policy mechanism to spur the growth

of RE from indigenous RE sources.
The important question of energy mix
target for Malaysia warrants attention
as the way forward for Malaysian energy
policies. The article on Electricity DemandGeneration Balance mentions the national
security agenda where Malaysia must go
beyond gas and coal for its future electricity
demand-generation balance. The national
position on nuclear fuel as enshrined in the
Economic Transformation Programme can be
controversial but is a necessary option as the
way forward.
On the global front, the United Nations and
the World Bank jointly set three goals under the
Sustainable Energy for All initiative by 2030
for universal access to electricity, doubling the
rate of improvement in energy efficiency and
doubling the amount of renewable energy in the
global energy mix from its current share of 18%
to 36%.
The above scenarios will pose a challenge
to as well as opportunities for engineers.
Meanwhile, local engineers should optimize
their designs with greater energy efficiency
features and products as their contribution to a
sustainable environment.
Dato Ir. Hj. Annies bin Md Ariff

President, BEM
KDN PP 11720/4/2013 (032270)
THE
VOL.59
JULY - SEPTEMBER 2014
L E M B AG A J U R U TE R A M A L AY S I A
B OA R D OF E N GI N EER S M ALAYSI A
INGENIEUR
M A G A Z I N E O F T H E B O A R D O F E N G I N E E R S M A L A Y S I A
Practising Safe Engineering

Guideline for Occupational
Safety and Health
SAFE
ENGINEERING
Safety and Health in the Use

of Chemicals at Work
Non Revenue Water
Management
The Ingenieur is published quarterly by the

Board of Engineers Malaysia. The following
are the themes for the coming issues.
Vol. 61 Jan-March 2015
- Globalisation
Vol. 62 April-June 2015
- Waste Management
Vol. 63 July-Sept 2015
- Capacity Building
Vol. 64 Oct-Dec 2015
- Engineering Services
Articles and editorial contributions relevant
to the themes are welcomed, but the
decision to publish rests with the Editorial
Board.
ingenieur 2014-July-FA.indd 1
7/9/14 10:37 AM
Advertising inquiries are also welcomed.

Please refer to the BEM advertisement
in this issue for the latest rate card and
booking form.
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July-September 2014
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ANNOUNCEMENT
PUBLICATION CALENDAR
INGENIEUR
NOTE TO EDITOR
Article on Nostalgia : Tales behind old colonial buildings

Sg Buloh Leprosy Centre
By chance, I picked up the publication The Ingenieur Vol 59 at an office in Petaling Jaya. I was particularly
engrossed and moved when I read the above article written by Ms Foo Mee Sim. I must congratulate
her for the vivid account of the events surrounding the plight of leprosy patients that were so dreadful in
the 1800s and 1900s. The article reminds me of the historical accounts of leprosy patients in the West
who were as good as being condemned to death in isolated hide-ups.
I fully agree with the author that the present old buildings of Sg Buloh leprosarium should be
conserved as historical link to the painful past of those unfortunate inmates; many waiting for death
until remedy were discovered in the middle of 20th century.
I wish to add on the significance of this Sg Buloh Leprosy Centre. It was not only a model for other
leprosy centres around the world to replicate, but also it was from this centre that medical researchers
found the vaccines to combat the deadly leprosy virus.
Hence, the preservation of this Leprosy Centre is not only of heritage interest; it is also a tribute
to those medical staff who had volunteered their services to care for the desperate patients and the
tales of the centres confined patients. Thanks again to Ms Foo Mee Sim for her passion for the leprosy
centre.
Ms Lee Ah Ying
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VOL
DECEMBER 2014
VOL 60
55 OCTOBER
JUNE 2013
List of Products / Systems
Website : www.sistemvakuum.com
12A-02, 03 & 03A, Wisma Zelan,

Jalan Tasik Permaisuri 2,
Bandar Tun Razak, Cheras,
56000 Kuala Lumpur,
Malaysia
The Publication Committee in

deliberating its strategic plan
to enhance communication
and raise publics perception of
the integrity and achievements
of the engineering profession
had decided to conduct a survey
amongst registered engineers.
This is a summary of the results
of the 2014 Survey of Registered
Engineers Perception towards
BEM conducted by the Board of
Engineers Malaysia (BEM). The
survey was run online from July 16,
2014 to August 6, 2014.
Questionnaires were grouped
into two sections; Perception
of BEM Amongst Registered
Engineers and Personal
Information for demographic
survey purposes. The survey also
provided registered engineers with
opportunities to put forward their
comments and suggestions.
We were pleased to receive
responses from a total of 7,462
registered engineers and 2,026
BEM NEWS
Perception of
BEM Survey
Summary
comments consisting of their

feedback on BEMs roles and
functions, suggestions on service
improvements and expectations
from BEM.
Action Plan for further service
improvements
A half-day workshop to study the
results of the survey and conduct
preliminary analysis and determine
potential action plan was organised
on September 5, 2014 attended by
representatives of all committees
and Secretariat of the BEM.
The workshop participants
have developed Preliminar y
Action plans to address all areas
of concern. The workshop also
highlighted areas or scope that
requires further investigation.
Specific action plans are already
being put into place. For example,
on further service improvement,
BEM will send QR Code and a
link to access THE INGENIEUR
in digital format via email to all
registered engineers after each
volume has been printed. And this
will start with this issue, Vol. 60,
October December 2014.
F ollow - up wor kshop and
m e et in g s es sio ns w ill b e
conducted before the final findings
and strategic plans are presented
to the Board.
11
SURVEY OF REGISTERED ENGINEERS PERCEPTION TOWARDS BEM
INGENIEUR
Q1 Awareness on Functions
Answ ered: 7,421 on
Skipped: 39
Q1 Awareness
Functions
100%
80%
60%
40%
20%
0%
I am aw are
of the
functions of
BEM
I am aw are
of the
differences
betw een BE...
Extremely aware
BEM is a
regulatory
body
(registrat...
Very aware
I am aw are
that
registration
w ith BEM i...
Moderately aware
I am aw are
that I must
register w ith
BEM first...
Slightly aware
I am not at all aware
Extremely
aw are
Very
aw are
Moderately
aw are
Slightly
aw are
I am not at all
aw are
Total
I am aware of the func tions of BEM
13.49%
1,001
36.34%
2,697
37.72%
2,799
9.90%
735
2.55%
189

7,421
I am aware of the differences between BEM and IEM
17.83%
1,323
39.99%
2,968
27.91%
2,071
11.06%
821
3.21%
238

7,421
BEM is a regulatory body (registration) and IEM is a learned soc iety (membership).
26.73%
1,984
44.16%
3,277
20.82%
1,545
5.97%
443
2.32%
172

7,421
I am aware that registration with BEM is c ompulsory if I work as an engineer and

provide engineering servic es.
50.91%
3,778
35.22%
2,614
9.65%
716
2.76%
205
1.46%
108

7,421
I am aware that I must register with BEM first before applying with IEM as a member
36.09%
30.43%
17.17%
7.59%
8.73%
648

7,421
2,678
2,258
1,274
563
Q2 Quality of General Services
Q2 Quality
of General
Services
Answ ered: 7,408
Skipped: 52
100%
80%
60%
40%
20%
0%
Applica
tion
for
Regi...
Renew al
of
Registr
ation
Very Good
Applica
tion
for
Exam...
Good
Enquiry
on
MyBEM
Onli...
Unsure
Poor
Very Good
Enquiry
of
Scale
on
Fees
Enquiry
on
Enginee
rs A...
Consist
ency:
Informa
tion...
Timelin
ess:
Serv ice
s...
Very Poor
Good
Unsure
Poor
Very Poor
Total
Applic ation for Registration
20.54%
1,518
64.98%
4,803
9.90%
732
3.87%
286
0.72%
53

7,392
Renewal of Registration
16.43%
1,213
42.46%
3,135
38.73%
2,860
1.94%
143
0.45%
33

7,384
7.18%
526
31.77%
2,329
58.23%
4,268
2.39%
175
0.44%
32

7,330
10.85%
799
44.90%
3,308
39.11%
2,881
4.30%
317
0.84%
62

7,367
Enquiry on Status of Complaint Against Engineer
5.24%
385
26.49%
1,945
64.96%
4,769
2.74%
201
0.57%
42

7,342
Enquiry of Scale on Fees
6.76%
496
37.88%
2,781
51.47%
3,779
3.13%
230
0.76%
56

7,342
Enquiry on Engineers Ac t and Regulations
7.65%
561
43.64%
3,202
45.54%
3,342
2.58%
189
0.60%
44

7,338
Consistenc y: Information provided by our staff are c onsistent
8.06%
593
45.52%
3,347
40.79%
2,999
4.60%
338
1.03%
76

7,353
8.69%
637
46.46%
3,407
37.84%
2,775
5.66%
415
1.35%
99

7,333
Applic ation for Examination
Enquiry on MyBEM Online Registration System
Timeliness: Servic es provided as promised
1 / 125
6
12
Enquiry
on
Status
of...
VOL
DECEMBER 2014
VOL 60
55 OCTOBER
JUNE 2013

Q3 Quality of Services: Communication
with Customer
Q3 Quality of Services:
Communication with Customer
Answ ered: 7,378 Skipped: 82
100%
80%
60%
40%
20%
0%
Counter
Email
Very Good
Telephone
Good
Very Good
Respectfu
l and
courteous
Unsure
Poor
Good
Counter
Know ledge
able and
skilful
Helpful
Friendly
and
polite
Very Poor
Unsure
Poor
Very Poor
Total
9.31%
684
40.20%
2,952
47.82%
3,512
2.29%
168
0.38%
28

7,344
13.19%
971
52.21%
3,843
27.99%
2,060
5.16%
380
1.44%
106

7,360
9.89%
726
47.63%
3,496
36.40%
2,672
5.19%
381
0.89%
65

7,340
Respectful and courteous
12.42%
912
55.72%
4,093
28.86%
2,120
2.41%
177
0.59%
43

7,345
Knowledgeable and skilful
10.80%
793
53.23%
3,907
32.63%
2,395
2.87%
211
0.46%
34

7,340
Helpful
13.11%
55.54%
27.53%
3.11%
0.71%

7,353
Email
Telephone
964
4,084
2,024
229
52
Friendly and polite
13.33%
977
55.91%
4,098
27.67%
2,028
2.46%
180
0.63%
46

7,329
Q4 Quality of Services: BEM web site

(www.bem.org.my) (if you've not visited
BEM website before, please proceed to
question 5)
BEM website (www.bem.org.my)
Answ ered: 6,365 Skipped: 1,095
100%
80%
60%
40%
20%
0%
Informativ e
Clear
contents
Very Good
Good
Very Good
User
friendly
Visually
appealing
and trendy
Unsure
Poor
Good
Easy to
nav igate
and notice
Function
flaw lessly
Very Poor
Unsure
Poor
Very Poor
Total
Informative
15.13%
961
69.66%
4,424
9.81%
623
4.85%
308
0.55%
35

6,351
Clear c ontents
13.82%
878
67.41%
4,282
12.30%
781
5.79%
368
0.68%
43

6,352
User friendly
12.78%
810
63.28%
4,010
15.64%
991
7.56%
479
0.74%
47

6,337
Visually appealing and trendy
10.32%
653
58.10%
3,678
20.41%
1,292
10.11%
640
1.06%
67

6,330
Easy to navigate and notice
11.46%
727
61.51%
3,901
16.38%
1,039
9.68%
614
0.96%
61

6,342
54.98%
3,480
27.96%
1,770
7.41%
469
0.88%
56

6,330
Function flawlessly
8.77%
555
3 / 125
13

Q5 Quality of Services: BEM's magazine THE INGENIEUR (If you've not read THE
INGENIEUR magazine before, please
proceed to question 6)
INGENIEUR
BEMs Skipped: 2,389
Magazine - THE INGENIEUR
Answ ered: 5,071
100%
80%
60%
40%
20%
0%
Informativ e
Clear Contents
Very Good
Good
Unsure
Very Good
Lay-out
v isually
appealing and
trendy
Poor
Sufficient
number of pages
Very Poor
Good
Unsure
Poor
Very Poor
Total
Informative
18.28%
924
63.69%
3,219
14.35%
725
3.17%
160
0.51%
26

5,054
Clear Contents
16.22%
820
65.22%
3,296
15.16%
766
2.91%
147
0.49%
25

5,054
Lay-out visually appealing and trendy
14.17%
716
60.29%
3,047
19.31%
976
5.48%
277
0.75%
38

5,054
Suffic ient number of pages
12.50%
630
62.05%
3,126
20.39%
1,027
4.47%
225
0.60%
30

5,038

Q6 Image of BEM
Q6
BEM
AnswImage
ered: 7,421 of
Skipped: 39
100%
80%
60%
40%
20%
0%
BEM
is
a
highly
resp...
BEM
is
an
ethical
prof...
Strongly Agree
BEM
promote
s a
high...
BEM
is
protect
ing
the
safe...
Slightly Agree
BEM
is
ensurin
g the
qual...
BEM
regulat
es
engi...
Unsure
BEM
is
quick
to
reac...
BEM
promote
s
sust...
BEM
is
bias
tow ards
cons...
Slightly Disagree
Strongly Disagree
Strongly Agree
Unsure
Slightly Disagree
Strongly Disagree
Total
42.08%
3,123
43.38%
3,219
8.57%
636
4.81%
357
1.16%
86

7,421
BEM is an ethic al professional body.
46.52%
3,452
42.50%
3,154
8.21%
609
2.21%
164
0.57%
42

7,421
BEM promotes a highly ethic al engineering profession.
42.78%
3,175
42.15%
3,128
10.78%
800
3.37%
250
0.92%
68

7,421
BEM is protec ting the safety and interest of the public .
36.42%
2,703
42.72%
3,170
15.59%
1,157
4.15%
308
1.12%
83

7,421
BEM is ensuring the quality of engineering profession.
39.43%
2,926
42.04%
3,120
12.33%
915
4.61%
342
1.59%
118

7,421
BEM regulates engineering profession in the c ountry.
40.60%
3,013
42.47%
3,152
11.94%
886
3.75%
278
1.24%
92

7,421
BEM is quic k to reac t to engineering failures in the c ountry.
20.33%
1,509
36.60%
2,716
31.69%
2,352
8.18%
607
3.19%
237

7,421
24.11%
5 / 125
1,789
42.82%
3,178
25.14%
1,866
6.05%
449
1.87%
139

7,421
20.39%
1,513
35.55%
2,638
37.81%
2,806
4.41%
327
1.85%
137

7,421
BEM promotes sustainable and environmentally friendly development.
BEM is bias towards c onstruc tion-related industry.
6
14
Slightly Agree
BEM is a highly respec ted professional and authoritative body.
VOL
DECEMBER 2014
VOL 60
55 OCTOBER
JUNE 2013

Q7 Expectation from BEM
Answ ered: 7,421 Skipped: 39
Q7 Expectation
from BEM
100%
80%
60%
40%
20%
0%
BEM
should
consider
introducing
registra...
All BEM
registratio
n / renew al
should b...
Strongly Agree
The
present
location of
BEM is...
BEM office
hav e
ample
parking
space.
Slightly Agree
Unsure
BEM
should
focus on
all
discipli...
My
expectation
s of BEM
hav e bee...
Slightly disagree
Strongly Disagree
Strongly
Agree
Slightly
Agree
Unsure
Slightly
disagree
Strongly
Disagree
Total
BEM should c onsider introduc ing registration c ard.
51.85%
3,848
31.06%
2,305
10.21%
758
4.38%
325
2.49%
185

7,421
All BEM registration / renewal should be paperless.
49.91%
3,704
34.15%
2,534
8.81%
654
5.51%
409
1.62%
120

7,421
The present loc ation of BEM is strategic .
16.71%
1,240
33.88%
2,514
36.46%
2,706
9.16%
680
3.79%
281

7,421
8.21%
609
18.34%
1,361
50.48%
3,746
12.18%
904
10.79%
801

7,421
BEM should foc us on all disc iplines of engineering apart from construction-related
industry.
47.74%
3,543
36.30%
2,694
13.81%
1,025
1.64%
122
0.50%
37

7,421
My expec tations of BEM have been met.
11.56%
858
46.15%
3,425
28.02%
2,079
10.43%
774
3.84%
285

7,421
BEM office have ample parking space.
Other (please specify)
Can c onsider c hanging to new building from old one.
Date
8/7/2014 12:48 AM
8/6/2014 10:33 PM
BEM should be made to be more relevant to public and with better awareness. Engineering profession in Malaysia should be
highly regarded and respec ted by soc iety as a critical profession and needs to play an ac tive role in government policies and
soc ietal well being.
8/6/2014 6:39 PM
I have to send 3 applic ation to BEM for graduate engineer and only the last one is ac c epted. When I c hec ked with BEM staff, the
answer is the applic ation paper form c an't be found. Please look on this issue. Thanks
8/6/2014 5:29 PM
BEM must revise Scale on Fees for M&E , c oz M&E popvide design, Spec ific ation, tec hnic al data, Bill of Quantity etc .
8/6/2014 5:17 PM
Please be fair to other engineering-related industries.
8/6/2014 2:36 PM
Proc essing time for applic ation should be faster.
8/6/2014 11:12 AM
Need BEM to send email latest news and ac tivities. Not only depending on magazine.
8/6/2014 9:54 AM
BEM should be more ac tively engaged itself with the professionals/public via the mainstream media i.e. tv, newspaper and radio
(public ity) to make people more aware of its roles in upholding engineering prac tic es in the c ountry.
8/6/2014 9:44 AM
10
1. Should be more ac tive in promoting it's func tion as stated in the website 2. Would be helpful if the Board c an make public its
strategic plan (assuming there is one) for the betterment of the engineering industry and to safeguard the industry
8/5/2014 10:50 PM
w w w. t n b i l s a s . c o m . m y
11
Most of the course c onduc t by BEM is only suitable for onshore c ivil engineering. The requirement for PDP point resulting most of
engineer working offshore in oil and gas industry unable to get IR as we do not have ample time to attend any c ourse c onduc t by
BEM. BEM should have c irc ulate course c onduc ted by BEM every year for engineers to plan their sc hedule.
8/5/2014 7:11 PM
12
Expec ted BEM to be more robust like medic al authority in giving the ac c reditation to medic al pratitioner doc tor c an be applied
to engineer also.
8/5/2014 6:31 PM
13
Although I am still a registered graduate engineer in the midst of learning about BEM and its func tions, I am satisfied with the
servic e provided by far, or at least from what i have experienc ed myself. My humble suggestion is for BEM to emphasis equally on
all engineering disc iplines prac tic es in the c ountry. I hope BEM will c ontinue to exc el in its functions in regulating engineering
profession in Malaysia.
8/5/2014 5:49 PM
14
Awareness of a graduate engineer to register with BEM before starting work as an engineer is still low.
8/5/2014 4:23 PM
15
Pls lead a c orporation of quality engineers in the c ountry.
Pengambilan Chargeman 2015* dibuka sehingga 1 November 2014!

