A10.03 — Electricity Costs Behind Malaysia’s Data Centres — From Infrastructure Cost to Project Cost

Key Takeaways

• A10.03 — Electricity Costs Behind Malaysia’s Data Centres – From Infrastructure Cost to Project Cost applies the unit-cost framework established in the preceding article to the 300 MW reference data centre, translating the assumed supply arrangement into an illustrative electricity-infrastructure cost.
• The analysis considers the principal infrastructure required to deliver the reference supply, including existing 275-kV transmission infrastructure, 500/275-kV transmission interfaces, switching facilities, protection modifications, new underground connections and associated land.
• The calculation distinguishes between the full economic asset value of the infrastructure and the portion attributable to the reference data centre. Shared infrastructure is apportioned according to the capacity and redundancy requirements of the reference supply, while dedicated infrastructure is attributed in full.
• On the stated assumptions, the infrastructure represented in the reference case has an illustrative full economic asset value of approximately RM9.57 billion, of which approximately RM2.52 billion is attributable to the 300 MW data centre.
• The analysis separately identifies approximately RM247.9 million of new-build and modification cost, of which approximately RM218.2 million is attributable to the reference data centre. This distinction prevents the value of existing shared infrastructure from being confused with new capital expenditure arising from the connection.
• These figures are analytical estimates, not TNB quotations, confidential project costs or amounts that a data-centre developer would necessarily pay. They are intended to make the physical and economic components of a large electricity connection transparent and reproducible.
• The treatment of land also requires care. Land may have a substantial economic value within the asset analysis even where it is provided, transferred or leased to TNB under arrangements involving nominal consideration. Economic asset value and the identity of the initial payer, provider, owner or ultimate cost bearer are therefore not necessarily the same.
• The resulting new-build and attributable-cost framework provides the bridge from physical infrastructure to Project Cost. The next stage is to examine how such capital costs are treated within TNB’s published connection-charge methodology and how the resulting cost may be recovered through the electricity system. TNB’s published 1st Principle methodology compares Project Cost with the present value of expected returns from the consumer over a 15-year supply period.

Parent article: A10 — Who Pays for the Electricity Behind Malaysia’s Data Centres?

From Unit Costs to Project Cost

→A10.02 established the unit-cost building blocks required to estimate the infrastructure associated with a large data-centre connection. Those rates included 275-kV overhead transmission lines, underground cables, switching stations, 500/275-kV transmission interfaces, protection modifications and land.

A10.03 now applies those rates to the 300 MW Iskandar Puteri reference data centre established in →A10.01. The purpose is not to reproduce an actual TNB connection proposal, but to construct a transparent reference arrangement and examine what the associated electricity infrastructure could cost under the assumptions adopted in this series.

The central question is:

If the 300 MW reference data centre were supplied through the illustrative infrastructure arrangement defined here, what would the associated electricity infrastructure cost, the attributable asset cost and the new-build Project Cost look like?

This requires several different concepts to be kept separate. The physical assets represented in the reference connection have an asset cost. Some of those assets are assumed to be existing and shared, while others are assumed to be newly constructed. The full economic value of an existing shared asset is not necessarily attributable to the new data-centre consumer. Conversely, a new asset constructed specifically to provide the connection may be attributable in full, while a new shared asset may require an allocation based on the reference consumer’s capacity requirement and the redundancy assumed in the supply arrangement.

For the purposes of this article, Project Cost is used as an analytical term for the capital cost of the new-build infrastructure included in the reference connection. It is therefore distinct from the broader total attributable asset cost, which includes the illustrative portion of existing shared infrastructure as well as the relevant portion of new infrastructure.

The analytical sequence is therefore:

Unit costs → physical infrastructure → full asset cost → attributable asset cost → new-build Project Cost

The article stops at this point. It does not calculate the consumer’s 15-year revenue contribution, Connection Charge, Refundable Connection Charge (RCC), or other payment mechanisms associated with TNB’s Connection Charge framework. Those matters require a further analysis of projected electricity sales, tariff components, WACC, recovery periods and the applicable TNB methodology, and are left to subsequent articles.

The distinction is important because the economic value of existing shared infrastructure should not automatically be interpreted as an amount payable by the new data-centre consumer. Similarly, the analytical Project Cost established here should not be taken as a TNB quotation or as the final Project Cost that TNB might determine for an actual connection. The purpose is instead to establish a transparent cost base that can subsequently be used to examine questions of cost recovery.

The calculations that follow should therefore be read as an illustrative infrastructure-costing exercise, rather than as an indication of what TNB would actually quote, recover or charge for a particular project.

The Illustrative Supply Arrangement

Before calculating individual costs, the reference connection needs to be defined as a physical electricity-supply path. The arrangement adopted here represents a simplified transmission route from the wider Peninsular Malaysia electricity system to the 300 MW data centre in Iskandar Puteri.

The simplified arrangement is:

Wider transmission network / illustrative generation area
↓
Existing 275-kV transmission network
↓
Existing 500/275-kV transmission interface — step-up
↓
500-kV transmission system
↓
Existing 500/275-kV transmission interface — step-down
↓
Existing 275-kV transmission network
↓
Existing 275-kV PMU / switching point near Iskandar Puteri
↓
Protection relay reconfiguration
↓
New shared 275-kV underground circuits
↓
New TNB 275-kV switching station
↓
Two dedicated 275-kV underground circuits
↓
Consumer landing station / data centre

The two 500/275-kV transmission interfaces are included to represent the simplified use of the 500-kV transmission system. One represents the 275-kV-to-500-kV transformation interface, while the other represents the corresponding 500-kV-to-275-kV transformation interface. They are analytical representations of transmission-system infrastructure rather than an assertion that electricity supplied to the data centre follows a single identifiable physical path from a particular generating station.

The 500-kV transmission line between these two interfaces is not separately costed in this reference case. Its treatment is a simplifying assumption discussed below.

The arrangement also distinguishes four categories that will be carried through the costing:

• Existing infrastructure — assets assumed to be already part of the electricity system;
• New infrastructure — assets assumed to be constructed for the reference connection;
• Shared infrastructure — assets serving the data centre but forming part of, or capable of serving, the wider transmission system;
• Dedicated infrastructure — assets specifically serving the reference data centre.

This distinction is important because the economic cost of an asset and the portion of that cost attributable to the consumer are not necessarily identical. An existing shared asset may have substantial economic value without being a new capital expenditure for the connection. A new shared asset, by contrast, represents new capital expenditure but may still require attribution rather than full allocation to the reference consumer. A dedicated new asset is treated separately because its cost is directly associated with serving the reference data centre.

The physical arrangement above is therefore a costing model, not a proposed engineering design. Actual TNB connection topology, supply voltage, transmission routes, transmission-interface locations, circuit arrangements and network reinforcements would be determined through the applicable supply-application and system-study processes. TNB’s connection guidance states that the minimum supply scheme for consumers with Maximum Demand of 100,000 kVA and above is 275 kV, while also reserving the right to provide alternative arrangements after considering location, economic and system-security factors. TNB further states that the outcome of its system analysis and study prevails where a higher supply scheme is required.

Reference Supply Assumptions

The following assumptions define the numerical reference case used for the calculations in this article. They are intended to provide a consistent basis for applying the unit rates established in →A10.02.

Data centre

The reference data centre has a Maximum Demand of 300 MW and is assumed to operate at high utilisation with a relatively stable electricity demand. The connection is assumed to be at 275 kV.

This is consistent with the scale of supply considered for very large consumers in TNB’s published connection guidance. TNB’s current ESAH states that consumers with Maximum Demand of 100,000 kVA and above have a minimum supply scheme of 275 kV, directly fed through a TNB 275-kV substation, while also stating that TNB may provide an alternative arrangement after considering location, economic and system-security factors. The guidance further states that the result of TNB’s system analysis and study prevails where a higher supply scheme is required.

Accordingly, the 275-kV arrangement used here is an analytical reference assumption, not a prediction of the connection that TNB would ultimately approve.

Existing transmission distance

For the purpose of establishing a representative transmission distance, the analysis uses a 270-km road distance between the Seremban reference point and the nearest relevant PMU in the Iskandar Puteri area.

A route-length factor of 1.3 is then applied to recognise that an actual transmission route would not necessarily follow the shortest road-distance measurement:

270 km × 1.3 = 351 km

The resulting 351 km is therefore an analytical route-length assumption used for costing the existing 275-kV transmission representation. It is not an estimate of the route that TNB would construct or the actual electrical distance between particular substations.

In practice, a transmission route of more than 300 km may comprise multiple line segments and pass through or connect to several PMUs and switching stations. For simplicity, these intermediate facilities are not separately represented or costed in this illustration.

Simplified representation of the 500-kV system

The reference case assumes that part of the wider electricity transfer associated with serving the Iskandar Puteri area is represented through the 500-kV transmission system.

Two existing 500/275-kV transmission interfaces are therefore represented:

1. Interface No. 1 — 275/500-kV step-up interface; and
2. Interface No. 2 — 500/275-kV step-down interface.

For the purposes of this analysis, each interface is represented using the →A10.02 reference configuration of 2 × 1,050 MVA transformer banks, giving an indicative transformation capacity of 2,100 MVA per interface.

The two interfaces are included to recognise the transmission infrastructure associated with the simplified 500-kV transfer. However, the 500-kV transmission line between them is not separately costed. Its cost is treated as embedded within the simplified transmission-cost representation adopted for this reference case.

This is a deliberate simplification. It should not be interpreted as meaning that a 500-kV line has the same physical or economic characteristics as a 275-kV line, nor that the electricity supplied to the data centre can be traced to a particular generating station through this exact route. The purpose is to avoid expanding the reference case into a detailed network-flow model while still recognising the presence of the higher-voltage transmission system.

Generator step-up transformers

The generator step-up transformers at generating stations are not separately costed.

These transformers form part of the generating facility and its connection to the transmission system rather than representing a separate data-centre connection asset in this reference case. The analysis therefore begins with the wider transmission system rather than attempting to allocate the capital cost of individual generating facilities to the reference data centre.

This distinction is important because the two 500/275-kV transmission interfaces represented above are transmission-system assets, whereas a generator step-up transformer is part of the generating station.

Existing 275-kV PMU / switching point

The reference arrangement assumes that the existing transmission system connects to an existing 275-kV PMU or switching point in the Iskandar Puteri area. This facility provides the interface between the existing transmission network and the new connection infrastructure.

No new full switching-station construction cost is assigned to this existing facility. Instead, the analysis separately considers the protection relay reconfiguration required to accommodate the new connection.

New connection infrastructure

Downstream of the existing 275-kV switching point, the reference case assumes:

• two shared 275-kV underground circuits over 1 km to a new TNB 275-kV switching station;
• one new TNB 275-kV switching station serving the connection;
• two dedicated 275-kV underground circuits over 500 m from the switching station to the consumer landing station.

The shared circuits provide the reference redundancy and form part of the transmission connection leading to the new switching station. The final two circuits are treated as dedicated infrastructure serving the data-centre consumer.

The land for the new TNB switching station is assumed to be provided by the developer, consistent with the treatment of PMU/substation land considered in →A10.02. Its economic value will nevertheless be recognised separately in the asset-cost analysis using the common land benchmark established in that article.

These assumptions define the physical scope to which the →A10.02 unit rates will be applied in the following sections.

Existing 275-kV Transmission Network

The reference case assumes that the 300 MW data centre is supported by an existing 275-kV transmission network represented by approximately 351 km of analytical transmission route.

