Energy Commission of Sabah issues first EV CPO licence

Ever since the first EV charging stations were installed in Malaysia, the issue of regulatory controls has been an important matter. These are high-voltage installations and naturally, they must be approved for use by relevant authorities to ensure that they are safe.

Initially, while there were guidelines, licensing was not made mandatory for Charge Point Operators (CPOs). But with the rapidly growing number (the government wants 10,000 charging points nationwide by the end of next year), it is necessary to properly regulate the installations. Rushing to meet the target is one thing but it must be done in a proper manner and with regulatory oversight.

Existing and proposed EV charging stations in Sabah at the end of June 2024. There are currently 9 charging stations in 4 locations. Source: PLANMalaysia | Malaysia Electric Vehicle Charging Network (MEVnet) dashboard.

The regulatory oversight in Peninsular Malaysia is Suruhanjaya Tenaga (ST), which was established under the Energy Commission Act 2001. All CPOs must get the relevant approvals from the ST for their installations.

In Sabah, there is also the equivalent of the ST and that is the Energy Commission of Sabah (ECoS). This is a relatively new statutory body which was established in January 2023. Like the ST, one of its responsibilities is to ensure safe EV charging installations that comply with safety standards to protect public usage.

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“As a step to ensure safe installations that comply with standards to protect public usage, all EV Charging Station operators must obtain a licence before commencing operations, in line with the requirements in Section 8 of the Enactment,” said Datuk Ir. Abdul Nasser Abdul Wahid, Chief Executive Officer of ECoS.

Regas Premium BMW EV charging point
JomCharge charging points by Regas Premium Sabah. The authorised dealer of BMW Group Malaysia set up the state’s first charging facility at T1 @ Bundusan, a business and leisure centre, last year.

With the same mandatory ruling, CPOs setting up installations in Sabah have to also get licences. Over the past year, companies like EV Connection and ChargeSini have already set up charging stations in Kota Kinabalu so all have had to apply for the licences.

ChargeSin charging point
All Charging Point Operators in Malaysia must have licences to set up their charging stations. They also need approvals from other authorities such as BOMBA, so the process can take some months.

Recently, EV Connection (operator of the JomCharge network) and Gentari were the first parties to receive licences from ECoS. Incidentally, EV Connection and Gentari were also the first parties in Peninsular Malaysia to be licensed by ST. We understand that applications by other CPOs are also being processed by ECoS (such things can take months).

BMW dealership sets up first EV charging station in Sabah

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