Program ICE & Steam Driver*/Engineer untuk persediaan DOSH
8/5/2014 3:11 PM
*Pinjaman PTPK untuk yang layak.

16
Salary sc ale for Engineers is still muc h lower espec ially those who are working in the c onsultanc ies lines c ompare to Projec t
Management and other Professional bodies. Engineers who signed the drawings (design and as built) and have to c arry
responsibilities for life. BEM must make c ompulsory that for Contrac t Value for more than RM50million, the Contrac tor must
employ a Project Manager (PM) and this PM must be a Professional Engineer register with BEM. This PM must signed on all the
as built drawings after c onstruc tion works are c ompleted.
8/5/2014 2:25 PM
TNB Integrated Learning Solution Sdn. Bhd.ILSAS,

Jalan IKRAM-UNITEN, 43650 Bandar Baru
Bangi, Selangor, Malaysia.
7 / 125
Phone: +603-8922 7222
Email: infoILSAS@tnb.com.my
Better Learning, Brighter Solutions

Human Resource Minister
Award 2007
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15
Energy Industry Award 2011
Training Provider Excellence
Role Model Company 2013

Electrical Training Programs
INGENIEUR
COVER FEATURE
RENEWABLE ENERGY
GAINS MOMENTUM
By Koh Keng Seng and Ir. Dr Ali Askar Sher Mohamad, SEDA Malaysia
enewable energy (RE) is a form of energy

that is derived from natural resources such
as the sun and water, which are indigenous
to the country, and continually available. Since
2000, Malaysia has made great steps forward
in renewable energy development. The principle
6
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adopted has been to use market forces to deliver

the intended outcomes in electricity generation.
The result of the last decade provides valuable
lessons in identifying the issues arising from
such an approach. The key lesson is that a policy
without an action plan will not achieve the desired
results. SEDA Malaysia was set up as an agency

under the Ministry of Energy, Green Technology
and Water (Kettha) dedicated to the development
of RE for power generation. At SEDAs inception
in 2011, only about 60 MW of grid-connected
RE power plants were operating. Today, the gridconnected capacity has reached 200 MW, and will
hit 250 MW by the year end. The target for 2020
is 2000 MW, which will probably be surpassed.
This success has been in large part due to a clear
national policy and objectives, as well as strong
support from Kettha, the Energy Commission, and
the utility, Tenaga Nasional Berhad (TNB).
National RE Policy & Objectives
The National RE Policy and Action Plan (NREPAP)
was approved by the Cabinet on April 2, 2010; the
NREPAP provides long-term goals and commitment
which all stakeholders should endeavour to
achieve. The Policy charts the path of enhancing
the utilisation of indigenous renewable energy
resources to contribute to the national electricity
supply, its security, as well as sustainable socialeconomic development.
Renewable Energy Act 2011 (Act 725)
The Renewable Energy (RE) Act 2011, which was
passed in Parliament on April 27, 2011, provides
for the establishment and implementation of
the Feed-in-Tari mechanism to catalyse the
deployment of renewable energy and to provide
for any other related matters.
The Feed-in Tariff Mechanism
What is Feed-in Tariff (FiT)
Feed -in Tarif f (FiT) is the most common
internationally applied policy mechanism to
spur the growth of renewable energy. The FiT
mechanism allows electricity produced from an
indigenous renewable energy source to be sold to
power utility companies at a xed premium price
for a specic duration. Most FiT mechanisms often
include a tariff degression system, where the price
for new entrants declines over time. This is done in
order to encourage reductions in technology cost
as the technology matures. The primary goal of FiT
is to offer cost-based compensation to renewable
energy producers, providing price certainty, and

long term contracts which improve bankability of
renewable energy projects.
Advantages of FiT
The use of the FiT mechanism has provided a
signicant contribution to two primary economic
issues faced by many countries - employment
and gross national income via renewable energy
industry growth. Two other secondary issues
addressed by FiT, include energy security and
climate change mitigation. FiT also provides
solutions to tertiary issues concerning social
health, empowering and providing fairer wealth
distribution and environment conservation. All
these are achieved without putting a strain on
the national budget and spending. Compared to
the other RE policies, the FiT mechanism has
proved to be more effective and effcient with the
highest number of countries adopting it (more than
50 countries worldwide). Reasons for this highly
successful employment of the mechanism include:
The proliferation of RE systems like solar (PV),
capital costs are driven down, enabling the RE

technology to achieve price reductions much
faster;
It promotes a diversied por tfolio of
technologies and industries, and encourages

harmonious growth in congruence with the
indigenous renewable energy resources; and
It encourages market competition among
manufacturers and EPC (define) companies to

lower RE technology pricing, leading to better
market conditions for RE investors to build
and deploy projects.
Framework of FiT in Malaysia
The FiT mechanism obliges the Distribution
Licensees (DLs), i.e. TNB, NUR (define), and other
smaller DLs in the Peninsula, and SESB (define),
in Sabah, to buy renewable energy from Feed-in
Approval Holders (FiAHs). The rates to be paid
are set out in the Schedule of the RE Act 2011.
For a specic time, DLs will pay for each unit of
renewable energy supplied to their respective
electricity grids. By guaranteeing access to the
grid and setting a favourable price per unit of
energy generated, the FiT mechanism ensures
that RE becomes a viable long-term investment for
companies, industries and even individuals. The
17
INGENIEUR
Biomass plant
Biogas plant
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effective period or duration in which the renewable

energy can be sold to DLs depends on the type
of indigenous resource. Biomass and biogas
has an effective RE Power Purchase Agreement
(REPPA) period of 16 years, whereas small hydro
and solar photovoltaic sources have an effective
period of 21 years. This period is decided based
on characteristics of the renewable resource.
Funding of FiT
The FiT mechanism is nanced by a dedicated
fund called the Renewable Energy (RE) Fund. This
Fund was established under the RE Act and gets
its monies through the collection of an additional
1% surcharge imposed on electricity bills by
Tenaga Nasional Berhad (TNB) to their consumers
since December 1, 2011. The surcharge has
since been increased to 1.6 % effective January
1, 2014, and expanded to include electricity
consumers in Sabah and WP Labuan, as well as
consumers of NUR. RE projects located in Sabah
and WP Labuan are thus eligible to participate in
the FiT programme commencing January 1, 2014.
However, Sarawak is not included in the FiT since
the RE Act does not apply there. To protect the
low income group, domestic consumers whose
electricity bills do not exceed 300kWh per month
are exempted from contributing to the fund.
Contribution to the RE Fund will continue until
such time when the FiT is no longer required.
This will happen when grid parity is reached,
meaning the cost of generating electricity
from renewable resources is the same or less
than the cost of generating the same unit of
electricity from conventional sources at the point
of interconnection to the grid. The additional
surcharge to the tariff is collected by the DLs when
consumers pay their electricity bills and disbursed
to SEDA. The DLs pay the FiAHs the FiT rate for
the energy generated every month and recover the
amount from SEDA after deducting the prevailing
displaced cost (DC). The DC is the amount it will
cost the DL to generate, transmit and distribute
one kWh of electricity using conventional sources.
Renewable Resources Eligible for FiT in Malaysia
Biogas
Biogas is defined as a gas produced by the
anaerobic digestion or fermentation of indigenous
organic matter under anaerobic conditions

including but not limited to manure, sewage
sludge, agriculture waste, municipal solid waste
and biodegradable waste.
Biogas technology refers to systems designed
to turn organic waste products into usable energy.
Biogas typically consists mainly of methane, with
a significant proportion of carbon dioxide, and
smaller quantities of other gases such as nitrogen
and hydrogen. Methane, hydrogen and carbon
monoxide are combustable allowing biogas
to be used as a fuel in a gas engine to convert
the energy into electricity and heat. Biogas is a
renewable resource, so it qualifies for FiT.
There are many advantages of using biogas
for power generation. In future, biogas could
potentially help reduce global climate change.
Normally, manure, sewage sludge, municipal
solid waste and biodegradable waste are left
to decompose releasing two main gases that
cause global warming such as nitrous dioxide and
methane. Nitrous dioxide warms the atmosphere
310 times more than carbon dioxide and methane
21 times more than carbon dioxide.
Biomass
Biomass plant
Biomass is defined as non-fossilized fuel
originating from plants, animals and microorganisms including, but not limited to
biodegradable organic material, by-products,
residues and waste from agriculture, industrial
and municipal wastes.
Electrical power can be generated by
incinerating or gasifying the biomass. Burning
biomass produces many of the same emissions
as burning fossil fuels, although on a lesser scale.
However, growing biomass captures carbon dioxide
19
INGENIEUR
Biomass plant in operation

out of the air, so that the net contribution of the
cycle to global atmospheric carbon dioxide levels
is zero. Although fossil fuels have their origin in
ancient biomass, they are not considered biomass
by the generally accepted definition because they
contain carbon that has been out of the carbon
cycle for a very long time. Their combustion
therefore disturbs the carbon dioxide content in
the atmosphere.
There are various biomass sources, which
are a great source of energy that can be used
for various applications. Examples of biomass
sources are wood and waste wood, leaves of the
plants, agricultural waste (EFB, PKS, rice husk,
etc.) and municipal solid waste (MSW). The most
popular in Malaysia is palm oil EFB (empty fruit
bunches).
Small Hydro
Small hydro is defined as the production of
electricity by harnessing the power of flowing
water from lakes, rivers, and streams. Small
hydro is based on simple concepts. Moving water
turns a turbine, the turbine spins a generator, and
electricity is produced. Many other components
may be in the system, but it all begins with the
energy contained within moving water.
Water power is the combination of head
(height) and flow rate. Both must be present to
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Mini hydro along a river

produce electricity. Consider a typical small hydro
system. Water is diverted from a stream into a
pipeline (penstock), where it is directed downhill
and through the turbine (flow). The vertical drop
(head) creates pressure at the bottom end of the
pipeline. The pressurized water emerging from the
end of the pipe creates the force that drives the
turbine. More flow or more head produces more
electricity. Electrical power output will always be
slightly less than water power input due to turbine
and system inefficiencies.
Solar PV
Solar photovoltaics offer consumers the ability to
generate electricity in a clean, quiet and reliable
way. The word photovoltaic comes from photo,
Solar PVs
meaning light, and voltaic, which refers to

producing electricity. Therefore, the photovoltaic
process is producing electricity directly from
sunlight. Photovoltaics are often referred to as
PV.
PV cells convert sunlight directly into electricity
without creating any air or water pollution. PV cells
are made of at least two layers of semiconductor
material. One layer has a positive charge, the
other negative. When light enters the cell, some
of the photons from the light are absorbed by
the semiconductor atoms, freeing electrons
from the cells negative layer to flow through an
external circuit and back into the positive layer.
This flow of electrons produces electric current.
To increase their utility, dozens of individual PV
cells are interconnected together in a sealed,
weatherproof package called a module. When two
modules are wired together in series, their voltage
is doubled while the current stays constant. When
two modules are wired in parallel, their current
is doubled while the voltage stays constant. To
achieve the desired voltage and current, modules

are wired in series and parallel into what is called
a PV array. The flexibility of the modular PV system
allows designers to create solar power systems
that can meet a wide variety of electrical needs,
no matter how large or small.
Feed In Approval (FIA) Application
The applications for Feed-in Approval (FIA) for all
approved renewable energy sources can be made
through an online system called the e-FiT Online
System at www.seda.gov.my. Applicants can also
submit the application forms manually, however
the information will also be keyed into the system
by employees of SEDA Malaysia to enable the
applications to be processed. The e-FiT Online
21
INGENIEUR
System which was launched on December 1,
2011, minimises the need for human intervention
in the processing of the applications and the
allocation of RE quotas which are limited. This
also ensures a fair and transparent application
process, which is vital for a Government agency
like SEDA Malaysia, to maintain its integrity.
During the application for an FIA, an eligible
producer is required to submit their RE installation
work plan milestones. Once the feed-in approval
(FiA) is granted, SEDA Malaysia closely monitors
the work plan according to the milestones
declared by the applicant until the Feed-in Tariff
Commencement Date (FiTCD). Close monitoring
is required to prevent the Feed-in Approval
Holders (FiAHs) from holding on to their RE quota
for unnecessarily long periods of time thereby
jeopardizing genuine RE developers who may be
waiting for quotas to be released. This form of
early detection and possibly revocation of FiAs (for
FiAHs who do not meet their milestone deadlines)
will ensure quotas are reallocated to the pool in
the next quota opening.
FiT Statistics
In Malaysia, the FiT was implemented on
December 1, 2011 as soon as all the subsidiary
legislations under the RE Act 2011 were gazetted
on November 30, 2011. As of July 31, 2014, a
total of 5,338 Feed-In Approval (FiA) applications
with a total RE capacity of 1,079.4 MW were
received by SEDA Malaysia. Out of these
applications, 4,505 applications were approved
(Exhibit 1) as of July 31, 2014 for a total RE
capacity of 805.7MW.
Exhibit 2 shows the approved RE capacity
categorized by the renewable resource as of
July 31, 2014. In terms of renewable resource,
solar photovoltaic (individual and non-individual)
constituted the highest take up rate at 30.9%
followed by small hydro (30.6%), biomass (28.9%)
and biogas (9.6%).
As of July 31, 2014, a total of 2,371 projects
have achieved commercial operation. The total
RE capacity successfully connected to the grid
currently stands at 195.8 MW (Exhibit 3). Solar
PV (individual and non-Individual) leads the
way in terms of the most number of projects
commissioned (2,355 projects) and also in terms
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of capacity (116.1 MW). This can be attributed

to the shorter construction period for solar PV
compared to the other renewable resources,
hence solar PV projects were the main renewable
resource that delivered results in terms of
operational capacity.
The Way Forward for RE in Malaysia
Most countries which adopt the FiT as the
mechanism to develop the RE Industry gradually
move on to other methods once the critical
mass is achieved and the technologies become
common place. The FiT is normally used to
kick start the RE Industry. Its no different in
Malaysia; new FiTs for solar PV are planned to
be phased out by 2017, small hydro by 2020
and biogas/biomass by 2025. Small hydro and
biogas/biomass reserves are expected to be fully
utilized for FiT by those years, leaving solar PV as
a resource with almost no limit, except for grid
connection constraints. Therefore for solar PV,
SEDA has planned two approaches to replace FiT,
subject to Government approval.
Net Metering
Net Metering, or Net Energy Metering (NEM), is
basically the installation of PV systems for selfconsumption by a consumer, where any units
exported to the Grid during low load periods are
subtracted or netted off from the consumers
monthly bill. NEM is planned to be launched in
2015, and gradually ramped up once the FiT is
discontinued. With increasing electricity tariffs due
to the gradual removal of fuel subsidies, NEM will
become an attractive option for consumers with
heavy consumption.
Apart from technical constraints, utilities
are apprehensive of uncontrolled proliferation
of solar PV installations since they will affect
the utility sales and revenue. However, solar PV
power coincides with the utility peak demand
in Malaysia, therefore reducing the reliance on
expensive distillate and open cycle gas turbine
(OCGT) generation. In future, even if new plants,
using combined cycle gas turbines (CCGT) do
away with the need for distillate and OCGT, solar
PV power can reduce the amount of heavily
subsidized gas consumption in the CCGT plants.
Status of
Applications
Biogas
Biomass
Small
Hydro
Solar PV
(Individual)
Solar PV
(NonIndividual)
Total
60
36
38
4693
511
5338
1.1%
0.7%
0.7%
87.9%
9.6%
100%
47
24
32
4060
342
4505
1.0%
0.5%
0.7%
90.1%
7.6%
100%
2194
161
2371
0.3%
0.2%
0.2%
92.5%
6.8%
100%
Received
Approved
In Operation
(Commissioned)
Exhibit 1: Approved FiA Applications by Renewable Resource as at July 31, 2014
Expected
Operational
Year (FiTCD)
Biogas
Biomass
Small
Hydro
Solar PV
(Individual)
Solar PV
(NonIndividual)
Total
Capacity
(MW)
2012
7.2
66.3
15.7
6.4
40.8
136.4
2013
15.3
41.5
2.3
19.5
98.0
176.6
2014
20.7
72.6
58.1
14.2
69.8
235.4
2015
25.1
33.0
34.9
93.1
2016
9.1
19.8
135.4
164.2
Total
Capacity
77.4
233.1
246.4
40.1
208.6
805.7
% of Total
9.6%
28.9%
30.6%
5.0%
25.9%
100%
Exhibit 2: RE Capacities (MW) Approved as at July 31, 2014
Renewable Resource
No. Of Applications
Capacity
% of Total Capacity
Biogas
11.7
6%
Biomass
52.3
27%
Small Hydro
15.7
8%
Solar PV (Individual)
2194
24.1
12%
Solar PV (Non Individual)
161
92.0
47%
Total
2371
195.8
100%
Exhibit 3: Total FiT Projects Achieved Commercial Operation (as at July 31, 2014)
23
INGENIEUR
Apart from that, the Distributed Generation
from solar PV installations can help to delay
utility investments in reinforcing distribution
networks. Therefore SEDA proposes an orderly
and controlled implementation of NEM which will
lead to economic benefits for the country and
encourage greater energy autonomy.
Utility Scale PV
Apart from NEM, there is also a proposal to allow
the implementation of so-called utility scale
PV plants by a bidding process similar to that
of fossil fuel plants. With increasing fossil fuel
costs, utility scale PV plants can be competitive
in providing power during the mid-day peak.
To mitigate intermittency due to local weather
conditions, the capacity of each plant would have
to be limited to say 100 MW, and the plants would
need to be spread out through the Peninsula.
Due to their size, these plants would need to
be connected to the Transmission network and
meet most of the requirements of the Grid Code,
except the ability to dispatch. Any increase in
utility costs due to injection from these plants
would be covered through the existing fuel cost
pass through mechanism implemented by the
Energy Commission. However, with falling PV
prices and rising fossil fuel costs, there is not
expected to be any major effect on the utility
if the total capacity from these utility scale PV
plants is limited to the rise in the mid-day peak.
If gas subsidies are completely removed, solar PV
power may even be cheaper, resulting in savings

for the country.
Conclusion
The NREPAP has given a huge boost to the RE
Power Industry in Malaysia. However, most RE
resources in the country like small hydro, biogas
and biomass are finite in number and limited to
a few hundred MW each. Once the resources are
fully utilised, there can be no more new plants
using these resources. As mentioned above, the
only resource with almost no physical limit is solar
PV. We are located in a part of the world with good
solar radiation, although the tropical weather with
sudden clouds and rain leads to greater variation
in the power generation profile. Apart from that,
solar PV can only generate during the daytime.
For solar PV to be considered a serious player in
the power industry, storage technologies must play
a major part. Storage will solve the twin problems
of intermittent and daytime only generation, but
it is still too expensive to be widely employed. As
solar PV technologies mature, research in storage
technologies is expanding and is expected to soon
lead to more efficient and affordable storage. When
that happens, solar PV generation will increase in
leaps and bounds. The conventional plants can
then concentrate on the base load and heavy
industries, while PV plants can meet part of the
peak load, as well as some residential, commercial
and light industrial loads.
Solar PV farm
6
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PUB, Singapores national water agency,

is inviting applications for the following positions :
Electrical Engineer/
Senior Electrical Engineer
Requirements
For the Electrical Engineer position, a recognised University

degree in Electrical Engineering and the Certificate of
Competency as a Competent Electrical Engineer issued by
Energy Commission of Malaysia for 22 kV and above
electrical installation, is required.
For the Mechanical Engineer position, a recognised

