Malaysia to make data centre operators disclose power use, GPU imports under new law, says Johari Ghani

KUALA LUMPUR, Nov 12 — The Malaysian government plans to pass legislation that will require data centre operators to disclose crucial operational details, such as electricity consumption and the quantity of graphics processing unit (GPU) imports, according to Minister of Investment, Trade and Industry Datuk Seri Johari Abdul Ghani.

To effectively oversee data centre activities, the government must identify the operators and hyperscalers associated with each facility, as well as their respective locations. Johari elaborated on this during his address at the launch of Miti’s MySaham mobile application. Currently, out of the 117 approved data centre projects, 55 have already begun operations, and monitoring of these centers will persist even after their approval.

Speaking about electricity supply, Johari emphasized that data centre operators must accurately assess their energy requirements, as suppliers must commit to the capacity outlined in the supply agreement. For instance, if a data centre reserves a 100 megawatt (MW) capacity but only consumes 50 MW, the remaining 50 MW will still be charged to the operator.