Q0039
Data centres concentrate very large, high-reliability electricity demand at a small number of sites. Their growth will shift grid investment toward Johor, the Klang Valley, Cyberjaya and any emerging data-centre clusters, requiring new high-voltage substations, stronger transmission corridors, additional firm generation and storage—and more careful management of projects that reserve substantially more capacity than they initially use.
A single hyperscale campus can require as much electricity as a sizeable industrial development, but it may be built much faster than major transmission or generation assets. Poor coordination could create local bottlenecks, delay other customers, increase system costs or leave expensive infrastructure underused.
#### Data-centre demand is large but must be measured carefully
TNB reported that by December 2025:
These figures should not be added together without checking for overlap. They also demonstrate that connected, contracted, approved, installed and actually utilised capacity are different measures. TNB Integrated Annual Report 2025
#### Johor will be a major grid-investment centre
Johor’s proximity to Singapore, available development land, subsea connectivity and industrial ecosystem have produced a large pipeline of data-centre campuses. This will require:
TNB has identified development of a 500 kV transmission backbone in Johor as a response to digital-economy demand and long-term system reliability.
#### The Klang Valley and Cyberjaya will remain important
Existing fibre routes, customer concentration and digital infrastructure will continue to drive projects around Cyberjaya and the wider Klang Valley. These areas already have high electricity demand, so upgrades may involve strengthening existing substations, replacing transformers, creating new high-voltage nodes and improving network redundancy rather than building an entirely new regional grid.
#### Data centres change the type of capacity required
Solar generation alone cannot match a continuous data-centre load. Meeting demand reliably requires a portfolio that may include:
Corporate renewable procurement through CRESS or other arrangements may support decarbonisation, but the physical grid must still balance supply and demand at every moment.
#### Reliability requirements affect connection design
Large data centres commonly seek high supply security and redundant feeds. This can require multiple circuits, separate substations or alternative supply paths. Network capacity may therefore be occupied by redundancy arrangements even when both feeds are not carrying full demand simultaneously.
#### Load growth may be phased
A campus can request its ultimate capacity before all data halls or customers are ready. Grid planners need credible energisation and utilisation profiles, not only the final nameplate requirement.
Potential responses include:
#### Efficiency affects the size of the grid build
Power Usage Effectiveness, cooling technology, server utilisation and climate all influence total facility demand. Efficiency standards can reduce network investment, although rapid growth in computing—particularly AI workloads—may outweigh efficiency gains.
MIDA reported a government estimate in February 2025 of 18 data centres using at least 800 MW, potentially increasing to 81 facilities by 2035. Because facility counts and capacity measures can be defined differently, these figures should be used as indicators rather than combined directly with TNB’s project totals. MIDA: Renewable Energy and Data-Centre Growth
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