University degree in Mechanical Engineering and the
1st Grade Engineer Certificate in Internal Combustion
Engine for standby generators issued by Jabatan
Keselamatan dan Kesihatan Pekerjaan of Malaysia, in
compliance with the Malaysian legislation, is required.
Not less than 2 years relevant working experience in O&M

of M&E plant and equipment. Preferably at waterworks.
Committed and able to work independently at waterworks

in Johor.
Mechanical Engineer/
Senior Mechanical Engineer
Preferable with driving licence and car.
Responsibilities
Proficient in spoken and written English and spoken Malay.
Responsibilities
Carry out operation & maintenance in compliance with

Electricity Act 1990 and its subsidiary legislations for
Johor River Waterworks and Linggiu Reservoir located
in Johor, Malaysia.
Lead and manage a team of technical officers to plan,

manage and execute maintenance of
electrical/ instrumentation and control systems
and equipment.
Perform pilot and feasibility studies for innovative

technologies and formulate plans for major electrical
upgrading works.
Preparation of tender specifications, calling of tenders

and contracts management.
Lead a team of technical officers to plan, manage and

execute preventive and corrective maintenance of
mechanical systems and equipment at waterworks, which
includes centrifugal and mixed flow vertical turbine pumps
up to 1 MW, dewatering filter presses, chemical dosing
plants, standby generator, air compressors, blowers and
vehicle maintenance.
Work closely with operations and maintenance staff to

troubleshoot equipment failures and execute repair works.
Formulate plans and manage major mechanical

upgrading works.
Preparation of tender specifications, calling of tenders

and contracts management.
Interested candidates, please log on to

www.pub.gov.sg/career or www.careers.gov.sg
25
COVER FEATURE
INGENIEUR
Technical Challenges in
the Renewable Energy
Programme in Malaysia
By Dr Ahmad Jaafar Abd Hamid, Dr Amissa Ariffin, Nur Azlin Mohd Yusoff,

Tenaga Nasional Berhad
he Renewable Energy (RE)

Act states that a distribution
licensee (DL) such as
Tenaga Nasional Berhad (TNB) is
required to purchase electricity
from indigenous RE resources
at a fixed premium price for a
specific duration. Under the
Feed-in-Tarffif (FiT) programme,
generation of renewable energy
is limited to 30 MW in size for
one Feed in Approval Holder
(FIAH). The RE Fund determines
the amount of RE quota which
has to be secured for a specified
number of years. For 2014,
the contribution to the RE Fund
has been increased to 1.6%.
However, this amount is lower
than many countries such as
3% in China and Japan, 18% in
Germany and 2% to 3% in Britain.
The collection of the RE Fund
is based on the polluter pays
principle and it is vital for the
FiT programme as it acts as a
catalyst in ensuring the growth
of renewable energy in Malaysia.
Proliferation of RE will result in
lesser utilisation thus lesser
reliance on fossil fuel generation
in Malaysia and will contribute
towards the Governments
aspiration of having 40% less
on the CO2 intensity level as
compared with the intensity
level of the year 2005.
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26
Malaysia has one of the

most sophisticated FiT systems
in the South East Asia region.
FiT rates in Malaysia are
categorised by technologies,
project sizes and applications.
The FiT scheme also includes
bonus FiT that can be obtained
for different technologies and a
degression rate to gradually
reduce the level of the FiT based
on expectations of reduced
costs.
To oversee the smooth
implementation of the FiT
scheme, the Sustainable Energy
Development Authority (SEDA)
Malaysia was established in
2011 under the Renewable
En er g y A c t. Sin c e t hen,
there has been a significant
development in the Malaysian

RE landscape. To date, close to
200MW of cumulative installed
capacit y is
in operation
with 2600 Renewable Power
Purchase Agreements (REPPA),
signed between TNB and Feed
in FIAHs, with a total of 250 MW
RE capacity expected to be fully
commissioned by the end of
2014.
EVOLUTION OF RE
PROGRAMME
The current FiT programme for
renewal energy was preceded
by the MBIPV (Malaysian
Building Integrated Photovoltaic
2005-2010) and SREP (Small
Renewable Energy Programme
2001). However, the acceptance
Figure 1: RE Fund Concept in Malaysia
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Figure 2: Growth Of RE Installations in Malaysia

and development of the renewal
energy under these programmes
were not overwhelming due to a
number of reasons including;
lesser incentive being offered,
difficulty in obtaining funding
for RE related projects, and
perceived as non-bankable by
many financial institutions.
The current FiT scheme with
the premium pricing mechanism
has generated a lot of interest from many RE developers.
Nonetheless, the overwhelming
response and sudden increase
in RE connection applications,
has initially resulted in both
technical and commercial challenges to TNB. This is shown
in the exponential growth in
RE installation (mostly solar) in
Figure 2.
F i gu r e 2 s h ow s a n
exponential increase in RE
M eter s inst alled st ar ting
from the early stages of the
FiT scheme until today. This
indicates that the FiT programme
is being well received by
public and has resulted in an
exponential increase in the
number of connections. Due
to its ease of installation as
well as higher FiT rates, solar
photovoltaic (PV) is the most
popular RE t ype currently

deployed in the TNB system.
IMPLEMENTATION ISSUES
The increase of RE sources in
the TNB distribution network has
introduced many challenges,
both technical and non-technical,
to TNB. Teething problems
have often surfaced, ranging
from voluminous Power System
Studies (PSS) and connection
confirmation checks (CCC)
that had to be carried out in
limited time, late submission of
REPPAs, over stretching testing
and commissioning dates as
well as insufficient notice for the
release of quotas for renewable
energy. Although there has been
a good progress thus far in
renewable energy development
and growth, but there is a lot of
room for improvement.
It appears that the approved
projects for biomass, biogas
and solid waste sectors have
only achieved 31% of target
based on the 10th Malaysia
plan. In addition 45% has been
achieved for small hydropower.
On the contrary, the target for
solar PV has exceeded by 322%
(up to and including June 2015).
Clearly solar PV has become
more popular in RE deployment

u n d e r t h e F i T s c h e m e.
Nonetheless, focussing on
single RE technology may result
in much lower allocations to fund
other types of RE technologies.
The two main challenges,
among the many facing TNB, are
short notice announcements
of quota release dates and
shor t lead times between
quota awards and scheduled
operational dates. For instance,
upon the announcement of a
quota release by SEDA, TNB
receives a sudden rush in REPPA
applications, requests for CCC,
PSS and other requests which
need to be carried out within
the same or stipulated years to
avoid RE tariff degression of the
FIAH. If the announcement of a
quota release could be planned
on specific dates of the year and
made known to the public well
in advance, this issue could be
better managed. In addition,
most RE developers are required
to plan ahead to ensure projects
can be commissioned on
time. This includes procuring
important equipment such as
switchgear, transformers, solar
panels and other electrical
infrastructures.
Fur thermore, there were
also cases whereby some
home owners have successfully
secured an FiT approval and
signed a REPPA with TNB but
later decided to withdraw from
the programme due to a number
of reasons, of these, the main
reason was lack of financial
options for home owners to
choose from local financial
institutions. During the initial
implementation of the FiT
scheme, there was not much
support from the local financial
27
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institution to fund RE projects
partly due to lack of precedence,
a wait-and-see attitude by many
banks, and collateral issues
because banks at that time
did not recognise, for instance,
a solar PV installation as a
collateral item.
However things have
generally improved now, as
financial institutions have
star ted to of fer financing
packages to the home owners
as well as commercial entities
for solar PV installation.
ISSUES IN CONNECTING
RE SOURCES TO THE
DISTRIBUTION SYSTEM
Distribution systems, being
generally passive in nature,
are not normally designed to
accommodate generators or
RE plants. The connection of
a Distributed Generation (DG)
unit to the distribution system
would seem to provide benefits
because it serves the loads from
local source thereby reducing
transmission, substation and
feeder loading. However, there
are several technical issues
that must be recognised and
addressed before a DG can be
connected to the distribution
network. For instance, solar PV
connections have intermittent
r e s o u r c e c h a r a c t e r i s t i c s,
which vary the output power
generated. Similarly, for mini
hydro situations the uncertainty
of water levels, remote locations
of the plant and low load
demand from surrounding areas
causes other problems such as
high fault levels, voltage rises
and losses.
To cater for the changing
nature of distribution systems
w i t h t h e d e p l oy m e n t o f
renewable energy sources, the
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28
Malaysian Distribution Code

was established and approved
for implementation by the
Malaysian Energy Commission
in 2012. This code incorporates
new requirements for connecting
distributed generation to the
distribution system. In addition,
as DG is very new, TNB also
make uses of other guidelines
and standards such as MS,
IEC and IEEE in implementing
distributed generation in the
system.
Among many issues that are
being faced by TNB in analysing
the impact of distribution
generation, the following are the
most common.
Low voltage ride through
(LVRT) or Fault ride through
capabilities (FRT)
Voltage sag occurs whenever a
system is experiencing a fault
either locally or remotely which
may result in the disconnection
of a DG plant. Due to the
proliferation of RE plants, it is
becoming important to ensure
that RE plants remain connected
during the occurrence of a fault
to minimise the impact at the
distribution level as well as to
help the overall grid system
remain secure and stable.
Therefore, the need to have
greater ride through capability
during a fault is important for all
RE plants and this requirement
has been incorporated in the
Distribution Code.
Reverse power flow
A Distributed or Embedded
Generating Unit is a generating
uni t c o nn e c te d w i t hin a
distribution network that does
not have direct access to the
transmission network. This
includes a DG connected to its
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own network and interconnected

with the Distribution network
either directly or through an
interface transformer. Based
on existing TNB Guidelines, the
output power of the DG has to
be scheduled not to spill over
to the transmission network to
avoid a reverse power flow at
the interface of transmission
and distribution networks.
The connection of an RE
plant may lead to a reverse
power flow at substation levels
(400V to 11kV), and from the
distribution to the transmission
networks (33kV to 132kV). The
impact of reverse power flows
is most prominent during high
penetration scenarios and may
affect the protection system coordination as well as line voltage
regulation. For solar plants, the
high penetration is during the
daytime, whereas for mini hydro
it will be during the monsoon
season.
Cur rent D G guid elines
used for RE connection does
not allow reverse flow from
the distribution system to the
transmission system. The DG
output must be designed to
be lower by 15% from the local
distribution through load to
avoid the reverse flow situation.
However, this constraint may
pose difficulties in connecting
more RE plants to the system
and may result in less DGs in the
system. A comprehensive study
to control the effects of reverse
power flows during high RE
penetrations is currently being
looked at. This also includes the
possibility of introducing microgrid controls into the distribution
system which may include
modernizing the SCADA system
or even the implementation of
smart grids.
Fault level
Introduction of DGs into the
distribu tion net wor k also
presents challenges for the
utility as it alters the short
circuit capacity of the system.
Although the contribution of one
solar plant to the fault level is
insignificant, if a few plants
are connected together this
may have some impact on the
existing system. The fault level
contribution is more pronounced
on RE plants with rotating
devices such as those of minhydros. Currently, an RE plant
larger than 180kW is subjected
to short circuit limits depending
on the connected voltage level
e.g., 20kA for 11kV.
The increase in the overall
system generation has also
resulted in a higher fault level
in the distribution system. At
the planning stage, the steadystate fault level is limited to 90%
of the breaker rated capacity
and any increase in the fault
level must be mitigated either
through network reconfiguration
e.g. off-point change, or breaker
capacity increase. Both solutions
have implications to the FiAH as
well as to TNB. For the FiAH,
a fault level increase beyond
the rated breaker capacity
means additional investment
is required to ensure the short
circuit level can be mitigated
by larger capacity breakers. For
TNB, changing operational offpoints may result in less secure
network on top of additional
operational obligation that needs
to be incorporated later.
Voltage and reactive power
control regulations
Introduction of RE sources
in the distribution system
warrants the need for dynamic
voltage controls to avoid over

or under voltage situations.
Voltage control is a mechanism
to regulate the system voltage
to operate within the safe
operating level. The existing
distribution system SCADA
is not designed for meshednetwork operation, similar to
the national grid control centre,
as it is traditionally designed
as a static control centre with
a minimum communication
speed and energy management
system. To assist in achieving
better voltage control in the
distribution system, connected
RE sources especially
ge n e r a to r s w i t h r o t a t i n g
devices must be designed with
reactive power capabilities
that can continuously adjust
the output voltage to meet
the distribution level voltage
regulations. The requirement for
voltage regulation capability for
generators may add additional
capital cost to the overall
project scope and should not
be compromised as it is related
to the safety and security of the
distribution system.
INTERCONNECTION
STANDARDS AND GUIDELINES
The following standards and
guidelines are currently applied
by TNB in evaluating all RE
connection applications to the
system.
MS
1 8 3 7:
2010
Installation of grid connected

photovoltaic (PV) systems; this
interconnection series guideline
was first introduced in 2007
mainly for solar PV installations.
M S I E C 6 172 7: 2 0 1 0
P h o t o v o l t a i c S y s t e m s:
C h ar a c ter is t i c s of u t ili t y
interfaces; is mostly a summary
t h a t sim p li f i e s r ul e s o f
interconnection policies such

as voltage regulations, voltage
limits, flicker levels, harmonics,
frequency, disconnection rules,
system fault and protection
requirements. In summar y
this standard provides the
distribution system performance
requirements and distributed
generation technical criteria
and specifications in order to
connect to grid system as a
whole.
IEEE 1547- 2003 Standard
for Interconnecting Distributed
Resources with Electric
Power System provides more
technical details and includes
the rationale of interconnection
to the power system grid. The
standard elaborates each rule
requirement and how it was
developed. Furthermore, this
guideline describes and provides
information on DG impact on the
distribution system.
TNB Technical Guidebook for
the Connection of Generation to
the Distribution Network 2005
mostly covers and provides
engineering assistance and
technical application guide for
distributed generation. This
guideline provides detailed
insight into the scope and
criteria required prior to
conducting a system study,
along with recommended steps
in possible interconnection and
details to ensure all potential
impacts are covered.
CONCLUSION
The implementation of FIT
programme has propelled
the growth of RE sources in
Malaysia. In supporting the
growth of RE, many technical and
non-technical challenges have
arisen which have prompted
continuous analysis and review
29
INGENIEUR
by the Energy Commission.
In conclusion, proliferation
of RE in TNB will see better
future with the strong support
of Government and greater
awareness from the general
public on the importance of
utilization of RE in Malaysia.
References
National Renewable Energy
Policy and Action Plan, 2009
(2014) Retrieved March 5, 2014
from http://www. seda.gov.my
Malaysian map on Solar Generation factor
of many internal processes as

well as technical limitations.
The proliferation of
renewable energy sources in
the system has also created the
need to develop and review many
guidelines and standards to
ensure the impact of distribution
generation can be mitigated and
controlled.
The introduction of RE Act
2011 and the subsequent
collection of the FiTs, the RE
Fund has contributed to the
growth of the RE development in
Malaysia. Through the RE Fund,
as of December 2013, RM776.5
mil was contributed by electricity
users in Malaysia. Out of this,
RM73 million has been paid to
the FIAH as the FiT payment.
The initial problems and
hiccups during early stage of FiT
implementation have provided
lessons and feedback to all RE
players in Malaysia including
TNB and SEDA. SEDA as the
authority is also constantly
6
30
taking measures to improve

the F iT quota application
process including reviewing the
online application system and
introducing stricter guidelines.
To facilitate the growth of RE
in Malaysia, TNB is continuously
looking into ways and means to
improve and strengthen the current distribution system including enhancing the operational
flexibility of the distribution system Regional Control Centres
(RCC). This flexibility could be
achieved through the enhancement and modernisation of
RCCs so that current RCCs can
be dynamic control centres with
real-time control and monitoring
capabilities.
There is also a growing need
to review the current Malaysian
Distribution Code so that issues
on DG can be better guided by
the Code. This is also currently
an on-going exercise and may
need longer time before it can
be approved and implemented
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Statistic & Monitoring, RE

Generation Retrieved March 5,
2014 from http://www.seda.gov.
my
SEDA Annual Report (2012)
Retrieved March 5, 2014 from
http://www.seda.gov.my
IEEE Standard 1547.2 TM
2008, IEEE Standard for
Interconnecting Distributed
Resources with Electric Power
Systems.
G. J Shirek, B. A. Lassiter, Solar
Plant Modelling Impacts on
Distribution System, in 2012
IEEE International Standard
H. Ong, T. Mahlia, and H.
Masjuki, A review on energy
scenario and sustainable energy
in Malaysia, Renewable and
Sustainable Energy Reviews, vol.
15, pp. 639-647.
S. Yusoff and R. Kardooni,
Bar rier s and Challenges
for Developing RE Policy
i n M a l a y s i a , i n 2 0 1 2
International Conference on
Future Environment and Energy,
Singapore, 2012.
Electricity Demand-Generation Balance:

