Yes — for regulated buildings. Since the Energy Efficiency and Conservation Act 2024 came into force on 1 January 2025, a building notified by the Energy Commission must appoint a Registered Energy Manager within 3 months, complete an energy audit through a Registered Energy Auditor within 12 months, and implement an energy management system.
Efficiency in Malaysia is no longer voluntary. It moved from good practice to a legal obligation, and the obligation is penalty-backed.
For about fifteen years, energy efficiency in Malaysian commercial buildings was something you did if you were minded to. The Efficient Management of Electrical Energy Regulations 2008 set expectations, but for most building owners nothing much followed from ignoring them.
That regime is gone. EECA 2024 repealed EMEER 2008 and replaced it with something that has deadlines attached. If you own or manage a large commercial building in Peninsular Malaysia, this is now a compliance question rather than a sustainability one.
What the Act actually requires
Four obligations, each with its own clock. The important detail — and the one most people miss — is that the clock starts when you are notified, not when the Act came into force.
| Appoint an energy manager | A Registered Energy Manager (REM) within 3 months of notification |
|---|---|
| Complete an energy audit | Through a Registered Energy Auditor (REA) within 12 months of notification |
| Implement an EnMS | An energy management system within 12 months of appointing the energy manager |
| Report, and act | Report annually, and implement the audit's recommended measures within a five-year compliance cycle |
Read those together and the practical shape becomes clear. Three months is not long to find and appoint a credentialed person. Twelve months sounds generous until you realise a proper audit of a chiller plant takes roughly two months on its own, and that you cannot start it until the appointment is settled.
Who it applies to
The Act applies to Peninsular Malaysia and Labuan. Sabah and Sarawak are developing their own energy efficiency regulations, so if your building is in either state the position is different and worth checking locally.
Within that scope, it does not apply to every building. It applies to those the Energy Commission (Suruhanjaya Tenaga) has notified as regulated entities — generally the largest electricity consumers. Around 1,200 buildings were initially scoped.
The Energy Commission's list of regulated buildings is not public. You cannot look up whether you are in scope. You find out when a notice arrives — and at that moment the three-month clock is already running.
In practice this means a facilities team can be six weeks into a three-month deadline before anyone senior realises a letter came in. If you are not certain of your building's status, it is worth establishing now rather than discovering it later.
What the three terms mean
Registered Energy Manager (REM)
A credential issued by the Energy Commission — not a job title you can assign internally. Your existing facilities manager, however capable, cannot fill the role without holding the registration. You either employ someone who holds it, or appoint a firm that does.
Registered Energy Auditor (REA)
Also an Energy Commission credential, and a separate one. The statutory audit has to be carried out through an REA. An internal review, or a report from a contractor without the registration, does not discharge the obligation.
Energy Management System (EnMS)
A structured system for monitoring, recording and acting on your building's energy performance — not a spreadsheet, and not simply having meters installed. It has to produce the evidence that annual reporting depends on. In practice that means continuous measurement and a repeatable reporting process.
The obligation that actually costs money
Appointing people and running an audit are administrative. The fourth obligation is the substantive one: implementing the measures the audit recommends, within a five-year compliance cycle.
For most commercial buildings in this climate that points in a predictable direction. Air conditioning typically accounts for 40–60% of total electricity use, so a competent audit will almost always identify the cooling plant as the largest recoverable inefficiency. That is where the recommendations land, and that is where the capital expenditure would normally sit.
Which is why the sequencing matters. A building that treats EECA as a paperwork exercise ends up with a report, a deadline, and a capital request. A building that treats it as an efficiency programme ends up with lower bills that pay for the work.
What to do if you have been notified
- Establish the notification date. Every deadline is measured from it.
- Appoint a Registered Energy Manager. Three months is the binding constraint.
- Commission the audit through a Registered Energy Auditor — and check whether it can be grant-funded before you pay for it.
- Put the EnMS in place so the first annual report has something to report.
- Plan the implementation, because five years passes faster than a capital cycle.
The audit may not have to cost you anything
Separately from EECA, SEDA operates the Energy Audit Conditional Grant (EACG), which funds energy audits for commercial and industrial buildings. The two are different programmes, but they point at the same work — and one can pay for the other.
One condition worth knowing upfront: the grant is conditional. Recipients commit to implementing efficiency measures worth at least the grant value within three years. If you are already facing an EECA five-year implementation cycle, that condition may be one you were going to meet anyway.
Check whether your audit can be funded
Susten is an ESCO registered with the Energy Commission, and holds both REA and REM registrations. Four questions will tell you whether your building is likely to qualify for a grant-funded audit — nothing is recorded, and it runs entirely in your browser.
Common questions
Is an energy audit mandatory in Malaysia?
Yes, for buildings notified by the Energy Commission as regulated entities under the Energy Efficiency and Conservation Act 2024, which came into force on 1 January 2025. The audit must be completed through a Registered Energy Auditor within 12 months of notification. The Act applies to Peninsular Malaysia and Labuan.
How do I know whether my building is regulated under EECA?
You will be formally notified by the Energy Commission. The list of regulated buildings is not public, so you cannot look it up. Approximately 1,200 buildings were initially scoped, generally the largest electricity consumers.
How long do I have to appoint a Registered Energy Manager?
Three months from the date of notification. The REM is a credential issued by the Energy Commission, so an existing employee cannot fill the role unless they hold that registration. An energy management system must then be implemented within 12 months of the appointment.
What happens if we do not comply?
Compliance under EECA 2024 is mandatory and penalty-backed. For the specific penalties applicable to your situation, check the current position with the Energy Commission or your legal adviser — we set out the obligations here, not the sanctions.
Does EECA apply in Sabah and Sarawak?
Not directly. The Act applies to Peninsular Malaysia and Labuan. Sabah and Sarawak are developing their own energy efficiency regulations, so buildings there should check the position in their own state.
Is EECA the same as the SEDA energy audit grant?
No — they are separate. EECA 2024 is legislation administered by the Energy Commission that obliges notified buildings to audit and act. The Energy Audit Conditional Grant is a SEDA funding programme that can pay for an energy audit. They are independent, but the grant can fund work an EECA notice requires.
This is general information about Malaysian energy regulation, not legal advice. Requirements and deadlines are set by the Energy Commission and may change — confirm the current position for your building before acting. Written by Susten Sdn Bhd, an ESCO registered with the Energy Commission, in July 2026.