For costing purposes, this network is represented as two double-circuit 275-kV overhead transmission-line assets, equivalent to four independent circuits. Applying the →A10.02 unit rate of RM2.5 million per double-circuit-line-km gives:

351 km × RM5.0 million/km = RM1.755 billion

The associated corridor land is valued using the 20 m analytical corridor width and the →A10.02 land-value benchmark of RM1,000/m²:

351 km × 20 m × RM1,000/m² = RM7.020 billion

The full illustrative economic value is therefore:

RM1.755 billion + RM7.020 billion = RM8.775 billion

This full value is then apportioned to the reference data centre according to its apparent-power requirement and the assumed two-path redundancy:

(300 MW ÷ 0.90) × 2 ÷ (1,366 MVA × 2) × RM8.775 billion ≈ RM2.14 billion

The resulting approximately RM2.14 billion is the illustrative attributable economic asset value of the existing 275-kV transmission network and its associated corridor land represented as serving the 300 MW data centre.

It is an analytical allocation of existing shared infrastructure value. It is not a TNB quotation, new-build cost or Project Cost.

The network is assumed to be existing and shared. Its historical or economic value is therefore distinguished from the capital expenditure required to establish the new connection.

Existing 500/275-kV Transmission Interfaces

The reference case represents two existing 500/275-kV transmission transformation interfaces:

1. 275/500-kV step-up interface; and
2. 500/275-kV step-down interface.

Each is represented by 2 × 1,050 MVA transformer banks, with an illustrative A10.02 asset value of RM180 million.

The transformer asset value is therefore:

2 × RM180 million = RM360 million

For land, the model uses the 130 m × 130 m average PMU land dimension as an indicative proxy, together with the RM1,000/m² land-value benchmark:

2 × (130 m × 130 m × RM1,000/m²) = RM33.8 million

The combined economic value is therefore:

RM360 million + RM33.8 million = RM393.8 million

The full value is apportioned to the reference data centre using the same two-path redundancy assumption:

(300 MW ÷ 0.90) × 2 ÷ 2,100 MVA × RM393.8 million ≈ RM125.0 million

The resulting approximately RM125 million is the illustrative attributable economic asset value of the two existing transformation interfaces and their indicative associated land.

Both interfaces are assumed to be existing and shared. Their inclusion therefore represents the economic value of infrastructure used by the reference connection, rather than new capital expenditure incurred specifically for the data centre.

Existing 275-kV Switching Point

The reference case assumes that the existing transmission system connects to an existing 275-kV switching point near Iskandar Puteri.

The facility is represented using the →A10.02 switching-station benchmark of RM140 million. Its associated land is valued using the 130 m × 130 m indicative site proxy and RM1,000/m²:

RM140 million + (130 m × 130 m × RM1,000/m²) = RM156.9 million

The attributable portion is calculated using the apparent-power requirement relative to the associated 275-kV transmission capacity, with two independent supply paths:

(300 MW ÷ 0.90) × 2 ÷ (1,366 MVA × 2) × RM156.9 million ≈ RM38.3 million

The resulting approximately RM38.3 million is the illustrative attributable economic asset value of the existing switching facility and its indicative associated land.

No new switching-station construction cost is assigned to this existing facility. Any project-specific modification to the existing equipment is treated separately.

Protection Relay Reconfiguration

The connection is assumed to require modification of protection arrangements on two existing 275-kV circuits.

Using the →A10.02 allowance of RM0.5 million per affected circuit:

2 × RM0.5 million = RM1.0 million

The resulting RM1.0 million is an incremental modification cost associated with the reference connection.

Unlike the existing asset values above, this is new expenditure associated with the connection, rather than the economic value of an existing asset.

The actual number of affected circuits would depend on TNB’s final protection philosophy, system studies and connection design.

The protection systems incorporated within the new switching station are already included in the station-level A10.02 rate and are therefore not added again.

8. New Shared 275-kV Underground Connection

The reference case assumes two independent 275-kV underground circuits over 1 km between the existing switching point and the new TNB switching station.

Using the A10.02 rate of RM20 million per circuit-km:

2 × 1 km × RM20 million/circuit-km = RM40 million

The economic land value of the 1-km cable reserve is also included. For this analytical costing, a 20 m corridor width is applied:

1 km × 20 m × RM1,000/m² = RM20 million

The full illustrative asset value is therefore:

RM40 million + RM20 million = RM60 million

The two circuits are treated as shared infrastructure. Applying the same attribution factor used for the 275-kV transmission assets:

(300 MW ÷ 0.90) × 2 ÷ (660 MVA × 2) × RM60 million ≈ RM30.3 million

The resulting approximately RM30.3 million is the illustrative attributable asset value of the new shared underground connection, including its associated cable-corridor land.

The RM60 million represents the full economic value of the new cable infrastructure and associated land in the reference case; RM30.3 million is the illustrative portion attributed to the 300 MW data centre.

The land is included here as an economic asset value even though its treatment as a payment or transfer to TNB is considered separately from the construction cost.

9. New 275-kV TNB Switching Station

The reference case includes one new 275-kV TNB switching station.

Using the A10.02 benchmark:

1 × RM140 million = RM140 million

The associated station land is valued separately using the same 130 m × 130 m indicative site proxy and RM1,000/m²:

130 m × 130 m × RM1,000/m² = RM16.9 million

The full illustrative economic asset value is therefore:

RM140 million + RM16.9 million = RM156.9 million

For the reference case, this new switching station is treated as connection-specific infrastructure rather than an existing shared asset. Its full RM156.9 million is therefore carried into the attributable asset-cost calculation:

Illustrative attributable asset value = RM156.9 million

This treatment is separate from the later question of how the construction cost would be recognised as Project Cost under TNB’s applicable methodology.

The land value is included in the asset ledger even though the developer is assumed to provide the land and subsequently transfer it to TNB at nominal consideration. The distinction between economic asset value and who initially provides or pays for the asset is addressed separately in the subsequent analysis.

10. Dedicated 275-kV Underground Connection to the Consumer

The final section of the reference connection comprises two dedicated 275-kV underground circuits over 500 m from the new switching station to the consumer landing station.

The cable construction cost is:

2 × 0.5 km × RM20 million/circuit-km = RM20 million

The associated 500-m cable-route land is also included using the 20 m analytical corridor width:

0.5 km × 20 m × RM1,000/m² = RM10 million

The full illustrative economic asset value is therefore:

RM20 million + RM10 million = RM30 million

Because the two circuits are treated as dedicated infrastructure serving the reference consumer, the full RM30 million is carried into the attributable asset-cost calculation:

Illustrative attributable asset value = RM30 million

The land value is included notwithstanding the assumed developer provision and transfer of the route land at nominal consideration. This preserves the distinction between the economic value of the infrastructure and land and the actual cash payment made by each party.

11. Consolidated Asset-Cost Schedule

The reference infrastructure can now be consolidated into an asset-cost schedule. The schedule distinguishes between the full economic value represented by each asset and the illustrative amount attributed to the 300 MW data centre.

Asset	Status	Full illustrative asset value	Illustrative attributable value
Existing 275-kV transmission network and corridor land	Existing / shared	RM8,775m	RM2,140m
Existing 500/275-kV transmission interfaces and indicative land	Existing / shared	RM393.8m	RM125.0m
Existing 275-kV switching point and indicative land	Existing / shared	RM156.9m	RM38.3m
Protection relay reconfiguration	New modification	RM1.0m	RM1.0m
New shared 275-kV underground connection and 1-km cable reserve	New / shared	RM60.0m	RM30.3m
New 275-kV switching station and land	New / connection-specific	RM156.9m	RM156.9m
Dedicated 275-kV underground connection and 500-m route land	New / dedicated	RM30.0m	RM30.0m
Total		RM9,573.6m	≈ RM2,522m

The resulting approximately RM2.52 billion is the illustrative total attributable asset cost represented as required to serve the 300 MW reference data centre under the assumptions adopted in this article.

It comprises both:

• the attributable economic value of existing shared infrastructure; and
• the attributable economic value or cost of new infrastructure and connection modifications.

This distinction is important. The approximately RM2.52 billion is not the amount that the developer necessarily pays, nor is it the Project Cost used in a future Connection Charge calculation.