COVER FEATURE
The Question of National

Energy Security
By Ir. Dr Amir Basha Ismail,
Power Plant & Renewable Energy Division, Minconsult Sdn Bhd
ny modern sovereign nation irrespective of

social-political governance ideology must
secure for its people three basic needs water, food and energy. These are the triple national
internal security issues that any Government
of the day must address and secure as its core
doctrine for national security. If these are not
met, there will be social instability that can lead
to civil war among the populace. For homeland
security/internal public order and defence against
external aggression, the Government need to
address and secure only one issue, and that is,
police/military security strategy in terms of assets
and infrastructure deployment.
Energy underpins almost every aspect of

our way of life. Energy is synonymous to national
development. It enables us to cool and light our
homes; to produce and transport food; to travel
to work, around the country and the world. Our
businesses and jobs rely on the use of energy.
And, energy is essential for the critical services
we rely on - from hospitals to traffic lights and
cash machines. It is difficult to overestimate the
extent to which our quality of life is dependent
on adequate energy supplies. The major types
of energy that we use are: fossil fuels, renewable
energy and nuclear energy for generating
electricity; fossil fuels (gas or coal) are used
31
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directly for heating/cooling and industry and oilbased fuels for transport. As we move towards
2050, the ways in which we use energy will be
transformed; we should become less dependent
on some forms of energy, as new and innovative
low-carbon technologies and energy efficiency
measures are taken up. However, we could
become more dependent on others, for example
demand for electricity will increase if electric
vehicles are widely deployed. This means that
over the coming decades there will be significant
change in the energy sector, but an adequate
primary energy supply will continue to be critical for
electricity demand-generation-balance.
Energy security may seem abstract and vague
to some. Without oil there is virtually no mobility,
and without electricity
and energy to generate
that electricity there would be no Internet age.
But the dependence on energy systems, and their
growing complexity and reach, all underline the
need to understand the risks and requirements
of energy security in the 21st century. Moreover,
energy security is not just about countering
the wide variety of threats; it is also about the
relations among nations, how they interact with
each other, and how energy impacts their overall
national security.
The foundational touchstone of energy security
is diversification of supply. Sir Winston Churchill,
the war-time British Defence Minister who later
became Prime Minister, is on record as having
said in the British Parliament that : on no one
quality, on no one process, on no one country,
on no one route, and on no one field, must we be
dependent - safety and security in fuel (oil) lie
in variety and variety alone [1]. This doctrine is
proven true for the modern society of today and
the future.
Electricity, which is electromagnetism-based,
is at the point-of-use will undoubtedly continue to
be the numero uno in terms of energy use in the
21st century and beyond, compared to other forms
of hydrocarbon-based energy use. Thus, national
energy security policy must necessarily address the
electricity demand-generation balance issue.
Malaysia, being a parliamentary democracy,
and evolving towards a developed nation status,
must rise over partisan politics to address this
issue. Long-term electrical power system planning
is all about power/energy generation expansion
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programme and the associated strengthening/

development of the national transmission powergrid infrastructure. This demand-generation
expansion planning will continue to seek out
conventional generating plant candidates that
utilize carbon-based fossil-fuels, either gas or
coal, for the planting-up program.
However, as part of its national security
agenda, Malaysia must move on beyond gas or
coal for its future electricity demand-generation
balance. Nuclear fuel for electricity generation
must be an option for its primary fuel mix of
power generating units. In 2010, the Government
took up the national position with regards to the
nuclear energy option to meet future (post-2020)
electricity demand of Peninsular Malaysia with
diversification of primary fuel mix, that is coal, gas
and nuclear for base load electrical power/energy
generation. This nuclear energy option stand
is contained in the official document Economic
Transformation Program A Road map for Malaysia,
Chapter 6: Powering the Malaysian Economy with
Oil, Gas and Energy [2]. Malaysia Nuclear Power
Corporation (MNPC) was specifically set up by
the Government, under the Prime Ministers
Department, to spearhead the development of
nuclear power programme (NPP). One of the first
major tasks of MNPC is to conduct various studies
towards formulation of Malaysias Nuclear Power
Infrastructure Development Plan (NPIDP).
This NPIDP will be the basis for the Government
to make the decision (expected in 2015) for the
implementation of the first few nuclear power
generating units for operation in the 2020-2030
period to meet the growing electricity demand of
Peninsular Malaysia.
It is critical that Malaysia continues to have
reliable and secure supplies of electricity for
keeping the lights on and powering up the
nation. Electricity delivers a precision unmatched
by any other form of energy; it is also almost
infinitely versatile in how it can be used.
Electricity has a unique characteristic, as once
it is generated it has to be consumed, such that
at any point in time, the demand for it must be
met exactly and simultaneously by its supply. This
requires an operating reserve margin of spare
capacity to accommodate fluctuations in supply or
demand so as to keep the power system frequency
at every time instant within a very tightly controlled
Fig. 1: Electricity Demand-Generation Balance

band of 50 Hertz (cycles per second), as shown in
Fig. 1.
Operating a reserve margin is the stabilizer,
the extra production capacity above projected
peak power demand that can be called into
operation in order to avoid a shortage. Maintaining
such a margin is a basic rule of operations the
power system in its entirety has to be sufficient
at all times, not only to cover average demand
but the extremes of demand, with an additional
reserve to allow for malfunctioning plants and/
or equipment. For the Peninsular Malaysia power
system, the reserve margin is normally held
around 15% to 25% which is consistent with the

reliability standard of one day per year Loss of
Load Probability (LOLP).
The generating capacity and any associated
supply chains, such as the fuel for power
generating stations, must be reliable enough
to meet demand as it arises. There is also the
need to have a diverse mix of technologies and
fuels, so that the nation does not rely on any one
technology or fuel for electrical power generation.
There should also be effective price signals, so
that market participants have sufficient incentive
to react in a timely way to minimize imbalances
between supply and demand.
Electricity/Energy security is also closely
linked to global climate change which impacts
environmental well-being and security. Human
activities are contributing the most to climate
change through carbon greenhouse gases
emissions and change in land use. The Fourth
Assessment Report by the Intergovernmental Panel
on Climate Change (IPCC, 2007) has concluded
that carbon dioxide (CO2) emitted globally from
fossil fuels made up approximately 56% of total
anthropogenic greenhouse gas emissions, with
changes in land use which included deforestation
making up to almost 19% and roughly 26% of CO2
Fig. 2 Trends in GDP and Electricity Consumption

Source: Department of Statistics Malaysia
33
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Fig. 3 Electricity Consumption (kWh) per Capita

Fig. 4 Annual Growth Rates of GDP and Electricity Consumption

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emission originating from electricity-generating

power plants globally.
Fig. 2 gives the historical trends (1990-2012)
of Gross Domestic Product (GDP) and electricity
consumption, while Fig. 3 provides the electricity
consumption per capita over the same period. The
coefficient of electricity elasticity (Fig.4), which is
the ratio relationship between annual growth rate
of electricity consumption and economic growth is
also an important input parameter for future load/
demand projection. These data are key driving
economic variables for the econometric modelling
of electricity demand projection using multiple
variable regression analysis technique.
According to the National Energy Balance 2012

Report [3], Malaysias total energy consumption
for year 2012 was 46,711 kilo -tonnes oil
equivalent (ktoe). Out of this total, 21.4% was
contributed by electricity consumption, which in
terms of electrical energy is equivalent to 116,353
GWh. Fig. 5(a) shows the sectorial share of this
consumption.
The share of primary energy input in power
generating plants in terms of fuel mix to deliver
this amount of electricity consumption is as shown
in Fig. 5(b). In terms of overall input-output energy
efficiency for the electricity demand-generation
balance, the figure is about 34%.
Fig. 5 (a): Share of Electricity Consumption (116,353 GWh) by Sectors, 2012.
Fig. 5 (b): Share of Primary Energy Input in Power Stations, 2012

[Total 29, 252 ktoe (340,200 GWh)]
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The Strategic Challenges of Malaysias
Energy Security
Challenge No.1: Growing Electricity DemandGeneration Supply Requirement
Based on the key historical economic and energy
data as given in the National Energy Balance
Report 2012 (highlighted in the preceding
section), and utilising the econometric modelling
of electricity consumption/multiple regression
analysis technique, the long-term integrated
load demand forecast for Peninsular Malaysia
was formulated as shown in Fig.6 for electricity
consumption (GWh) until year 2050. The
consumption growth is about 3% over this period.
From this integrated electricity (energy)
consumption forecast, the energy generation
(GWh) required to supply this consumption growth
was computed taking into account the Peninsular
Malaysia transmission-distribution grid loss factor
of about 9%. The associated integrated peak
power demand (MW) was also derived using grid
annual load factor of about 78% as shown in the
same figure.
Generation expansion planning simulation is

then required to identify the size, technology, fuel
and timing for new generating units post-2020 to
meet the integrated load demand forecast over the
same period (2015-2050), taking cognizance that
all those new generating plants that have already
been identified for implementation/operation
before year 2020 are already in various stages of
construction.
The generation expansion plan necessitates
production simulation of the operation of
generating units and calculation of the expected
amount of energy generated by each unit to meet
future projected loads over the planning horizon
that is until 2040. The simulation programme
(WASP-IV of IAEA) uses a load duration curve
simulation method to dispatch generation
resources to meet the demand for electricity
described by the input peak power (MW) and
energy demand (MWh) for each time period.
The model takes into account both planned
resource variations (periods of scheduled planned
outages) and unplanned resource variations
(such as the effect of plant forced outages). The
Fig. 6: Peninsular Malaysia Electricity Consumption, Energy Generation and Peak Demand Forecast
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overall objective of generation expansion plan

is to develop a least-cost generation expansion
programme to adequately meet the demand for
electricity at minimum cost with development of
large data sets tabulating the costs, fuel use,
reliability and reserve margin which are useful
in analysing issues relevant to decision-making.
Based on reliability criterion of Loss of Load
Probability (LOLP) of not exceeding one day per
year for Peninsular Malaysia power system, the

generating reserve margin will be around 15% to
25% of the peak power demand (MW)
Due to future uncertainties, such as electricity
demand growth, fuel choice/fuel mix, and fuel
price volatility especially gas and coal, carbon and
climate change and the nuclear option, various
scenario studies are required for the WASP
generation expansion planning simulation to
Fig. 7 (a): Scenario 1 Planting up Programme
Fig. 7 (b): Scenario 2 Planting up Programme

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Fig. 7 (c): Scenario 3 Planting up Programme
Fig. 7 (d): Scenario 3 Generation Expansion Development Plan
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analyse issues relevant to decision-making. In this

Paper, we have chosen three pertinent scenarios
of generation plant-up with respect to fuel choice /
fuel mix to adequately meet the projected demand
with the necessary reserve margin, namely:
Unconstrained coal and gas planting-up
with no Nuclear Option (Scenario 1)

Constrained coal and unconstrained
gas planting-up with no Nuclear option

(Scenario 2)
Nominally balanced fuel mix with nuclear,
coal and gas planting-up (Scenario 3)

Challenge No.2: Fuel Security viz-a-viz Existing
National Energy Policies
Presently, electricity generation supply planning
is governed by the Five-Fuel Policy (2001) which
specifies Oil, Gas, Hydro, Coal and Renewable
Energy/Energy Efficiency as primary energy
sources for electricity generation. This is
complimented by the National Green Technology
Policy (2010) which gives preference to green
technology to drive and accelerate the national
economy and promote sustainable development.
However, these existing policies do not address
the issue of fuel security from the aspect of:
Resource accessibility
Degree of acceptance of price risk
(a) Resource Accessibility of Indigenous Gas Supply

Fig. 8 shows the evolution of generation mix by fuel
type. Following the world-wide oil crisis in 1979 and
the 1982 discovery of off-shore indigenous gas in
Terengganu, Petronas-supplied/subsidized natural
gas became the main fuel, reaching about 80%
share by year 2000. However, from about 2002,
Petronas imposed curtailment on gas supply for
power generation and by 2011, there was severe
shortage of piped natural gas from Petronas.
Currently, Malaysia does not have:
(i) Clear policy on indigenous gas utilisation
for the power sector in terms of fuel
generation mix for the medium to long
term which is to facilitate infrastructure
development requirements for upstream
player (PETRONAS) and downstream
players (TNB/IPPs and other industrial
users), and
Fig. 8: Evolution of Generation Mix by Fuel Type

Source: TNB
(ii) Clear policy commitment on guaranteed
indigenous gas volume for power
generation.
If these two additional policies on resource
accessibility of indigenous gas supply are
incorporated into the existing energy policy, this will
facilitate national planning for strategic decisions
on domestic gas utilisation (that is, export vs.
local use) and on gas purchasing from the global
market. This in turn will ensure security of supply
in the longer term and minimise uncertainties in
the planning for competitive, clean and secure
electricity supply for the nation.
(b) Gas Pricing Policy/Acceptance of Price Risk
Malaysia also does not have a clear gas pricing
policy with regards to the principle of market
price for power generation. The definition of
market price can either be based on
- A weighted average of all gas sources,
that is, indigenous, imported via pipeline,
and LNG
- Peg ged to international indices or
competing fuel such as coal
- Pegged to fuel oil which could result in
high price
In countries, such as Thailand, Indonesia and
Vietnam, they practice the so-called Government
administrative price with a pricing formula that
balances local indigenous gas with high imported
39
INGENIEUR
gas price by setting domestic gas price at cost
plus level. In this way, the gas pricing formula
brings benefit to the national economy and ensure
security of supply.
Currently, Malaysia has an interim policy on
gas pricing for the existing 12,000 MW installed
gas-fired power plants which require a total gas
volume of 1744 mmscfd for full operation of
these plants. For the first 1000 mmscfd, the
Government-subsidized price is RM 16.7 per
mmbtu for indigenous gas. Beyond this volume,
it is based on that for LNG market price which is
about RM 40+ mmbtu. The Government subsidy
for indigenous-gas power generation will be
gradually removed. It is not certain at this point in
time what would be the final gas price to be used
after the removal of this Government subsidy.
However, for the purpose of determining future
energy mix and generation plant-up program, we
have assumed the expected global market price of
LNG which is about RM 40+ per mmbtu.
(c) Resource Accessibility and Pricing Risk of Coal
Malaysia started to plant up coal-fired electricity
generating units when imported coal price was
very much lower, as shown in Fig.9. Coal was

stable in terms of price for decades. Price started
to increase beyond 2003 and has since climbed
to new levels due to surge in world-wide demand.
Malaysia fully imports its coal from Indonesia,
Australia and South Africa.
In terms of resource accessibility, steam coal
export market is geopolitically concentrated.
Indonesia and Australia are the main coal
exporting countries which have a combined export
market share of about 80%.
It is a known fact that there are plenty of
coal in the ground in countries like US, China,
India, Europe and Russia. But, these countries
strategically reserve this indigenous resource for
their own respective domestic power generation
needs. The United States holds over 25% of known
world reserves, putting it in the same position
in terms of coal reserves as Saudi Arabia with
respect to oil reserves.
Volatile, unsettled coal price poses a big risk
to Malaysian electricity power producers due to
risk of no fuel-cost pass through mechanism.
Automatic fuel-cost pass through mechanism
is a must to sustain viability of a power utility
company.
Fig. 9: Pricing Risk of Coal

Source : TNB
6
40
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Challenge No.3: Carbon Emission and Climate

Change
As shown in Fig. 5(b), coal has now taken the
lead over gas for Malaysias electricity generation
with about 50% share from year 2012. And, it is
expected to further increase post-2015.
Our most recent WASP generation expansion
planning simulation study for post-2020 electricity
supply requirement, with the scenario of
unconstrained coal planting-up (Scenario 1), the
coal share in the fuel mix is up to about 80%, with
about 10% from natural gas.
Coal produces more than twice as much carbon
dioxide per unit (kWh) of electricity as does natural
gas. Malaysia has also made a commitment at
the Copenhagen Summit on Climate Change for
carbon emission intensity reduction of 40% by
2020.
Traditionally, energy issues have revolved
around questions about price, accessibility,
security and pollution. But now energy policies of
all kinds are being shaped by the issue of climate
change and global warming. There is now a very
strong case for international regulation on carbon
emission in the future. Development of new power
plants will be subjected to stringent
environmental codes and regulations. Future
generation options must incorporate efficient
plants such as supercritical/ultra-supercritical
boilers.
Since 2000, though not well publicised, the
biggest increase in global energy output has come
from coal double that from oil and triple that
from natural gas. More than anything else, coals
increase is the result of growing electricity use in
emerging market countries.
Today 40% of the worlds electricity is generated
from coal. Also, currently most generation
expansion planning scenarios have coal-generated
electricity growing on a global basis. China and
India, the worlds most populous countries, rank
first and third, respectively, in coal consumption,
with the US placing second. In China about 80% of
electricity is produced from coal, while this figure
is 69% for India.
Challenge No.4: The Nuclear Option
As highlighted earlier in the introductory section,
Malaysia has already taken a stand in 2010 on
nuclear power as an option for a major share in its
electricity generation portfolio requirement post2020, besides coal and gas .Currently, the Nuclear
Power Infrastructure Development Plan (NPIDP) is
being finalised by the Government for the decisionmaking process in the implementation of first few
units of the nuclear power projects, with earliest
commissioning of the first unit in 2025. This
NPIDP is essential for making Malaysia Nuclear
Ready for that decision making process of GO or
NO GO.
Today nuclear power represents 15% of total
world electricity. Between 2000 and 2009, 39
nuclear power plants went into operation. Most
of these were in Asia. Indeed, three quarters of
the 61 units currently under construction are in
just four countries China, India, South Korea,
and Russia. China has a target on a rapid buildup to more than quadruple its nuclear power
capacity by 2020 and aims to have almost as
many nuclear plants by then as does the United
States. South Korea and Saudi Arabia are also
targeting substantial growth. In 2009,the United
Arab Emirates, facing rapidly increasing demand
for electricity and concerned about shortages of
natural gas for electricity generation, awarded to a
South Korean consortium a US$20 billion contract
to build four nuclear reactor power generating units
expected to be operational in 2017.
Based on the capital cost for building a new
1,000 MW coal-fired supercritical boiler power
plant in Malaysia, the capital expenditure (capex)
per installed MW is about RM5 million. A new
nuclear power plant of about the same size is
approximately three to four times that of coal
plant, that is, about RM17.5 million per MW
installed. Levelized cost of electricity (LCOE) is
an internationally accepted economic/financial
criterion for comparing the competitiveness of a
power plant project of same fuel technology plant
type between different bidders.
LCOE is also useful for comparing cost of
electricity for different fuel technology plant type
- nuclear, coal and gas - in meeting a certain
electricity demand-supply requirement. Fig.10,
which is sourced from IAEA gives the LCOE for
Nuclear at US$5 cents/kWh, Coal at US$4.7
cents/kWh and Gas at US$4.4 cents/kWh. The
same figure shows the impact of doubling the
resource prices of uranium, coal and gas on the
respective LCOE of each fuel technology plant
41
INGENIEUR
Fig. 10: Impact of Doubling Resource Prices on LCOE of Fuel Technology Plant Type
Source: IAEA
type. The LCOE of nuclear plant only increases by

about 4%, whereas that for coal-fired power plant
by +40% and gas-fired combine cycle plant by
+70% plant type.
The nuclear option is a very promising
option for Malaysias yet-to-be formulated future
energy security policy agenda as the nuclear
fuel (enriched uranium dioxide) is considered as
domestic resource, even if it is imported. This is
because uranium fuel has no alternative use, with
abundant resources from many worlds regions,
it is a competitive fuel market. The prices are
low (much less than US$130 per kg) and likely to
remain so in the long term [4]. With the nuclear
option, Malaysia adds another resource on to
its fuel supply mix and hence increases its fuel
diversity index as it is a new resource/technology
plant type.
The most important consideration in the
formulation of this energy security policy is the
significant impact on cost of electricity due to
primary fossil fuels price volatility risk of coal and
gas as evidenced from the above Fig.10. The
6
42
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nuclear option provides the necessary buffer

against this impact as fuel cost component of
nuclear generated electricity is a very small share
of electricity price as shown above. Currently,
these benefits are not visible to private investors.
Also, nuclear power has very low lifetime
greenhouse gas emissions and hence a potent
climate change mitigation option for electricity
generation.
Conclusion
From the preceding deliberations, it can be
concluded that Malaysias present energy policies
do not have a single optimal long-term energy mix
target for electricity demand-generation balance.
The evolution of the electricity generation energy
mix over the last 30 years (Fig. 8) is actually an
output rather an input. It is not by design.
Malaysia now need to design and shape its
future long- term electricity generation energy
mix with clear targets based on the following key
drivers:
Availability and price of legacy indigenous

