Malaysia’s Sarawak Energy Berhad has said that it will grant rebates to homeowners planning to install rooftop PV systems.

The state-owned electric utility company, the sole power utility for the state of Sarawak, said the subsidies will be awarded to PV arrays operating under the country's net energy metering (NEM) program, which was recently upgraded to foster more growth.

Under the new scheme, PV systems with a capacity of up to 3.5 kW will be awarded a maximum of MYR 8,000 ($1,905) and systems ranging from 3.5 kW to 6 kW will be granted MYR 10,000. Moreover, Sarawak Energy will award a maximum of MYR 12,000 to PV systems with an output of 6 kW to 50 kW.

“The subsidy applies only to successful NEM installations from 2026 under the ‘Domestic Tariff’ category for landed residential properties,” the company specified. “It is limited to one installation per account owner, and excludes households with pre-installed solar PV systems.”

According to Malaysia’s Energy Transition and Water Transformation Ministry (Petra), about 1.7 GW of PV systems are currently operating under the NEM programs, with an additional 595 MW under development.

Last week, Sarawak Energy also announced it plans to ramp up its solar capacity through ground-mounted and floating solar projects.

Sarawak Energy claims to have a generation capacity of around 5.9 GW, consisting mainly of its hydroelectric and thermal plants. The state of Sarawak has set a target of having 10 GW of generation capacity by the end of the decade, primarily sourced from hydropower, solar and biomass energy.

In November 2024, Sarawak Energy signed a joint study agreement with Abu Dhabi-based renewables developer Masdar and Malaysian developer Gentari for a large-scale floating solar array.