New-build cost layer

The new-build and connection-related components can now be separated from the existing network asset layer:

New or modified asset	Full illustrative cost	Illustrative attributable cost
Protection relay reconfiguration	RM1.0m	RM1.0m
New shared 275-kV underground connection and 1-km cable reserve	RM60.0m	RM30.3m
New 275-kV switching station and land	RM156.9m	RM156.9m
Dedicated 275-kV underground connection and 500-m route land	RM30.0m	RM30.0m
Total new / modified infrastructure	RM247.9m	≈ RM218.2m

The reference case therefore produces two useful measures:

Total illustrative asset value represented by the reference connection: ≈ RM9.57 billion

Total illustrative attributable asset cost: ≈ RM2.52 billion

and, within that:

Total new or modified infrastructure: ≈ RM247.9 million

Illustrative attributable new-build / connection cost: ≈ RM218.2 million

These figures provide the basis for the next section, which extracts the new-build Project Cost layer from the broader asset-cost model.

The distinction between these layers is deliberate. The existing network represents infrastructure already embedded in the electricity system, whereas the new-build layer represents capital expenditure associated with establishing the reference connection. The subsequent analysis can therefore examine Project Cost without treating the economic value of the entire existing transmission network as newly incurred expenditure for the data centre.

The Observatory Perspective

A 300 MW data centre is not simply a large electricity consumer connected to an existing power line. Its electricity demand sits within a much larger physical system of transmission lines, transformation interfaces, switching facilities, protection systems, underground cables and land.

The reference case developed in this article illustrates the scale of that system.

Using the assumptions established in →A10.01 and the unit costs developed in →A10.02, the reference connection represents an illustrative total economic asset value of approximately RM9.57 billion. After applying the analytical allocation methodology to the existing shared infrastructure and the new connection assets, approximately RM2.52 billion is represented as attributable to the 300 MW data centre.

These figures should not be interpreted as a TNB quotation or as the amount payable by the data-centre developer. They are a transparent analytical representation of the infrastructure and economic resources represented as serving the reference consumer.

More importantly, the analysis separates this broader asset value from the new capital expenditure associated with establishing the connection. The reference case produces approximately RM247.9 million of new or modified infrastructure cost, of which approximately RM218.2 million is represented as attributable to the data centre under the assumptions used.

This distinction matters.

A new data centre may depend on a very large existing electricity infrastructure base without requiring that entire asset base to be newly constructed for its connection. Conversely, a relatively small amount of new infrastructure can represent substantial capital expenditure even though it forms only a small part of the wider electricity system.

The analysis also demonstrates why asset value, attributable asset cost, new-build cost and Project Cost should not be treated as interchangeable terms. Existing shared infrastructure has an economic value, but that does not make its historical construction cost a new project expenditure. New shared infrastructure represents new capital expenditure, but its cost may require attribution rather than automatic allocation in full to a single consumer. Dedicated infrastructure is different again because it is specifically associated with serving the consumer.

Land introduces another important distinction. The economic value of land used for transmission corridors, switching stations and cable routes can be substantial even where the immediate payment made to acquire or transfer that land is nominal. In the reference case, land is therefore recognised as an economic asset in the costing model, while the question of who initially provides, pays for, owns or ultimately bears that value is kept separate.

This is particularly relevant to large data-centre developments because the electricity connection is only one part of a wider infrastructure relationship between the developer, TNB and the surrounding electricity system. The party that provides an asset, the party that initially pays for it, the party that owns it and the party from whom its cost is ultimately recovered need not be the same.

A10.03 deliberately stops before that next question.

The article has established the physical transmission system and its illustrative cost base. It has also separated the economic value of the wider existing network from the capital expenditure associated with new connection infrastructure. The resulting approximately RM218.2 million attributable new-build and modification cost provides a useful analytical starting point for examining the financial treatment of the connection.

The next stage is therefore not to ask simply, “How much does the data centre pay?” It is to ask a more fundamental question:

How is the capital cost of supplying a very large new electricity consumer recovered through Malaysia’s electricity system?

That question requires a different analysis involving the treatment of Project Cost, projected electricity revenue, operating costs, the 15-year supply period and the applicable TNB connection-charge framework. TNB’s published 1st Principle methodology expressly separates the Project Cost attributable to a consumer from the subsequent comparison with projected returns over a 15-year supply period.

Those mechanisms are therefore left to the subsequent articles.

For MDCO, the broader lesson is straightforward: understanding who pays for data-centre electricity begins with understanding what infrastructure is actually being paid for. Once the physical system, existing assets, new investment and attribution are separated, the financial questions become much more transparent.

That is the purpose of this article—and the foundation for the analysis that follows.

Selected References

Malaysian Electricity Regulation and Connection Framework

• Tenaga Nasional Berhad (TNB) – Electricity Supply Application Handbook (ESAH), covering supply schemes, demand estimation, PMU requirements, transmission routes, land allocation and right-of-way/wayleave requirements for electricity-supply infrastructure. https://www.tnb.com.my/esah
• Tenaga Nasional Berhad (TNB) – Connection Charges Book 2025, setting out the 1st Principle and Refundable Connection Charge (RCC) methodologies, Project Cost treatment, the 15-year revenue period and the application of WACC. https://www.tnb.com.my/assets/files/TNB_Connection_Charges_Book_2025_ENG.pdf

Malaysian Transmission Project Cost Evidence

• Tenaga Nasional Berhad (TNB) and Malaysian listed-company project disclosures – Publicly disclosed project and contract values used as Malaysian benchmarks for 275-kV transmission lines, switching stations and 500/275-kV PMUs, including the Cheeding 275-kV double-circuit transmission projects, the Kenyir 275-kV GIS switching station and the Gurun East 500/275-kV PMU. These provide observable Malaysian project-cost evidence against which broader benchmarks can be assessed.
  https://www.cheeding.com/gallery/
  https://cdn1.i3investor.com/my/files/dfgs88n/2025/03/28/1569795323–1816052771.pdf
  https://newsfile.futunn.com/public/NN-PersistNoticeAttachment/7781/20250516/MYX/MYX_3553874_158149.pdf
• Tenaga Nasional Berhad (TNB) – Jati Tinggi 275-kV Underground Cable Project disclosures, providing recent Malaysian evidence on the cost of 275-kV double-circuit underground cable infrastructure associated with data-centre supply. TNB Jati Tinggi 275-kV project disclosure
• CIGRE – Technical and economic reference material on transmission infrastructure, including indicative international cost ranges for high-voltage overhead lines and underground cables, used in this article as a secondary benchmark rather than as a substitute for Malaysian project evidence. https://www.cigre.org/

Cost Normalisation and Land

• National Property Information Centre (NAPIC), Valuation and Property Services Department (JPPH) – Property Market Report H1 2025, providing Malaysian property-market evidence, including industrial land transactions relevant to establishing an indicative land-cost benchmark. https://napic.jpph.gov.my/ms/detail-penerbitan?id=3313

Citation

Malaysia Data Centre Observatory (MDCO). A10.03 — Electricity Costs Behind Malaysia’s Data Centres — From Infrastructure Cost to Project Cost. MDCO Analyse Series.

MDCO Note

This article forms part of the Malaysia Data Centre Observatory (MDCO) Analyse Series, including the A10 and A10.xx series on the electricity costs and cost-recovery mechanisms associated with data centre development. The series aims to improve public understanding through evidence-based, accessible and balanced analysis. It is intended for educational and informational purposes only and does not constitute legal, engineering, financial, regulatory or professional advice.

The cost of supplying electricity to large data centres involves multiple disciplines and perspectives, including electrical engineering, energy economics, utility regulation, infrastructure planning, finance and public policy. MDCO does not advocate for or against any particular stakeholder, project, technology, tariff or regulatory position. Its role is to facilitate transparency, reduce information asymmetry and support informed discussion by examining how electricity infrastructure is provided, paid for and ultimately recovered through the electricity system, using publicly verifiable information and clearly stated assumptions.