natural gas
- Extent of concern about domestic energy
security
- Environmental policy objectives expected
over the next decade
- Cost and availability of the nuclear option
- Cost , availability and size of development
options of Sarawak Hydro - PM
Interconnection
Each of these key drivers requires supportive
policies and regulatory processes to enable
appropriate commercial decisions to be taken in a
prudent and timely manner.
With regards to power sector requirement
for legacy indigenous natural gas, the specific
issues that must be resolved for a more efficient
design of Malaysias long-term energy mix are:
- A definition of, and mechanism to
establish the market gas price
-
A specification of the quantity of
indigenous gas that can be used by the
power sector
- An administrative price of indigenous gas
that is separate from the market price
- A set of arrangement to manage the
transition from todays administrative
arrangement to the future market-based
arrangements
As the price of natural gas increases relative
to other fuel cost (coal), its role in the overall
electricity demand-generation balance will fall.
The WASP Generation expansion simulation
study as discussed in this paper confirms that
coal will make up a substantial share of the
energy mix (about 80%) if gas price is based
entirely on international market LNG price and
without the nuclear option.
Peninsular Malaysia is faced with limited and
depleting gas resources and increasing reliance on
fully-imported coal to meet the countrys electricity
needs.
Nuclear power development is a very promising
option as the most effective assurance/buffer
against resource accessibility and price volatility
risks as compared to coal and gas. It is also a
potent climate change mitigation option for
electricity generation.
Large-scale renewable energy (RE) projects,

such as Hybrid Solar PV- Battery Energy Storage
System, are mostly more expensive in terms of
capital expenditure (per kW installed) than coalfired generation and depend almost entirely
on policy support (i.e. subsidies). Demandside management (DSM) and energy efficiency
measures/programmes can reduce future load
growth, but they require supportive regulatory
arrangements including changes to electricity
tariff structures. Power/energy imports through
HVDC Transmission Interconnection from Sarawak
Hydros must also be pursued more vigorously to
be realized before 2025.
Malaysias overarching national energy policy
must necessarily address the electricity demandgeneration balance as part of its national energy
security agenda which depends on the ability
to secure fuel for electricity generation. The
energy supply options must also be sustainable,
affordable and clean. As such, there is the
urgent need to find the right sustainable and
balance energy mix and resources to ensure longterm security for the Nation. In this regard, this
Paper proposes that the 30:30:30:10 energy mix
comprising gas:coal:nuclear:RE/Hydro (Scenario 3)
respectively be considered for adoption by the
Government.
References
[1] Daniel Yergin. The Quest: Energy, Security, and
the Remaking of the Modern World (Chapter
13). Penguin Books, 2012.
[2] Economic Transformation Program A Road
map for Malaysia, Chapter 6: Powering the
Malaysian Economy with Oil, Gas and Energy.
Prime Ministers Department, Government of
Malaysia, 2010.
[3] National Energy Balance 2012. Energy
Commission, Malaysia, 2014.
[4] Ferenc. L. Toth. Ensuring Energy Security: The
Nuclear Option. International Atomic Energy
Agency, International Energy Security Forum
2008. Kuala Lumpur, 2008
43
Where Engineers Excel

The Board of Engineers Malaysia (BEM),
formed in 1972, is a statutory body
constituted under the Registration of
Engineers Act 1967. BEM falls within the
ambit of responsibility of the Minister of
Works. Its primary role is to facilitate the
registration of engineers and regulate the
professional conduct and practice of
registered engineers in order to
safeguard the safety and interest of the
public.
Under BEMs registration record are
15,000 Professional Engineers and
76,000 Graduate Engineers in various
disciplines and industries throughout
Malaysia.
Published quarterly by BEM, The Ingenieur,
reaches out to the engineering community
via a 13,500 print version as well as to
other readers via an e-format.
Readership is estimated at 50,000.
The content in this magazine, written mainly

by the engineering community and
technical professionals, provides first-hand
and valuable knowledge. There is a wealth
of information on:
Infrastructure design and
development
Professional practice
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Engineering personalities
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Continuous development of engineers.
For
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contact
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41
INTERNATIONAL POLICY
INGENIEUR
United
Nations
Decade of
Sustainable
Energy for All
2014-2024

Submitted by Jordan Fong Yau Chung
The decade of 2014 2024 as The Decade of Sustainable Energy for All
was declared by the United Nations General Assembly underscoring the
importance of energy issues for sustainable development and for the
elaboration of the post-2015 development agenda.
nergy is the golden thread

which links economic
growth, increased social
equity, and environment that
allows the world to thrive. At a
time when 1.2 billion people
worldwide lack access to
electricity, when 2.8 billion
people do not have clean and
safe cooking facilities, and when
a shift to sustainable energy
use is imperative to protect the
Earths climate, no less than a
6
46
worldwide effort is required to

achieve sustainable energy for
all.
The UN resolution stressed
the need to improve access to
reliable, affordable, economically
viable, socially acceptable and
environmentally sound energy
ser vices and resources for
sustainable development. To
that end, it also highlighted
the importance of improving
energy efficiency, increasing
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the share of renewable energy,

and cleaner and energy-efficient
technologies.
Sustainable energy provides
new opportunities for growth.
It enables businesses to grow,
generates jobs, and creates new
markets. Children can study after
dark. Clinics can store life-saving
vaccines. Countries can grow
more resilient, with competitive
economies. With sustainable
energy, countries can build clean
energy economies of the future.

Transforming the worlds energy
systems will also lead to new
multi-trillion-dollar investment
opportunities.
Sustainable energy for all is
an investment in our collective
future. Universal energy access,
increasing the use of renewable
e n er g y, imp r ove d e n er g y
efficiency and addressing the
nexus between energy and
health, women, food, water and
other development issues are
core interests of all countries
and must be deeply integrated
in development agendas.
The Sustainable Energ y
for All (SE4ALL) initiative is
helping to realise the vision
agreed at Rio+20 by catalysing
major new investments and
facilitating new public-private
partnerships. Mobilising bold
commitments and actions will
have a transformative impact on
the achievement of the following
three targets by 2030:
Ensuring universal access
to modern energy services,

Doubling the global rate
of improvement in energy
efficiency, and
Doubling the share of
renewable energy in the

global energy mix.
SE4ALL Forum
In working towards these targets,
the annual SE4ALL Forum will
provide yearly milestones. Key
objectives that par ticipants
will be challenged to consider
include the following:
Assess progress on
Sustainable Energy for All

since Rio+20,
Inspire and mobilise further
action, partnerships
a n d co m m i t m e n t s by
showcasing success
stories, innovation and best
practices,
Grow
the
broader
movement of civil society
organisations
and
stakeholders by launching
advocacy campaigns and
outreach under the UN
Decade of Sustainable
Energy for All, and
Shape and set the direction
for the global policy
discourse on energy for the
crucial decades to come.
What will it take to achieve

SE4ALLs three energy
objectives globally by 2030?
Scenarios based on global
energy models make it possible
to gauge the scale of the global
effort required to meet the three
objectives. The scenarios make it
plain that business as usual will
not remotely suffice. With regard
to universal access, business
as usual would leave 12% and
31% of the worlds population
in 2030 without electricity and
modern cooking solutions,
respectively. With regard to
energy efficiency, implementing
all currently available measures
with reasonable payback periods
would be enough to meet or even
exceed the SE4ALL objective.
However, barriers hold back
the adoption of many of the
measures, with the result that
their current uptake is relatively
low, ranging from about 20
% for power generation and
building construction to about
4% for manufacturing and
transportation.
With regard to renewable
energy, few scenarios point
to a renewable energy share

above 30% by 2030. Actual
global investment in the areas
covered by the three SE4ALL
objectives has been estimated
at about US$400 billion in
2010. The investments required
to achieve the three objectives
are tentatively estimated to be
at least US$600800 million
per year over and above existing
levels, entailing a doubling or
tripling of financial flows over
current levels.
The bulk of the investments
are associated with the energy
ef f iciency and renewable
energy
objectives. Accessrelated expenditures represents
a relatively small percentage
of the incremental costs (10
20%). Achieving such a steep
increase in financing for energy
is unlikely to be possible without
substantial investments from
the private sector.
The global energy models
also help to clarify the kinds
of policy measures that will
be needed to reach the three
sustainable energy objectives.
The IEAs World Energy Outlook
(WEO) and the Global Energy
Assessment (GE A) of the
International Institute for
Applied Systems Analysis (IIASA)
coincide in highlighting the
importance of:
Phasing out fossil fuel
subsidies,
Pricing energy to fully reflect
all associated local and

global environmental costs,
Embracing consistent global
technology standards for

energy efficiency, and
Carefully designing targeted
subsidies to increase
access to electricity and
clean cooking fuels.
47
INGENIEUR
Tracking Framework
T h e Tr a c k i n g F r a m ew o r k
provides an adequate basis
for basic global tracking but it
could be vastly improved. To
effectively monitor progress
through 2030, incremental
investments in energy data
systems are essential, both
at the global and national
levels. These cost-effective,
high impact improvements
could be implemented over
the next five years contingent
on the availability of financial
resources. For energy access,
the focus will have to go beyond
binary measures to a multi-tier
framework that better captures
the quantity and quality of
electricity supplied, as well
as the efficiency, safety and
convenience of household cook
stoves, including those using
biomass. For energy efficiency,
the main concern is to strengthen
the capacity of all countries to
produce disaggregated data on
sectoral and sub-sectoral energy
consumption which are fully
integrated with measures of the
output of those same sectors.
In the case of renewable energy,
the main priority will be to
improve the ability to gauge the
sustainability of various forms
of renewable energy, particularly
traditional biomass. All these
statistical improvements
are required to support the
conception and execution of
policies that produce tangible
results.
Developing the capacity
of countries to develop and
respond to improved indicators
is in itself a significant task.
The Global Tracking Framework
also clarifies the likely pattern
of efforts across geographical
regions toward the achievement
6
48
of the three objectives, based

on their starting points, their
potential for improvement, and
their comparative advantage.
For energ y ef ficiency, the
highest rates of improvement
about minus 4% annuallyare
projected for Asia (particularly
China) and the countries of
the former Soviet Union. For
renewable energy, Latin America
and Sub-Saharan Africa (the
latter owing to its strong reliance
on traditional biomass) emerge
as the regions projected to reach
the highest share of renewable
energy in 2030in excess of
50%, while much of the rest
of the world be in the 2040%
range. Moreover, the global
energy models clarify how the
three SE4ALL objectives interact
with each other (generally in a
complementary way) and how
they affect climate change and
other global concerns.
The achievement of the
renewable energy objective
will be facilitated by strong
progress on energy efficiency
which dampens growth in overall
energy demand. Moreover, the
IEA finds that neither energy
efficiency nor renewable energy
measures alone will be sufficient
to contain global warming to
within two degrees Celsius
by 2030, but that the two,
in tandem, could bring that
objective much closer. At the
same time, achieving universal
access to modern energy would
raise global carbon dioxide
emissions by a negligible 0.6 %
over business as usual. The GEA
estimates that the probability of
limiting global warming to two
degrees Celsius increases to
between 66 and 90% when the
SE4ALL objectives for renewable
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energy and energy efficiency are

simultaneously metbut lower
if either objective were met
individually. The achievement of
the universal access objective
for modern cooking, which would
increase reliance on typically
fossil-based nonsolid fuels,
would have a small offsetting
effect, reducing the share of
renewable energy in the global
mix by some two percentage
points, with a negligible impact
on the probability of achieving
the two degree Celsius target.
Global Tracking Framework
-Bold policy and an enabling
environment for investment
and innovation.
Finally, given the scale of the
challenges in meeting the
three SE4ALL objectives for
energy, it is clear that bold
policy measures, combined with
a regulatory and institutional
environment that suppor ts
innovation and encourages
investment, will be required to:
Produce the requisite
increases in the energy

sectors capacity to widen
access,
Boost the output derived
from a given unit of energy,

and
Raise the share of
renewable energy in the

overall energy mix.
A detailed analysis of the
policy environment at the
country level lies beyond the
immediate scope of the Global
Tracking Framework, which
has focused on the monitoring
of global progress toward the
stated SE4ALL objectives.
However, it will be an important
focus for future work in support
of the critical social, economic,

and environmental goals that
the SE4ALL initiative addresses.
UNIDO Action
The United Nations Industrial
D evelop ment Or ganisation
(UNIDO) is involved in the
delivery of technical assistance,
capacity building and policy
advice in support of access
by developing countries to
clean and efficient energy for
productive use. The organisation
stands ready to support the
implementation of the Decade by
focusing on tangible actions and
concrete initiatives enabling the
global transition to a greener
model of industrialisation
and economic grow th. It
will support member states
through initiatives that support

the development of national
industrial energy ef ficiency
actions plans, and promote and
support the dissemination of
energy management systems,
standards and best practices
relating to energy audit and
management. It is the initiatives
lead organisation with regard to
energy efficiency and renewable
energy standards, and works
with GEF and the International
Organisation for Standardization
on these topics as a high impact
opportunity.
The Way Forward
The goals that need to be
achieved to promote human wellbeing depend on progress in the
global transformation of energy
systems. Societies all over the

world will not be able to advance
their sustainable development
goals unless extraordinar y
changes are implemented in
the way energy is produced and
used. In addition, measures
will have to be implemented to
secure access to affordable
sustainable modern and clean
energy systems.
Investment is needed to
propel innovation, development
and
commercialisation
of environment ally sound
technologies. Ample co operation and actions are
needed to substantially
increase the contribution of
those technologies to the
worlds energy systems and
to guarantee modern energy
service to everyone.
49
INGENIEUR
MS ISO 50001:2011
GUIDELINES
ENERGY MANAGEMENT SYSTEMS

By Prof. Ir. Dr K S Kannan,
National Project Manager, UNIDO-GEF project
Industrial Energy Efficiency for Malaysian Manufacturing Sector
ISO 50001 was released by ISO in June 2011 and is suitable for any
organisation whatever its size, sector or geographical location. Malaysia
adopted the standard as MS ISO 50001 in October 2011.
ccess to energy is becoming more costly

and environmentally damaging. The era of
cheap energy is coming to an end in many
countries.
Organisations of all types and sizes
increasingly want to reduce the amount of energy
they consume. This is driven by the need or desire
to:
Reduce costs,
Reduce the impact of rising costs,
Meet legislative or self-imposed carbon
targets,
Reduce reliance on fossil fuels, and
Enhance the entitys reputation as a
socially responsible organisation.

In tandem, Governments increasingly want to
reduce the Greenhouse Gas Emissions of their
citizens and industries, and are more and more
frequently imposing legislative mechanisms to
compel carbon reduction.
The effective use of the Energy Management
System (EnMS) will help organisations of any size
to manage their energy use in a sustainable way.
This will result in:
Reduced costs,
Reduced environmental impact, and
Increased competitiveness.
It is a very rare organisation that cannot

make significant reductions in its energy costs
by implementing small changes in energy usage.
This simple fact is rarely accepted by the top
management in most organisations.
A systematic approach will lay the foundations
for significant and sustainable cost reduction in
energy use for organisations of all sizes.
6
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This is not a difficult technical challenge; it is

a challenge to the organisational management of
resources, including energy and people.
Even in organisations with world class
energy performance there is always room for
improvement. In Denmark, one of the worlds
most energy efficient economies, it is estimated
that a further 40% improvement is possible using
currently available technology and best operating
practices.
WHAT IS ENERGY MANAGEMENT?
The judicious and effective use of energy

to maximise profits (minimise costs) and
enhance competitive positions.
The strategy of adjusting and optimizing
energy, using systems and procedures so
as to reduce energy requirements per unit
of output while holding constant or reducing
total costs of producing the output from these
systems.
Energy management affects organisational,
technical and behavioural actions in an
economically-sound manner with the objective
of improving the energy performance of an
organisation.
Energy management means systematic
attention to energy with the objective of
continually improving the energy performance
of an organisation and maintaining these
improvements. It ensures that the organisation
continually passes through the cycle of policy
making (including evaluation of objectives),
action planning, implementing actions and
Energy is a controllable resource Using it efficiently helps

to increase profits by reducing costs.
checking results, reviewing progress and

updating policy and objectives as required.
Energy Management:
a) is a management process to proactively
assess, manage and measure energy
usage to assure that energy has been
efficiently used,
b) refers to a scheme of management rather
than implementation of specific hardware,
c) provides companies with technical and
management strategies to increase
energy efficiency, reduce costs and
improve environmental performance, and
d) covers all aspects of energy consumption,
technical and non-technical.
Objectives of Energy management
To achieve and maintain optimum energy
procurement and utilization, throughout

the organization.
To minimise energy costs and waste

without affecting production & quality.
To reduce import dependency.
To enhance energy security, economic
competitiveness, and environmental
quality.
Benefits of Energy Management

Reduces energy costs through systematic
management of energy.
Improves efficiency and productivity.
Reduces energy variation, inefficiencies
and energy losses.

Facilitates continual improvement.
Improves the optimisation of processes.
Improves employee awareness,
motivation and participation.

Increases profitability.
Optimises energy usage onsite.
Reduces operation and maintenance
costs.
51
INGENIEUR
Reduces carbon/GHG emissions.

