Malaysia’s Energy Transition and Water Transformation Ministry (Petra) has updated the MBIPV scheme and NEM programs for rooftop PV systems.

The ministry said about 1.7 GW of PV systems are currently operating under the two programs, with an additional 595 MW under development.

Under the revised framework, PV system owners in the MBIPV scheme will receive energy bill credits through the end of 2030.

For the NEM mechanism, users under NEM 1.0 will receive credits until the end of 2035. Those under NEM 2.0 and NEM 3.0 will be eligible for credits for 10 years from their grid connection date. Malaysian authorities will calculate the net metering tariff annually based on criteria aimed at ensuring “fair” treatment for all electricity consumers.

According to Malaysian media outlet TheEdge, the surplus solar tariff will now include energy, capacity, and network charges, rather than covering only energy charges as previously planned.

Net metering replaced the country’s feed-in tariff incentive in January 2016. In May 2017, the government revised the system to boost adoption after limited interest from homeowners. NEM 2.0 launched in January 2019 and ended in December 2020. NEM 3.0 began in December 2020 with a total quota of 2.5 GW.

That quota is distributed across three sub-schemes: NEM Rakyat, which allocates 700 MW to residential systems with a 10-year net metering tariff; NEM GoMEn, which assigns 100 MW to government ministries and public entities under the same terms; and NEM Nova (Net Offset Virtual Aggregation), which allocates 1.7 GW to commercial and industrial PV system owners, allowing them to sell excess power to the grid at market price or system marginal price (SMP).

Petra said users whose energy credit rights expire can access two other prosumer support programs: the Solar for Self-Consumption (SelCo) scheme and the Community Renewable Energy Aggregation Mechanism (CREAM).

The SelCo scheme provides a regulatory framework for businesses to deploy standalone PV systems with battery storage. The CREAM program lets homeowners lease or rent their rooftops for solar generation. The electricity produced can be sold to nearby commercial and residential customers within a 5 km radius.

CREAM builds on the Corporate Renewable Energy Supply Scheme (CRESS), launched in September 2024, which allows businesses to buy renewable electricity directly from developers via the national grid.

Malaysia’s total installed solar capacity reached 2,306 MW by the end of 2024, up from 2,146 MW in 2023, according to the International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA).