Malaysia Turns to Gas to Meet Record Power Demand

Malaysia Turns to Gas to Meet Record Power Demand, Cuts Coal Use

Malaysia is tapping its offshore gas reserves to meet record power demand driven by a heatwave and data centres, reducing coal use in the process.

Gas-Fired Power Generation Hits Record

Electricity demand in peninsular Malaysia rose 11.5% annually in April, with gas-fired output surging 50.5% to a record 5.54 TWh. Coal-fired generation fell at the steepest pace in over three years.

Petronas Boosts LNG Supply

State-run Petronas shipped 446,000 metric tons of LNG to peninsular Malaysia this year, nearly three times the 150,000 tons shipped in all of 2025, according to Kpler data.

Coal Share at Lowest in Over 4 Years

Gas's share in power output reached 42.6% in April, the highest since October 2019, while coal's share slipped to 51.2% from 62.2% a year earlier.

Data Centres Drive Demand Growth

Energy Aspects analyst Kesher Sumeet expects overall power demand to grow around 4% annually in coming years, driven largely by data centres. Malaysia prices gas below international LNG benchmarks to attract data centre investments.