Sets up energy target & plan.
Sets M&V procedures.
Develops energy reporting systems
Allows integration with other management
systems.
Creates an opportunity for benchmarking.
EnMS
TERMINOLOGY
Standard
Energy Management System (EnMS)

The EnMS is a logical, methodical, organised way
of managing an organisations energy use. It is a
management system and not a technical system.
Energy Management System Standard
The EnMS Standard is a published structure
or framework which an organisation may use to
develop the EnMS. The first international Energy
Management Standard MS ISO 50001 was
adopted from ISO 50001.
Cer/ca/on
Figure 1: The certification process
Figure 1: The certification process
Energy cost can be reduced significantly It may not

require financial investment.
MS ISO 5001:2011
energy management system. The standard

Certification
specifies
the requirements
for establishing,
ISO 50001:2011 Energy
management
systems Requirements
with guidance for
Certification proves that the energy management implementing, maintaining and improving an
use is a specification created by the International Organisation for Standardization
system meets the requirements of MS ISO 50001. energy management system, whose purpose is
(ISO) for an energy management system. The standard specifies the requirements
This gives customers, stakeholders, employees to enable an organisation to follow a systematic
for establishing, implementing, maintaining and improving an energy management
and management more confidence that the approach in achieving continual improvement in
system, whose purpose is to enable an organisation to follow a systematic approach
organisation is saving energy. It also helps to energy performance, including energy efficiency,
in achieving
continual
improvement in energy performance, including energy
ensure that the energy management
system
is energy
security, energy use and consumption. The
efficiency, energy security, energy use and consumption. The standard aims to help
working throughout the organisation.
standard aims to help organisations continually
Another advantage of certification is its reduce their energy use, and therefore their energy
4
emphasis on continual improvement. A certified costs and their greenhouse
gas emissions.

organisation will continue to get better at
ISO 50001 was released by ISO in June 2011
managing its energy. Additional cost savings can and is suitable for any organisation whatever
be generated over several years. Furthermore its size, sector or geographical location. Malaysia
certifying an organisation shows its public adopted the standard as MS ISO 50001 in October
commitment to energy management.
2011.
MS ISO 5001:2011
ISO 50001:2011 Energy management systems
Requirements with guidance for use is a
specification created by the International
Organisation for Standardization (ISO) for an
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MS ISO 50001:2011 specifies requirements

for establishing, implementing, maintaining and
improving an energy management system, whose
purpose is to enable an organisation to follow
a systematic approach in achieving continual
improvement in energy performance, including
energy efficiency, energy use and consumption.
This standard specifies requirements

Review the effectiveness of the policy,
applicable to energy use and consumption,

and
including measurement, documentation and
Continually improve energy management.
reporting, design and procurement practices for

ISO 50001 focuses on a continual improvement
equipment, systems, processes and personnel process to achieve the objectives related to the
that contribute to energy performance.
environmental performance of an organisation
This standard applies to all variables affecting (enterprise, service provider, administration, etc.).
energy performance that can be monitored The process follows a plan do check act
and influenced by the organisation. It does not approach (Plan-Do-Check-Act, PDCA).
prescribe specific performance criteria with
The four phases of the PDCA circle:
respect to energy.
MS ISO 50001 has been designed to be used PLAN
independently, but it can be aligned or integrated Top management must have the overall
with other management systems.
responsibility for the installed energy management
MS ISO 50001 is applicable to any system. An energy officer and an energy team
organisation wishing to ensure that it conforms should be appointed. Furthermore the organisation
An energy
management
system the
requires
a process
for in
compliance
to formulate
energy
policy
the formand
ofvaluation
to its stated energy policy and wishing
to has
of related regulations. Internal audit can help verify that the energy management
a writtenproperly
statement
which contains
theresults.
intent The
andprocesses
demonstrate this to others, such conformity system
being is functioning
and generating
the planned
should
be
monitored
with
regard
to
legal
and
other
requirements
(customer
confirmed either by means of self-evaluation and direction of energy policy. Energy policy must be
requirements, internal policies) as well as to the objectives of the organisations
self-declaration of conformity, or by certification
communicated within the organisation. The energy
energy management system. The results should be documented and reported to
of the energy management system by an external
team is the connection between management
top management.
organisation.
and employees. In this phase the organisation
ACT
The implementation of MS ISO 50001 is has to identify the significant energy uses and
Top management
should
a written valuation
based
on the internal audit.
prioritise
theprepare
opportunities
for energy
performance
intended to lead to reductions in greenhouse
This document
is called the management review. The results should be
gas emissions, energy cost, and other related
improvement.
evaluated against their performance objectives. If necessary, corrective or
environmental impacts, through systematic
preventive actions should be initiated. Energy-relevant processes should be
optimized and new strategic goals derived.
management of energy.
The PDCA approach is illustrated as in Figure 2 below.
Structure
There are seven major components to MS ISO
50001:
1. General Requirements
2. Management Responsibility
3. Energy Policy
4. Energy Action Plan
5. Implementation and Operation
6. Performance Audits
7. Management Review
Method
MS ISO 50001 provides a framework of
requirements that help organisations to:
Develop a policy for more efficient use of
energy,
Fix targets and objectives to meet the
policy,
Use data to better understand and make
decisions concerning energy use and

consumption,
Measure the results,
53
INGENIEUR
DO
The stated objectives and processes should now
be introduced and implemented. Resources should
be made available and responsibilities determined.
It is imperative that employees and other
participants are aware of and capable of carrying
out their energy management responsibilities. The
realization the energy management system starts.
CHECK
An energy management system requires a
process for compliance and valuation of related
regulations. Internal audit can help verify that
the energy management system is functioning
properly and generating the planned results. The
processes should be monitored with regard to legal
and other requirements (customer requirements,
internal policies) as well as to the objectives of the
organisations energy management system. The
results should be documented and reported to top
management.
ACT
Top management should prepare a written
valuation based on the internal audit. This
document is called the management review.
The results should be evaluated against their
performance objectives. If necessary, corrective
or preventive actions should be initiated. Energy-
relevant processes should be optimized and new

strategic goals derived.
The PDCA approach is illustrated as in Figure 2
shown on this page.
CONCLUSION
Organisations have reported 10 15% savings
with little investment after implementing the
requirements of MS ISO 50001.
Consistent energ y management helps
organisations realize untapped energy efficiency
potential. They benefit from cost savings and
make significant contributions to environmental
and climate protection including permanent
reductions in CO 2 emissions. The standard
should aler t employees and, in par ticular,
top management level to the immediate and
long-term energ y management gains that
can be made. The organisation can discover
potential savings and competitive advantages.
Fur thermore a huge image boost for the
organisation can be created.
Capacity building for industry personnel in
Energy Management Systems is being provided
free of charge by the UNIDO-GEF project Industrial
Energy Efficiency for the Malaysian Manufacturing
Sector. For details visit website www.ieemms.org
Figure
ThePDCA
PDCA Approach
Figure
2: 2:
The
Approach
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CONCLUSION
Organisations have reported 10 15% savings with little investment after
ELON MUSK:
EXTRAORDINARY
ENGINEER
elf- made billionaire

entrepreneur Elon Musk
is well known for turning
innovative ideas in technology
into successful businesses.
He dares to dream and enjoys
using engineering and design
to come up with bold products
and services. Musk is famously
associated with space travel
under his company SpaceX,
electric cars under Tesla Motors
and solar panels under SolarCity.
In a March 2014 CBS
Inter view, Elon Musk sees
himself as an en gine er,

I usually describe myself as an
engineer, that's basically what
I've been doing since I was a
kid. I'm interested in things that
change the world or that affect
the future and wondrous, new
technology where you see it
and you're like, Wow, how did
that even happen? How is that
possible?"
T h e 4 3 - y e ar- ol d M usk
lives in Los Angeles and holds
US, Canadian and South
African citizenship. He was
Space Travel
Musk channelled US$100 million
of his personal fortune to create
Space Exploration Technologies
Corp or SpaceX, in 2002. His
vision was to develop reusable
rockets to bring down the cost
of space travel, as quoted in the
SpaceX website:
If one can figure out how to
effectively reuse rockets just like
airplanes, the cost of access
to space will be reduced by as
much as a factor of a hundred. A
fully reusable vehicle has never
been done before. That really is
the fundamental breakthrough
needed to revolutionize access
to space.
At SpaceX, Musk is the
chief designer, overseeing
development of rockets and
spacecraft for missions to Earth
orbit and ultimately to other
55
PROFILE
born in South Africa, moved

to Canada in his late teens
and then to the United States,
earning Bachelor's degrees in
physics and business from the
University of Pennsylvania. After
graduating, Musk abandoned
plans to pursue further studies
at Stanford University and
started Zip2, a company which
made online publishing software
for the media industry.
Musk revealed his technical
prowess and business savvy
at an early age. He banked his
first million dollars before the
age of 30 when he sold Zip2
to US computer maker Compaq
for US$300 million in 1999.
Musk's next company, X.com,
eventually merged with PayPal,
the online payments firm bought
by Internet auction giant eBay
for US$1.5 billion in 2002.
INGENIEUR
Space Launch Complex 40 on Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida is illuminated by a Falcon 9
rocket as it lifts off at 8:35 p.m. EDT carrying a Dragon capsule to orbit. Space Exploration Technologies
Corp., or SpaceX, built both the rocket and capsule for NASA's first Commercial Resupply Services, or
CRS-1, mission to the International Space Station.
planets. SpaceXs Falcon 1 was
the first privately developed
liquid fuel rocket to reach orbit.
In 2008, Falcon 9 rocket and
Dragon spacecraft won the
NASA contract to provide a
commercial replacement for the
cargo transport function of the
Space Shuttle.
SpaceX has chalked
impressive records. It was
the first commercial company
to recover a spacecraft from
Earth orbit with its Dragon
spacecraft. In 2012, it became
the first commercial company
to dock with the International
6
56
Space Station (ISS) and return

cargo to Earth with the Dragon.
Backed by these impressive
performance, NASA announced
in September 2014 that SpaceX
will receive a US$2.6 billion
contract to develop the manned
iteration of its Dragon capsule.
Under the Commercial Crew
Programme contract, SpaceX
will not only assist NASA in
transporting astronauts and
cargo to the ISS, but will also
be free to transport civilians, in
effect providing a taxi service
to low-Earth orbit for anyone who
can afford it.
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Electric Dreams
A proponent of clean energy,
Musk founded Tesla Motors in
2003 and teamed up with his
cousins Peter and Lyndon Rive
to launch SolarCity in 2006
(see accompanying story). Both
companies are now listed on the
Nasdaq stock exchange.
W h il e Te s l a p r o d u c e s
relatively few vehicles, it has
become a star in the sector due
to keen demand and a reputation
for high quality. The first model,
Tesla Roadster hit the streets in
early 2008 as a sports car that
Teslas Roadster Sports

can go from 0 to 60 mph in 3.7
seconds and travel for 245 miles
per charge. Model S arrived in
2012 as a premium sedan and
received numerous accolades,
including Car of the Year awards
and a 5 -star safety rating
from the US National Highway
Traffic Safety Administration.
A network of charging stations
called Superchargers let Tesla
car owners charge for free at
strategic locations, enabling
long distance road trips in North
America, Europe, and Asia.
I n J u n e 2 014, M u s k
announced that Tesla would
build the world's largest lithiumion battery plant in Nevada, as
part of a plan to produce more
electric cars at lower prices.
Super Fast Transport

Demonstrating futuristic vision,
Musk unveiled a design for a
super-fast transport system
in August 2013, dubbed
"Hyperloop" which could carry
passengers in low-pressure
tubes at near- sup er sonic
speeds. The conceptual
transportation system involves

sleek passenger capsules flying
within a tube on a cushion of air.
Solar panels along the entire
length of the tube provide power
to run the system. This super
fast transport system is said
to be enable passengers to
travel from Los Angeles and San
Francisco in 35 minutes.
It was reported that Musk
has no plans to build the system
but offered the "open source
design" to allow others to
pursue this venture.
Technical Philanthropist
With a penchant for science
and technology, Musk plays
philanthropist with his massive
wealth. He is a trustee of the
X-Prize Foundation and the Musk
Foundation, both of which have
a strong interest in promoting
renewable and environmentfriendly energy technologies.
In the X-Prize Foundation,
Musk supports competitions
to promote advances in clean
energy. He is also a trustee
at the California Institute of
Technolog y and ser ves on
the boards of the National

Academies Aeronautics and
Space Engineering Board, the
Planetary Society, and Stanford
Engineering Advisory Board.
His Musk Foundation was
formed in 2002, and focuses
its grant making in the areas
of renewable energy, science
and engineering education, and
paediatric health.
According to Forbes, Musks
net worth is US$9.3bn (as of
Sept 23, 2014). With money,
innovative ideas and love for
engineering, he will continue
to pursue his various interests
which were described as
things that are going to make
a significant difference to the
future of humanity. ~ Inforeach
REFERENCE
en.Wikipedia.org
www.spacex.com
www.tesla.com
www.businessinsider.my
www.cbsnews.com
www.space.com
www.muskfoundation.org
www.news24.com
www.forbes.com
57
FACILITY MANAGEMENT
INGENIEUR
Human
Error in
Maintenance
By Ir. Mathen Kumar,
Section Head, Operations &
Maintenance, Facilities Department
MEMC Ipoh Sdn Bhd
Maintenance has a
major relevance to the
business performance
of industry. Whenever
a machine stops due
to a breakdown, or
for essential routine
maintenance, it incurs
a cost. The cost may
simply be the cost of
labour and the cost of
any materials used,
or it may be much
higher if the stoppage
disrupts production.
6
58
s with most types of work, the scope for human error in

maintenance operations is vast. These can range from
becoming distracted and forgetting important checks to
knowingly deviating from a permit or work procedure in order to save
time or to get the job done in unexpected circumstances. Some
types of human error can be so frequent that they almost become
the accepted custom and practice. For example, fitters may have got
into the habit of omitting final checks during a routine maintenance
procedure. Other forms of human error may only occur rarely during
exceptional circumstances. For example, crews may mis-diagnose
the cause of a novel failure.
Maintenance procedures are largely dependent on people and
although no one intends that errors should occur, psychology tells
us that by nature people are prone to error and it is inevitable that
mistakes will be made from time to time. Maintenance work is
particularly vulnerable to error because the work is often complex
involving the frequent removal and replacement of a variety of
components. Certain tasks also require high levels of vigilance and
skill to detect faults that can be infrequent and difficult to spot.
Maintenance work is also commonly performed in difficult working
conditions, often under time pressure. This is evidenced by the many
ways in which errors may occur, for example:
Omission errors (component/part not installed or replaced);
Incorrect action errors (wrong component/part installed or
replaced; wrong check carried out);
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Erika a 25-year-old tanker which broke up and sank off the Brittany coast,
causing one of Europes worst ever oil spills.
Not restored to operational

state errors (system not
reactivated/deactivated);
Procedural errors (failure to
carry out inspection).
Performance on maintenance
tasks is heavily influenced by
the design of the task and
the design of the equipment
being maintained. Equipment
that is difficult to maintain,
or components that can be
incorrectly fitted contribute to
maintenance errors. Further,
equipment that is not errortolerant in design can lead to
errors going undetected when
they occur. For example, if it is
not possible to visually detect
that an error has been made on
a maintenance task then it is
more likely to be missed during
visual inspection.
Maintenance errors are
mostly classified as latent
failures when thought of in terms

of safety. This means that the
failure may not be revealed as
an equipment, vehicle or system
failure until sometime after the
maintenance error occurred
(perhaps not until the equipment
or vehicle has been in service
for some time). The maintainer
often does not directly see the
consequences of their error
but the effects of maintenance
errors or unsafe acts are
significant, impacting not only
on economic per formance
but also more importantly on
public safety as illustrated by
these high profile safety critical
events:
1988 Clapham Rail collision
signal failure caused by
uncorrected poor practices
by a signalling technician
leading to a wrong-side
failure of the signalling
system (a disused wire was

allowed to cause a shortcircuit);
1988 Piper Alpha explosion
maintenance error led to
the leak that caused the
explosion, due to a number of
technical and organizational
failures;
1984 Union Carbide Bhopal
a cloud of toxic chemical
was released as a result
of operator error, poor
maintenance and failed
safety systems;
2000 Erika a 25-year-old
tanker which broke up and
sank off the Brittany coast,
causing one of Europes
worst ever oil spills. The
contributing factors included
poor organisation of maintenance tasks and procedures,
and rule violations within
maintenance tasks.
59
INGENIEUR
As illustrated by these
examples, it is not just the
design of the maintenance and
inspection tasks themselves
which influence the likelihood of
maintenance errors occurring;
wider organisational issues
can also have an impact on
maintenance per formance.
T h es e c an in clu d e p o o r
communications between
maintenance personnel and
across the organisation, and
inadequate systems to monitor
and learn from maintenance
errors. Cultural issues can also
have an impact, for example,
senior management failing
to appreciate the importance
of managing maintenance
o p e r a t i o n s a n d a ll o w i n g
commercial pressures to affect
the quality and robustness
of maintenance work. Other
factors
which can influence
Figure
1
maintenanc
e p er for manc e

include the environment in

which maintenance tasks are
performed, the suitability of
equipment provided to carry
out maintenance tasks and
the adequacy of training and
p ro cedur al do cument ation
provided to support maintenance
personnel.
A maintenance operator who
is motivated, well trained, under
no time pressure, given the
correct information, and working
with equipment which has been
designed to be maintenance
friendly, will likely complete all
specified maintenance work
to a high standard. However,
the more these requirements
are not met, the less likely it
becomes that the maintenance
work will receive the desired
attention and short cuts in work
methods become increasingly
probable. As a result, equipment
can become poorly maintained
causing reduced reliability/

availability or direct damage
to the plant. In turn, these
consequences can increase the
safety risk to the maintenance
operator and also to other
employees and the public.
There are therefore a number
of factors which influence the
behaviour of maintenance crews
and the likelihood of human error
that need to be considered both
in terms of their impact on the
safety of people and damage to
a plant or equipment or reduced
reliabilit y and subsequent
breakdown.
The life of a failure incident
starts at some point in the
past. Other than by Acts of
God, industrial accidents and
equipment failures are not an
accident; they are caused either
by human initiated events
lifeless objects do not make
choices or action decisions
6
60
Figure 1 Failure Causes Can Start Anywhere

Source: www.lifetime-relibility.com
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Figure 2 Human Error Varies According to the Task Complexity and Situational Stress
Source: Smith, David J. Reliability, Maintainability and Risk
or by natural physics and

bioscience, like corrosion and
decay. Study of failure incidents
find they happen because a
series of circumstances and
occurrences across time merge
to culminate in the final failure.
There is never just one cause
of a failure. It is almost a lie
to call an investigation into a
failure a Root Cause Failure
Analysis it is more truthful to
call it a Random Causes Failure
Analysis. Figure 1 points-out the
great difficulty of ever finding
the root cause(s) of any incident.
We know that we humans
are imperfect. We are limited by
the capabilities and capacities
of our body and design of

our brains. Our muscles tire,
we need sleep, our language
talents vary, and we differ in
mathematical abilities, as well
as in dozens of other attributes
and skills. A downside effect of
our humanness is that we make
human error (Included in the
many upsides are our amazing
creativit y and innovation).
We can make mistakes at
anytime. Figure 2 lists typical
human error rates across a
range of activities. It shows
the frequency our frailties start
failures and disasters; it tells
an interesting story of what it
means to be human. It is a truth
that human error is unavoidable;

it is impossible to stop. But that
does not mean it must lead to
failure.
Note the list of t ask
types in the table under the
Complicated, non-routine task
heading. That is where most
engineering and maintenance
work activities sit; they are
complicated technical tasks
infrequently carried out. Their
human error rates are massive
at least one error in every
ten opportunities to make an
error and it gets worse when
stress is added. Human error
is the single biggest reason
that companies have poor plant
61
INGENIEUR
Figure 3 The Danger of Series Arrangement Designs

