EECA 2024 Compliance: Can Solar and BESS Help Your Company Meet Its Energy Obligations?

By: Progressture Solar | Last verified: 29 July 2026

Solar and battery energy storage systems (BESS) can be useful measures within a company’s energy-management plan: they can change when and how much grid electricity is bought, and BESS can support load-shaping and resilience where technically and commercially appropriate. They do not, by themselves, replace EECA 2024 duties. In Peninsular Malaysia and Labuan, an energy consumer at or above the prescribed 21,600 GJ in 12 consecutive months must follow the Energy Commission’s notice-based compliance pathway, including a Registered Energy Manager (REM), energy management system (EnMS), reports and energy audit requirements.

Does EECA 2024 apply to your company?

EECA 2024 and its regulations took effect on 1 January 2025 and apply in Peninsular Malaysia and the Federal Territory of Labuan. The Energy Commission’s energy-consumer page says the prescribed threshold is 21,600 GJ in 12 consecutive months.

Do not use a quick kWh conversion as a legal conclusion. Confirm the applicable energy sources, measurement period, site/entity treatment and whether the Commission has issued a notice by using the Act, regulations and the Commission’s “Guideline on Ascertaining Energy Consumer,” with a qualified adviser/REM.

What must a notified energy consumer do?

Requirement • Commission-published timing • Where solar/BESS may help

Appoint a REM • Within 3 months from date of notice. • Gives the project an accountable energy-management owner; solar/BESS data should feed the REM’s analysis.

Develop and implement an EnMS • Within 1 year from appointment of the first REM. • A measure within the EnMS—not a substitute for it. Include baselines, metering, operating rules and verification.

Submit EE&C reports • First: within 30 days after one year from first REM appointment; then annually within 30 days after each anniversary. • Report actual performance honestly; separate solar generation, battery charging/discharging and load changes so results can be interpreted.

Conduct energy audit and submit report • First report within 1 year from notice; then every 5 years, unless an exemption notice specifies otherwise. • An audit can assess solar/BESS alongside efficiency measures, but it is still required unless the Commission grants an exemption.

What solar can—and cannot—do for EECA compliance

Solar can support the energy plan

• Reduce coincident grid imports when generation matches site load.

• Provide interval data that improves load profiling and measurement/verification.

• Complement operational efficiency actions when evaluated against a robust baseline.

• Under SELCO, solar is for own usage and excess generation is not allowed to be exported to the grid, according to SEDA—so design and controls matter.

Solar cannot do on its own

• Appoint an REM, create an EnMS or submit the mandatory reports.

• Remove an energy audit requirement.

• Prove a compliance outcome merely because panels were installed.

• Establish that a site is below the EECA threshold without the Commission’s prescribed assessment approach.

What BESS can—and cannot—do for EECA compliance

Potential roles for BESS

• Store on-site solar generation for later site use, subject to design and programme/grid requirements.

• Shift or manage selected demand periods, if the tariff, load profile, battery operating strategy and economics support it.

• Improve continuity/resilience objectives where the technical design supports them.

• Generate operational data for EnMS review—provided metering boundaries and battery losses are clear.

Controls to require in the business case

1. Define the objective: self-consumption, demand management, resilience, carbon accounting, or a combination.

2. Meter grid import/export, solar generation, BESS charge/discharge and critical loads separately.

3. Establish a pre-project baseline, weather/production variables and reporting boundary before commissioning.

4. Ask the REM to document how performance will be monitored in the EnMS and EE&C report.

5. Obtain electrical, grid-connection, safety and fire-risk advice; do not assume a BESS is an automatic regulatory solution.

A practical compliance-and-investment sequence

1. Confirm scope: map sites and 12-month energy data; ask the REM/Commission how the threshold applies.

2. Do not wait for technology: if notice is received, calendar the REM, EnMS, report and audit deadlines.

3. Build the baseline: gather 15- or 30-minute interval data, production/occupancy variables and maximum-demand data.

4. Prioritise measures: evaluate operational controls and efficiency measures alongside solar/BESS—not as isolated equipment purchases.

5. Design measurement: write M&V, metering and reporting requirements into EPC/BESS contracts.

6. Govern the result: have the REM review outcomes and ensure reports/audits follow Commission guidelines.

Official sources

• Energy Commission EECA 2024 hub (Act, regulations, guidelines): https://www.st.gov.my/stakeholders/energy-efficiency/energy-efficiency-and-conservation-act-eeca-2024

• Energy Commission, energy-consumer obligations/timeline: https://www.st.gov.my/stakeholders/energy-efficiency/energy-efficiency-and-conservation-act-eeca-2024/energy-consumer

• Act 861: https://www.st.gov.my/sites/default/files/2026-04/Energy-Efficiency-and-Conservation-Act-2024---Act-861.pdf

• EECR 2024, P.U.(A) 466: https://www.st.gov.my/sites/default/files/2026-04/P.U.-%28A%29-466-2024-Peraturan-EEC-2024.pdf

• SEDA SELCO overview (secondary official programme context): https://www.seda.gov.my/reportal/self-consumption/

Claim/staleness warnings: Verify the Commission’s current guidelines, notices, definition/ascertainment methodology, exemptions, penalties and implementation directions on publication date. This draft intentionally does not quote penalties or infer that renewable generation automatically changes EECA status. It is general information, not legal compliance advice.

Proposed internal links (validate live URLs/anchors before publishing):

• “commercial solar incentives” → https://www.progressturesolar.com/post/renewable-energy-incentives-in-malaysia-2025

• “BESS and tax-incentive context” → https://www.progressturesolar.com/post/commercial-industrial-solar-incentive-ending-soon-why-businesses-should-act-before-31-december-20

• CTA: Book an interval-data and solar/BESS feasibility assessment → existing commercial-solar consultation/contact page.