Bimbang beban elektrik dan air, kerajaan kaji semula keperluan pusat data

Abdul Rahman Mohamad, the Deputy Minister of Renewable Energy Transition and Water Transformation, has announced that the government is revisiting the necessity of developing data centers to ensure that electricity and water consumption do not burden users, especially if the investment does not provide sufficient benefits to the people.

Rahman emphasized that the study is crucial to ensure that the demand for electricity from data centers matches actual usage and does not result in additional capacity becoming a burden for users. He noted that some data centers request high electricity capacity but have significantly lower actual usage, raising concerns about the need for allocated electricity.

"We are examining the actual need that should be provided to data centers," Rahman said in the House of Representatives. "This is also something I remind myself to prevent excess electricity from being consumed by the data center itself. Because we know that the demand for this data center is higher, but its actual usage is less.

"And this also becomes a burden," he added in the House. Rahman stated that the government is also investigating the selection of projects that truly need to be developed, including assessing the benefits of the investment to the people compared to the use of high resources. "I talk about data centers, but in terms of investment, there are other ministers who need this data center," Rahman explained.

"From the study, I found that we need to fully examine the needs of various data centers and their actual usage. Some data centers do not benefit me, and that also needs to be examined." Rahman addressed questions about ensuring electricity supply for data centers and the risk of users bearing the cost of additional capacity, in addition to the high water usage required for the facilities' operation.

He added that the government is proposing that data center managers provide individual power supply units, including using solar energy and battery systems, to reduce dependence on the national grid. However, Rahman emphasized that the government needs to strike a balance to meet investor needs without compromising the interests of domestic users.

Regarding water supply, Rahman said the issue also concerns the government, including the possibility of data centers providing their own water supply to avoid competition with other users. Meanwhile, Rahman stated that the government wants to ensure that the development of data centers, particularly those related to artificial intelligence (AI), truly brings benefits to the country, not just based on the amount of investment announced.

He said, even if the investment in data centers can reach billions of ringgit, the government must assess its contribution to the economy and the people, including job creation.