Source: US Federal Aviation Authority on Human Factor Management
and equipment reliability. Our

plant and equipment are fine;
they are failed by poor business
processes that allow humans
to break them. Machines fail
because company managers
dont foresee the effects of
human error and human factors
and do not protect the company
from our inbuilt limitations; thus
ensuring failure and disaster will
eventually occur.
We make matters far worse
by designing machines and
business processes that are
prone to failure due human
er ror. We build them as
series configuration of parts
and tasks and consequently
introduce the problems shown
in Figure 3 countless times in
our machines and across our
companies. For tunately the
human error rate table also
advises us exactly what to do.
Note how the sigma quality
6
62
improves as a task becomes

simpler and the work is less
complicated. We reduce human
error by making a job design
simple (then simpler again),
by removing complication,
by removing uncer tainty, by
directing decisions and choices,
and by removing causes of
physical and mental stress.
Everything that we can do to
reduce human factor problems
will help our people do better
quality work.
As machines increase in
numbers of parts we increase
the chance of failure because
the series arrangements grow
longer and more par ts are
available to fail there are more
things to go wrong. Similarly
when business processes have
many tasks we provide many
opportunities for failure to occur
due to human error. We will have
a constant stream of disasters
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arising simply because the

probabilit y of failure from
countless opportunities is so
heavily weighed against us.
These never ending problems
eventually burn people out
because of the stress and
f atigue caused by poorly
designed series processes
throughout our companies
and machinery. When failures
happen, as they inevitably
must if people are involved,
it is difficult to identify the
true cause(s) because many
contributing errors will have
occurred across the life-cycle
of the failed item. In Figure 4
the pump-set fault tree shows
that a centrifugal pump can fail
due to 553 possible causes.
If we did a failure study on a
pump-set breakdown we would
have to consider which of the
553 causes occurred in the
pump under investigation.
Figure 4
Figure 4 What Caused the Pump Set Failure if there are 553 Ways to Fail a Pump Set?
Source: www.lifetime-reliability.com
Most businesses would never

provide the necessary time to
conduct a failure study of that
magnitude. Instead we seek
the obvious causes and factors
and discard those events
considered impossible or too
remote in order to reduce the
length of our failure study. This
means that because of process
complexity many failure studies
inevitably come-up with the
wrong cause and fix the wrong
issue, even though we may be
convinced that we have found
the problem.
The odds of finding the real
failure cause(s) path to the
true trigger event(s) becomes

increasingly remote as plant
and equipment become more
complicated. Figures 1 and
Figure 4 counsel us that in
a highly complex process
plant or a convoluted and
entangled business process
there are numerous ways,
some unima ginable, t hat
may contribute to a particular
disaster. To think we can
confidently work backwards from
a failure event to the several,
and even dozens, of contributing
causes is hopeful at best. In the
end we can only do what we can
do with the time and resources
available, and we must accept

that sometimes our teams will
go down the wrong track and
never know it.
Applying human error is
not always straightforward and
anecdotal evidence suggests
that workplace interventions
to address human error issues
may not always be successful.
We need to explore the issue of
designing for maintainability
which is using human error
principles to improve the design
or refurbishment of machinery/
equipment to make it easier for
engineers or technicians to carry
out maintenance.
63
FEATURE
INGENIEUR
Power
Management in
a Power Hungry
World
Addressing oil &
gas exploration
and production
challenges with
technology
By Gardiner Henderson,
Global Director, Oil
& Gas, Eaton, Weber
Shandwick, Singapore
he International Energy Outlook 2013 projects that world

energy consumption levels will grow by 56% by 2040 to
820 quadrillion BTU even as we battle with climate change,
urbanisation and diminishing energy sources. Rising prosperity in
Asian economies like India and China are set to cause a spike in
the amounts of energy consumed by transportation, industrial and
agricultural sectors across the region as we work towards powering
more cars, more machinery, and producing more consumables.
In response to todays unprecedented energy demands, oil
and gas companies around the world are exploring deeper and
newer frontiers to sate the worlds demand for energy. This has
resulted in higher capital expenditure investments by companies
as they work towards ensuring that their machinery can cope with
operations in harsher and more hazardous environments. These
complex operations also add risk to both the people involved in the
exploration and production (E&P) processes as well as potential
profits.
Keeping it optimised, yet affordable
E&P activities come at a price but oil and gas firms can keep
operating costs affordable by optimising critical systems, reducing
downtime, and simplifying installation and maintenance processes
by investing in customised electrical, hydraulic and filtration solutions
that provide a reliable and efficient supply of power.
6
64
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55 OCTOBER
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early which allows the operator

to schedule timely maintenance,
resulting in reduced downtime.
Additionally, metal cladding
helps to extend component
and system lifelines by offering
protection against corrosion
from rough environmental
conditions including salt spray.
Protecting people and profit
Purpose designed energy

audits should be carried out to
help identify wasteful energy
consumption pat terns and
analyse areas where energy
savings can be achieved.
Durable fittings, cable glands
and hoses can be installed to
help ensure that critical systems
remain operational. Downtime
can also be greatly reduced
with the installation of circuit
protection systems for both
circuit breakers and fuses that
protect motors and electrical
distribution equipment. Time
and money spent on installation
and maintenance can be
minimised with the use of LED
lighting solutions, liquid/gas
separators that offer better
unit operation and customised
integrated power assemblies.
O ne hig hly su c c essf ul
example of where customised
solutions helped to optimize
performance
was
the
construction of the Dow/Saudi
Aramco integrated chemical
facility which was built in a
single phase. Customised
motor control fittings, power
dist r ibu tion systems and
engineering ser vices have
allowed the Sadara chemical

c o m p a n y s w o r l d s c a l e
integrated complex to enjoy
enhanced reliability in terms of
operability.
Ensuring stable operations
through automation
Oil and gas companies depend
on being able to operate around
the clock when needed in order
to ensure profitability. Operators
can stay one step ahead of
their operational systems with
the aid of wireless and electronic instrumentation that allow for
remote monitoring and troubleshooting. Power management
software, for example, not only
helps manage energy costs but
also troubleshoots quality problems remotely, in difficult to
reach sites.
As operators move into more
remote and harsh environments
for exploration, there is a greater
need to have the assurance
that all E&P systems are fully
functional even in extreme
conditions. Solutions like a hose
condition monitoring system
help to detect symptoms of
hose failure and notify the user
Manpower risks are quite high in

the E&P sector but a lot of these
risks can be mitigated with the
right technological solutions.
Risks encountered during deep
sea production can be greatly
reduced with explosion-proof
enclosures that protect people
and equipment from flammable
gases, vapours and dust that
can be ignited by arcs, sparks
and heat.
Operators can also ensure
people safety by looking to
prevent arc flash in high risk
environments. Companies like
Valero refinery have chosen to
retrofit both new and existing
equipment with arc-resistant
motor controls to ensure that
their people, equipment and
refining facility are protected
from arc flash hazards.
E&P companies and
operators will continue to face
new challenges as they look
seawards in search of oil and
gas resources to meet rising
demands and grapple with
declining onshore production.
However, there is also the
reassurance that with improved
technological safety systems,
components and ser vices,
operators can look to minimising
their risks and optimising their
investments in order to meet the
diversified needs of the sector.
65
INGENIEUR
Safe, Reliable, Efficient:

FEATURE
Creating First-Class Gas

Supply in Malaysia
Source: Energy Malaysia magazine, Volume 2, 2014,
Courtesy of Energy Commission of Malaysia.
s one of the cleanest and

most useful of all energy
resources, natural gas
or piped gas with its availability
and abundance, has become the
ideal fuel, offering significant
economic and environmental
benefits to nations. Be it for
p ower in g ener g y - intensi ve
industries, commercial buildings
or even for domestic usage, it
is a viable energy solution that
continues to grow in importance.
In Peninsular Malaysia, the
Energy Commission plays a
vital role to effectively regulate
piped gas supply, and under its
purview, the sustainability and

consistency of supply is ensured
to maximise the benefit of this
power source for businesses.
The Energy Commission is
responsible for regulating the
piped gas industry in Peninsular
Malaysia, which has a gas
pipeline network measuring
2,500 km.
CompREhEnSivE
REgulationS
With Malaysias natural gas
sector growing significantly
and the domestic demand
Glass manufacturing is among

the most energy-intensive
industries that are reliant on gas
supply, as furnaces which melt
raw materials to form glass are
heated by the power generated
from natural gas combustion.
6
66
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55 OCTOBER
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for the fuel tripling over the

past 10 years, the Energy
Commissions role in regulating
the gas distribution industry
has become even more crucial,
to ensure that these demands
are met and possible challenges
addressed. The adequacy of
energy supply is key to driving
economic development, so the
priority is to ensure that gas
supply channelled to consumers
is constant, reliable and
reasonably priced.
As part of the Gas Supply Act
1993 (GSA) and the Gas Supply
Regulation 1997, the Energy
Commission is responsible for
validating that the required
licence has been obtained
by the main players in the
supply business, and that gas
prices are set in coherence
with market principles. It also
approves the installation of gas
piping systems. Furthermore,
when it comes to the quality of
distribution and dependability of
supply, the Energy Commissions
technical regulations focus on
details such as the composition,
pressure, purity and volume of
gas supplied through pipelines.
The enforcement of these
regulations by the Energ y
1997, the Energy Commission is

responsible for validating that the
required licence has been obtained
by the main players in the supply
business, and that gas prices are set
on policies that ensure a fair

and
efficient,
competitive
and sustainable gas market is
established which will contribute
to the economic development of
the country.
also approves the installation of gas

piping systems. Furthermore, when
it comes to the quality of distribution
and dependability of supply, the
Energy Commissions technical
regulations focus on details such as
pEninSulaR gaS utiliSation pRoJECt
The Energy Commission is

responsible for regulating
the piped gas industry in
Peninsular Malaysia, which
has a gas pipeline network
measuring 2,500 km.
Kangar
Gurun
PHASE 3
Tok Arun
Kertih
PHASE 1
PGU Loop 1
Kuala Lumpur
Multi-Product Pipeline
Dengkil
PHASE 2
PGU Loop 2
Segamat
Sepang
Port Dickson
Melaka
Pasir Gudang
Johor Bahru
Source: Gas Malaysia Berhad
18
Commission ensures that gas

supply services are affordable,
consumers are protected
in areas such as dispute
resolution, and piped-gas supply
and services are of high quality,
while overall, the best interests
of consumers are safeguarded.
Additionally, in order to
prevent the misuse of monopoly
or market power in the pipedgas industr y, the Ener g y
Commission monitors the gas
distribution sector. In addition,
the Energy Commission advices
the Economic Planning Unit
(EPU) on policies that ensure a
fair and efficient, competitive
and sustainable gas market
is established which will
contribute to the economic

development of the country.
StRatEgiC allianCES
In carrying out its responsibility
for all matters relating to the
supply of gas through pipelines
and the use of gas as provided
under the GSA, the Energy
C ommission of M alaysia
has licensed Gas Malaysia
Berhad (PGB) and the Sabah
Energy Corporation Sdn Bhd
to distribute gas in Peninsular
Malaysia and Sabah respectively.
On the other hand, transmission
of gas through the transmission
network in the Peninsula is selfregulated by PGB.
Although the the distribution

of gas is monopolised, the
operation is subject to a
highly regulated business
environment.
In accordance with these
regulations, Gas Malaysias
buying and selling prices of
natural gas are determined
by the Government and are
controlled to ensure tariffs are
reasonable. Within the period
from 2008 to 2014, gas prices
have been revised four times
and are constantly reviewed
to be reflective of the current
market scenario.
As a result, the Energ y
Commission ensures that Gas
Malaysia continually provides a
67
INGENIEUR
Gas Malaysias buying and selling

prices of natural gas are determined
by the Government and are controlled
to ensure tariffs are reasonable.
Feature
Kilotonne of
oil equivalent
(ktoe)
THE INCREASING CONSUMPTION OF GAS IN MALAYSIA
25,000
20,000
15,000
10,000
5,000
1990 1991 1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012
-
1,361
2,533
3,144
4,374
5,119
6,414
7,489
7,531
8,886 10,162 11,580 11,922 12,424 10,893 10,545 12,271 12,330 12,476 13,651 13,390 12,628 10,956 11,533
609
604
657
1,141
1,163
1,064
870
1,378
1,282
1,118
1,512
1,655
1,775
1,616
1,476
1,541
2,110
2,112
2,046
1,995
1,661
3,967
14
28
40
54
95
120
147
194
236
247
272
292
452
487
679
552
484
577
1,197
1,074
1,430
1,891
2,327
2,937
3,824
4,207
4,937
5,317
5,301
5,416
5,541
4,544
4,310
4,300
4,556
12
10
11
18
18
23
24
28
31
25
30
32
22
Self Generation
271
Power Stations
Gas consumption in the country has increased by 866% to

23,474 ktoe in 2012 as compared to 2,430 ktoe in 1990,
with the bulk of it by power stations to generate electricity.
488
530
Non-energy
495
128
469
Transport
568
923
Industry
1,431
1,140
Commercial
1,030
1,385
1,031
1,697
1,734
5,336
Residential
Source: PETRONAS, Gas Companies, Power Utilities, IPPs & Self-Generation Plants
StRatEgiC allianCES
6
68
Years
VOL
OCTOBER
DECEMBER
2014
In carrying
its responsibility
for Although
the the distribution of
VOL 60
55out
JUNE
2013
all matters relating to the supply of gas is monopolised, the operation
gas through pipelines and the use is subject to a highly regulated
of gas as provided under the GSA, business environment.
the Energy Commission of Malaysia
Gas Malaysias buying

and selling prices
thE RolE oF thE EnERgY CommiSSion

(unDER THE ENERGY COMMISSION ACT 2001)
01
Provide advice on all matters

concerning energy supply activities
clean, efficient, cost- effective

and uninterrupted supply of
gas to homes, commercial
businesses and industries.
At present, Gas Malaysia
supplies to more than 36,000
residential and commercial
customers as well as 740
industrial customers, and this
number is expected to grow.
pRioRitiSing SaFEtY
02
Implement, enforce and review

energy supply laws
03
Promote efficiency, economy

and safety in electricity and
piped gas industries
04
Promote competition and prevent

misuse of monopoly power in
electricity and piped gas industries
05
06
20
Promote research and development of

new techniques relating to supply and
use of electricity and piped gas
Promote self-regulation
While the Energy Commission is

focused on ensuring reasonable
tarif fs and a dependable
supply, it is also committed to
addressing safety concerns
arising from the gas piping
system. As a responsible
regulator, it has enforced
regulations to protect the public
from hazards to health, safety
and the environment.
These cover the provision
and maintenance of piping
systems, and require that all
employees be informed, be
given instruction and training on
Within
the period
from 2008
how
to operate
and monitor
the
to 2014,
have
piping
systemgas
in a prices
safe manner.
been
revised
four
times and
As the
Energy
Commission
are constantly
to
furthers
its effortsreviewed
to develop
be
reflective
of
the
current
the gas supply industry to meet
scenario. its
various market
future challenges,
end goal is still to facilitate the
self-regulation of the entire
gas industry in a receptive and
responsible way. Organisations
in the gas supply chain will then
be able to monitor their own
adherence to legal, ethical, and
safety standards, and proactively
assess and enforce those
standards
to achieve excellence.
left: Out of the many functions and
powersthis
of theisEnergy
Commission,
Once
in place,
the Energy
these six roles are the most prominent
Commission
will
not
only
and are integral to ensuring the continue
and efficiency
piped gas
toreliability
regulate,
but ofalso
seek to
supply to the nation.
innovate and serve the energy
industry as a partner.
69
FEATURE
INGENIEUR
Championing
Best Practices:
Energy Commission Workshop
Discusses Plant Reliability
Source: Energy Malaysia magazine, Volume 2, 2014,

Courtesy of Energy Commission of Malaysia.
6
70
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DECEMBER 2014
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55 OCTOBER
JUNE 2013
As the regulator of the energy sector in Peninsular Malaysia,

responsible for the reliable production and supply of electricity, the
Energy Commission decided to bring together the various stakeholders
in the generation sector, particularly power producers, for a one-day
Workshop on Plant Reliability and Performance Improvement on the
23rd of June at the Energy Commissions headquarters.
An Urgent Topic
While such a topic is important in
itself, the need for this workshop
was further emphasised by an
incident on the 7th of May when
pockets of areas in five states in
Peninsular Malaysia experienced
p ower ou t a ges owin g to
unexpected trips in three blocks
of the TNB Janamanjung (TNBJ)
plant in Manjung, coupled with
scheduled maintenance at the
Jimah plant. This resulted in a
loss of 3,000MW of generation,
bringing installed capacity
dangerously close to demand.
In a nutshell, a Peninsularwide blackout could very well
have occurred during this time
as not enough electricity was
being produced to meet the
needs and wants of consumers.
Thanks to the quick action by
the Grid System Operator (GSO),
which manages the electricity
grid in Peninsular Malaysia, the
worst-case scenario did not
happen.
Instead the GSO carried out
a loadshedding exercise, where
it executed a series of planned
outages resulting in pockets of
power interruptions in at least
five states, but left the overall

system intact.
While the prompt and
speedy action of the GSO has
been commended, the Energy
Commission realises that the
underlying causes have to be
addressed in order to prevent a
reoccurrence.
From The Regulators
View
Speaking at the start of the
Workshop, Energy Commission
CEO Datuk Ir Ahmad Fauzi
Hasan revealed that the
session was mooted as a way
for industry players to discuss
issues regarding power plants
in the country. Of special focus
were the recent breakdowns
which had raised concerns in
the regulator as well as in the
government.
According to Datuk Ir Ahmad
Fauzi, over the last two to
three years, the reliability and
performance of generators have
been declining, as evidenced by
an increase in the number and
severity of warnings issued by
the Grid System Operator. There
has been a steady increase
in the number of days in a

year when the daily operating
margins decreased from 24.7%
in 2012 to 15.4% in 2013 and,
up to June 2013, 8.6% due to
plant outage.
Following Datuk Ir Ahmad
Fauzi to the podium, the Energy
Commissions Senior Director
of the Electricity Supply and
Market Regulation Department
Ir Azhar Omar revealed that
there has been a permanent
loss in total installed capacity
namely the amount of power
capable of being generated by
plants in Peninsular Malaysia
from 21,509MW to 21,060MW,
owing to a loss of capacity in
power plants.
I n a d d i t i o n, I r A z h a r
highlighted that the electricity
reser ve margin has been
dropping in recent years, as a
result of an increased demand
and the lack of any new capacity
being added to the grid. In fact,
the reserve margin has fallen
from 41% in 2011 to 24.6% as
of June 2014.
Another problem is that a
substantial number of power
plants are not fulfilling the
provision of the Power Purchase
71
INGENIEUR
CHANGES iN iNSTALLED CAPACiTY

iN PENiNSULAr MALAYSiA POWEr PLANTS
Previous installed Capacity

1,136MW
revised installed Capacity
1,029MW
S.J.
Gelugor
S.J. Sultan Ismail,

PAKA
261.9MW
330MW

250MW

310MW
S.J. Cameron Highlands

S.J. Putrajaya

762MW
720MW

625MW
577MW
S.J. SSAA,
Kapar (KEV)

2,420MW
S.J. Jambatan
Connaught,
Klang

2,255MW

832MW
778MW
S.J. Tuanku Jaafar,

Port Dickson

1,409MW
1,411MW
24
6
72
S.J. Kuala Langat

(KLPP)
VOL
DECEMBER 2014
VOL 60
55 OCTOBER
JUNE 2013

489MW
485MW
S.J. Sultan Iskandar,

P. Gudang
iNstALLed CAPACitY, MAXiMUM deMANd ANd reserVe

MArGiN ProFiLe For PeNiNsULAr MALAYsiA(1990-2014)
reserve Margin
(%)
(MW)
30,000
NEW POWER PLANTS
1994-1996
1st Gen IPP(Gas) - 4,105MW
TNB(Gas) - 1,270MW
25,000
NEW POWER PLANTS

2003
2nd Gen IPP(Gas) - 2,360MW
TNBJ(Coal) - 2,070MW
TNB(Gas) - 110MW
49.5
56.1
53.2
NEW POWER PLANTS

2009
JEV(Coal) - 1,400MW
TNB(Gas) - 694MW
Growth - IC(10.6%) vs. MD(1.7%)
50
46.3
44.8
44.8
40.2
20,000
44.1
42.3
37.7
41.1 41.1
40.8
41.0
40
37.4
34.3
30.7
15,000
60
30.6
32.6
25.7
30
23.9
10,000
24.6
23.3
20
18.9
14.2
10
5,000
1990 1991 1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014
Total Installed Capacity(MW)
Maximum Demand(MW)
Reserve Margin(%)
Source: Energy Commission of Malaysia
Agreements
(PPAs) or
Service
the ProdUCers
PersPeCtiVe
LevelWhile
Agreements
For
fast-tracking(SLAs).
the construction
of new over
power the
plantslast
is one
way of
instance,
three
the problem, this method
years,addressing
32 generator
units with a
takes time to show results. A more
capacity
totalling
9,272MW
immediate solution is to lookhad
at the
root rates
causesthat
of the
drop inthe
plant
outage
exceed
performance and reliability, and
onesaddress
allowed
by the PPAs and
them.
SLAs.
One of the problems identified is
The
reliability
that coal-fire
plants of
are power
becoming
increasingly
to boiler tube
plants
affectssusceptible
the operations
failures, which was the main cause
of many
stakeholders in the
of plant outage at the Tanjung Bin
transmission
and plants.
distribution
and Jimah power
A task force
formed by the
Commission to
look
of electricity,
particularly
the
at this problem had made several
Single
Bu yer D
ar t ment
recommendations
to ep
resolve
the issue.
Urgent rectification
works on the
responsible
for procuring
boilers are being undertaken by the
electricity from producers and
the aforementioned
Grid System
26
Operator. Both these entities
are run by Tenaga Nasional
Berhad (TNB) the countrys
main utility and are overseen
by the Energy Commission.
Addressing the audience,
Ir Gucharan Singh General
plant owners
major work
is to be
Manager
ofand
System
Operations
completed by the end of 2015.
at the GSO reaffirmed that
As the workshop
aimed
to been
find
electricity
demand
has
solutions to such problems by bringing
on
the
rise,
and
warned
that
the regulator (the Energy Commission)
itand
is industr
expected
to
spike
y players together,in
representatives
fromthe
the Elpower
2014 owing to
Nio
generation sector were given the
weather
He
opportunity tophenomenon.
present the challenges
they highlighted
face and the solutions
areof
also
that inthat
May
being proposed.
this year, there were several
One representative
the industry,
incidents
most from
notably
the 7th
Keng Hoon, who is head of
ofTan
May
load-shedding
exercise
maintenance at TNB Janamanjung

which
unable
Power saw
Plant, generation
gave an account
of theto
problems
that the owing
plant encountered
meet
demand,
to several
in early May. As he explained, the
outages
inshut
thedown
power
decision to
the plants.
plant came
when
chloride content
found
Ir high
Gucharan
also was
revealed
in the boilers and, as per guidelines
that over the course of four
days in May, a total of more
than 3,000MW of generation
capacity was lost. Normally, this
convergence of outages does
not happen, he explained, but
if this continues, then we are
going to have more of these loadshedding issues coming up.
the ProdUCers
PersPeCtiVe
While fast-tracking the
construction of new power
plants is one way of addressing
the problem, this method takes
time to show results. A more
immediate solution is to look at
the root causes of the drop in
plant performance and reliability,
and address them.
O n e of t h e p r o ble ms
Ir Gucharan Singh Head of the Grid
System Operator
(GSO)coal-fire
explaining plants
identified
is that
how the increase in demand, coupled
are withbecoming
a drop in capacity, is increasingly
putting extra
strain on the grid.
susceptible to boiler tube
failures, which was the main
cause of plant outage at the
Tanjung Bin and Jimah power
plants. A task force formed
by the Commission to look at
this problem had made several
recommendations to resolve
the issue. Urgent rectification
73
- Ir Azhar Omar
Senior Director of the Electricity Supply and Market Regulation Department,

Energy Commission of Malaysia
INGENIEUR
In order to answer growing demand for power,
three power plants have received approval to extend
operations while 14 new power plants have been
planned from 2015 to 2024. These new power
plants will add 8.220GW to total generation
capacity in the country.
new generAtion ProJeCts
instALLeD
CAPACitY(Mw)
CoMMerCiAL
oPerAtion DAte
ProJeCts
FUeL
MAnJUng iV
Coal
1,010
31st Mar 2015
CBPs reDeVeLoPMent
Gas
384.7
1st Sept 2015
HULU terenggAnU
Hydro
250
16th Sept 2015

17th Dec 2015
Phase1
Phase2
HULU terenggAnU (teMBAt)
Hydro
15
15th Nov 2016

15th Dec 2016
Phase1
Phase2
ULU JeLAi
Hydro
372
13th Dec 2015

14th Mar 2016
Phase1
Phase2
tnB PrAi CCgt
Gas
1,071.43
1st Jan 2016
tg. Bin energY
Coal
1,000
1st Mar 2016
PengerAng Co-generAtion
Gas
400
1st June 2017
MAnJUng V
Coal
1,000
1st Oct 2017
JiMAH eAst Power
Coal
1,000
1,000
15th Nov 2018

15th May 2019
ADDitionAL CHenDeroH
Hydro
12
Oct 2018
teKAi
Hydro
156
Dec 2020
teLoM
Hydro
132
Dec 2022
nenggiri
Hydro
416
Dec 2024
totAL generAtion CAPACitY
Phase1
Phase2
Feature
8219 MW/8.219 GW
27
instAlled CAPACitY BY tYPe

tYPe
FUel
COnVentiOnAl tHeRMAl
Coal
7,056
COMBined CYCle GAs tURBine (CCGt)
Gas
9,200
COnVentiOnAl tHeRMAl
Gas
564
OPen CYCle GAs tURBine (OCGt)
Gas
2340.4
Hydro
1,899.1
tOtAl CAPACitY (MW)
21,060
HYdROeleCtRiC
Gas is the dominant fuel in Peninsular

Malaysias energy mix, accounting
for 49.4% of all electricity generated.
However, efforts are in place to
encourage the use of other fuels such
as renewables.
6
74
governing the running of the plant, it According to Halim, one of the reasons
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55 OCTOBER
JUNE 2013
had to cease operations immediately.
for this is the quality of coal used in
the boilers, pointing out that Tanjung
Another speaker, Abdul Halim a Bin alone uses 46 different types of
representative from Malakoff coal. Recently, steps have been taken
CAPACitY(MW)
plant reliability, and reliability-centred

maintenance (RCM).
Among some of the measures
proposed were to encourage IPPs
The reliability of power plants has become

a major concern due to deteriorating
performance over the last three years.
works on the boilers are

being undertaken by the plant
owners and major work is to be
completed by the end of 2015.
As the workshop aimed to
find solutions to such problems
by bringing the regulator (the
Energy Commission) and industry
players together, representatives
from the power generation sector
were given the opportunity to
present the challenges they face
and the solutions that are being
proposed.
One representative from the
industry, Tan Keng Hoon, who
is head of maintenance at TNB
Janamanjung Power Plant, gave
an account of the problems
that the plant encountered in
early May. As he explained,
the decision to shut down the
plant came when high chloride
content was found in the boilers
and, as per guidelines governing
the running of the plant, it
had to cease op er ations
immediately.
Another speaker, Abdul
Halim a representative from
Malakoff revealed that one
issue which they have faced in
the Tanjung Bin power plant,
particularly in recent years, is
that of increased fouling and
slagging in the boiler unit. This
is where molten ash deposits
build up in the boiler furnace
- Ir Azhar Omar, Senior Director of the Electricity Supply and

Market Regulation Department, Energy Commission of Malaysia
(slagging) or ash deposits are
found in the boilers convection
region (fouling).
Although dif ferent in
definition, the results of fouling
and slagging are the same
they cause a reduction in
operational ef ficiency and
availability of power, as the unit
has to be shut down in order to
carry out repairs.
According to Halim, one of
the reasons for this is the quality
of coal used in the boilers,
pointing out that Tanjung Bin
alone uses 46 different types
of coal. Recently, steps have
been taken by the coal supplier
to supply the power plants
with preferred coal of higher
quality.
While
the
industr y
representatives were from
different power producers, it
became clear that the issues
they faced were essentially the
same that over time, use and
wear and tear have caused the
power plants to degenerate. In
order to find a solution to these
problems, members of the
audience were divided into four
different groups to discuss and
then present ideas on how to
improve gas power plants, coalfire plants, plant reliability, and
reliability-centred maintenance
(RCM).
Among some of the measures

proposed were to encourage
IPPs and TNB Generation to sign
long- term service contracts with
equipment suppliers, which will
then allow for remote monitoring
of the power plants, and to
adopt risk-based RCM (rather
than conventional RCM) so total
plant shutdown can be avoided.
In addition, suggestions were
also given for IPPs to be allowed
to source coal for themselves,
thus ensuring that the quality
meets their needs, and for more
of these sessions to be held
between the IPPs, the Single
Buyer, the GSO and the Energy
Commission so that issues can
be discussed and solutions
found.
All in all, the Workshop on
Plant Reliability and Performance
Improvement demonstrated
how the Energy Commission is
determined to be more than just
a regulator, but also a partner in
the development of the energy
sector in Malaysia. The strong
turnout has also given the
Commission confidence in the
responsiveness of the industry,
and having already done so in
Peninsular Malaysia, it hopes
to have a similar workshop in
Sabah where the issue of power
outages has become particularly
worrying.
75
FEATURE
INGENIEUR
SOLARCITY:
SOLAR POWER
FOR LESS
Lyndon (R) and Peter Rive

founders of SolarCity
he US market for solar PV panels installation

has experienced rapid growth, from 440
MW in 2009 to 4.8GW in 2013. SolarCity,
headquartered in California, is a major player
in this industry, capturing about 25% of the
residential solar PV panel installation market. The
company is outstanding because it was the first
to adopt an innovative financing model, where
it designs, finances and installs solar power
systems. Customers do not have to pay the heavy
upfront costs, but can choose to lease or pay for
the power used. On top of this, SolarCity takes
care of monitoring, maintenance and repairs of
the solar power system, with no added costs.
SolarCity was founded in July 2006 by brothers
Peter and Lyndon Rive, based on a suggestion for a solar company
concept from their cousin, billionaire entrepreneur Elon Musk (see
accompanying story), who helped start the company. Since then, it
has since grown by leaps and bounds, and was named the number
one residential solar PV panel installer in the US in 2013 by GTM
Research. It has also secured contracts to install solar PV panels
for businesses, schools and Government bodies in the US. Among
its renowned customers are eBay, HP, Walmart, Toyota and Oakland
Zoo.
SolarCity is also active in other energy related services namely
energy efficiency audits and charging stations for electric vehicles.
Solar Financing Options
Behind SolarCitys success are its one-stop services from
consultancy to finance, installation and maintenance, coupled with
two ingenious financing options where customers do not pay upfront
for solar PV panels. Under the Solar Lease option, one leases
a solar panel system and pay by the month, while under the Solar
Power Purchase Agreement or Solar PPA, one pays per kWh of power
used.
The PPA is a contract to buy solar power based on a set rate
that is usually equal to or less than market rate from the local
utility company. Because the solar electric rate is locked in, the
customer can also protect himself from the volatility of future
6
76
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utility rate increases. SolarCity

claims that all customers will
eventually be paying lower
electricity bills.
This attractive arrangement
is backed by banks, large
corporations and the assetbacked market to create project
funds to finance the lease and
PPA options. Partners included
Bank of America, Merrill Lynch,
Citibank, Morgan Stanley,
National Bank of Arizona and
US Bancorp. Clean energ y
conscious companies have also
got into the act. One example is
the US$280 million Fund created
by Google to finance residential
solar installations in June 2011.
Gearing up for its next
phase of growth, SolarCity, is
set to impact the solar energy
SolarCitys residential and business customers
landscape with plans to make

its own solar PV panels in the
US and provide customers with
a battery pack to store solar
power.
Electric Vehicle Charging

SolarCity is expanding its electric vehicle (EV) charging
installation operations as a number of major automobile
manufacturers get set to introduce new EV product lines.
It is already the primary installer of electric vehicle charging
stations for Tesla Motors. This follows SolarCitys purchase
of SolSource Energy Business of Clean Fuel Connections Inc.,
a provider of renewable energy and electric vehicle charging
infrastructure.
SolarCity has also partnered with industry pioneer
ClipperCreek to provide EV chargers at home or office. Pricing
for home or business installation of a ClipperCreek 240-volt
Level II EV charger, including the charger, starts at US$1,500.
Charging at Level II is roughly five times faster than using a
120-volt wall outlet.
From the start, SolarCity had

relied on solar PV cells imported
from low-cost producers in
China. Its rationale for making
its own solar PV panels is to
reap the economies of scale
and incorporate technology
that will make the panels more
efficient. In turn, this will reduce
the number of panels needed
for installation, and lower costs
fur ther. SolarCity wants to
improve solar PV panel efficiency
from the current 12% to 24%.
Solar Panel Factory
SolarCitys own solar panel
factory is expected to be built in
Buffalo, New York with a targeted
capacity of 1 GW of solar PV
panels in the next two years. It
77
INGENIEUR
is likely to use technology from

its acquired PV solar module
manufacturer Silevo Solar
Power. Silevo is reported to
produce Triex solar modules that
are said to be 15 to 20% more
efficient than conventional ones.
They incorporate thin films of
silicon, which increase efficiency
by helping electrons flow more
freely out of the material, and
they use copper rather than
silver electrodes to save costs.
Cheaper and more efficient
solar PV panels will definitely
give S olar Cit y an ad d ed
competitive edge (see chart).
The other plus factor would be
a battery pack that stores solar
energy. This was revealed in
June 2014 when SolarCity CEO
Lyndon Rive and Chairman Elon
Musk (also CEO of Tesla Motors)
announced plans to work
together for mutual benefits.
They envisaged that within five
to 10 years every set of solar
PV panels that SolarCity installs
will come with a battery pack to
help deal with the intermittency
of solar powerone of the key
factors limiting its use.
Battery For Solar Power
The battery packs will come from
electric car maker Tesla Motors
proposed US$5 billion factory for
producing lithium-ion batteries

in Nevada, US. This Giga
Factory (estimated to produce
enough batteries annually to
store 35 GWh of electricity)
would start production in 201,
and by 2020 make enough
batteries for 500,000 electric
cars. Some of the batteries will
be for stationery energy storage
in residential homes. Today,
the batteries needed to store
a sufficient amount of solar
energy are far too large to be
tacked onto a single residential
home. However, as the two
cousins work together and utilize
SolarCitys existing customer
base, they hope to scale down
the size of a battery over time.
The new manufacturing
plans and symbiotic relationship
between Telsa Motors and
SolarCity augur well for solar
energy usage in the US. If things
work out, the market for solar
panels could grow exponentially.
~ Inforeach
REFERENCE
en. Wikipedia.org
www.solarcity.com
www.seia.org
www.vox.com
www.technologyreview.com
www.marketwatch.com
www.energyinformative.org
Home Energy
Efficiency Evaluations
SolarCity is widening its
role in the energy sector
by rolling out services in
home energy evaluations
using extensive software.
This follows the acquisition
of the assets of Building
S olu t io ns, a n e n er g y
ef ficiency ser vices and
technolog y provider in
2010.
SolarCity will integrate
its proprietary solar project
modelling, management
and monitoring software
with Building Solutions
Web -based
energy
ef f iciency assessment
sof t ware to create a
powerful new analy tical
tool. This will be capable of
calculating and presenting
optimal energy and costsaving recommendations
to homeowners based on
their homes architecture,
electricity and gas usage,
v e n t il a t i o n, a p p li a n c e
selection, and heating and
cooling equipment.
Pictures source: www.solarcity.com
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We always hear about how many hours we need to sleep, that a sleep cycle is 1.5
hours and to time our sleep accordingly - But did you know that your sleeping position
can directly help you deal with various pains and irritations?
First, lets have a look at the average humans
biological clock so we know when our sleep is
most effective:
Now lets look at the best way to lie down when

you go to sleep, according to what bothers you:
Finally, its important to remember that sleep

deprivation is a dangerous thing with very severe
consequences:
79
LIGHTER MOMENTS
The Health Benefits of

Different Sleeping Positions
ENGINEERING NOSTALGIA
INGENIEUR
RAILWAY VIADUCT, JALAN KINABALU

Submitted by Amanda Lee Siek Hsia
Photo - 16.2.1963
Photo shows the Railway
Viaduct from Victory Avenue
to Birch Road (now Jalan
Kinabalu) in Kuala Lumpur. In
the background is the National
Mosque under construction.
Under the viaduct is the railway
and its administrative building.
Photos - 15.9.2014
Current photos show the
addition of MRT line above
the
viaduct. The National
Mosque and Daya Bumi tower
are in the background. The old
British Council Library is still
visible. Landscaping works and
outdoor signboards have added
more colour to Kuala Lumpurs
once glamorous through-road
project that was designed and
supervised by Public Works
Department.
6
80
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INGENIEUR
6
82
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KDN PP 11720/4/2013 (032270)

B OA RD OF E NGI NEERS MALAYSIA

Photo by Ir. Fong Chew Chung

Feeling the brunt of the rise in electricity tariff?

Retail Price: RM5,500

16 Renewable Energy Gains

11 Perception of BEM Survey

46 United Nations Decade of

55 Elon Musk: Extraordinary

58 Human Error in Maintenance

64 Power Management in a Power

79 The Health Benefits of

80 Railway Viaduct, Jalan Kinabalu

LEMBAGA JURUTERA MALAYSIA

YBhg. Dato Ir. Hj. Annies bin Md Ari

YBhg. Dato Ir. Hj. Annies bin Md Ari

YBhg Dato Prof. Ir. Dr Hassan bin Basri

YBhg Dato Ir. Fong Tian Yong

Prof. Ir. Dr K S Kannan

Pn Nik Kamaliah Nik Abdul Rahman

Ir. Ruslan bin Abdul Aziz

Ir. Hizamul-din bin Ab. Rahman

Ir. Ashari bin Mohd Yakub

nergy resources remain the driving force

Tariff (FIT) policy mechanism to spur the growth

Dato Ir. Hj. Annies bin Md Ariff

KDN PP 11720/4/2013 (032270)

JULY - SEPTEMBER 2014

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