HV and EHV power news for Southeast Asia, South Asia and the Middle East, curated every two weeks.
A fortnightly digest of power-sector developments that matter to HV and EHV equipment buyers and project teams across Southeast Asia, South Asia and the Middle East, with notes on data centres, solar and equipment manufacturing.
Data centres seen needing 8.39 GW in Peninsular Malaysia by 2030
Malay Mail (Bernama), 20 Oct 2026 ↗
Malaysia plans data centre law to match growth with power and water supply
EdgeProp.my (Bernama), 19 Oct 2026 ↗
Norfund and Danish fund to take 49% of 500 MWp Philippine solar plant
Power Technology, 19 Oct 2026 ↗
Singapore and World Bank launch partnership to make ASEAN grid projects bankable
Malay Mail (Bernama), 1 Oct 2026 ↗
Indonesian president orders overhaul of state utility PLN
pv magazine, 19 Oct 2026 ↗
Indonesia holds back from signing ASEAN Power Grid deal until terms are balanced
Malay Mail (Bernama), 22 Sep 2026 ↗
Malaysia's energy transition ministry projects peak data centre demand in Peninsular Malaysia at 8.39 GW by 2030, led by Johor at 4.42 GW and Selangor at 1.48 GW. As of August, 45 operating data centres drew a combined 6.04 GW through the national grid supplied by Tenaga Nasional.
President Prabowo Subianto has directed a transformation of utility PLN, focused on efficiency and faster delivery of the 100 GW solar programme launched in August. A new president director is taking over. A think tank is urging procurement reform, grid modernisation, more storage and wider private participation.
Malaysia intends to draft a Digital Infrastructure (Data Centre) Bill for Cabinet in 2027, aimed at aligning growth with electricity and water capacity. A parliamentary reply cited 27 task-force projects worth RM225.97 billion, mostly in Johor and Selangor, of which 26 are under construction. The bill's detailed requirements were not disclosed.
Norfund and Impact Fund Denmark agreed to take a combined 49% stake in Vena Energy's 500 MWp Ixus Bugallon solar plant in Pangasinan, subject to Philippine Competition Commission approval. Backed by roughly $310 million of senior debt, the plant won a Green Energy Auction contract, is under construction and is expected to operate in 2027.
ACME Solar, through a subsidiary, signed a 25-year agreement with SECI to supply 300 MW (1.2 GWh) of assured peak power from a solar and battery project under the FDRE-IX tranche. Supply is due to start in April 2028 at a reported tariff of Rs6 per unit, aimed at evening and night demand.
State-owned CPGCBL plans a 70 MW solar plant on unused ash pond land at the 1,200 MW Matarbari coal power plant, targeting generation by December 2028, with expected co-financing from the European Investment Bank. Bangladesh has 1,935 MW of installed renewables and targets 20% renewable electricity by 2030.
A nationwide blackout hit Sri Lanka on 17 October, with the system operator blaming instability in the transmission network and asking rooftop solar owners to disconnect until further notice. Power returned to most areas that evening. A similar outage in February 2025 was linked to high solar penetration, with rooftop capacity at 1.94 GW at end-2025.
Israel's electricity authority has reportedly capped new data centres at 200 MW to curb speculative grid applications, requiring NIS 2 million per MW in guarantees and disconnection capability at peak demand. The grid operator reports about 27 GW of projects seeking connection, and an extra 1 GW is to be allocated to large sites. A final decision is expected shortly.
VSL PowerHive, a Vikram Solar subsidiary, plans a battery storage assembly plant at Oragadam, Tamil Nadu, with 7.5 GWh annual capacity and possible expansion to 15 GWh. Inauguration is set for January 2027 and commercial operation for April 2027, as part of a plan for 30 GWh of battery manufacturing capacity by 2030.
CapitaLand's Chennai 01 data centre in Ambattur is scheduled for completion by the end of 2026, with 53 MW of gross power capacity and 34 MW of IT load across 13 data halls. Planned investment is about INR 1,940 crore. The site was first announced at 55 MW in 2022 and was originally due in 2025.
The Central Electricity Authority revised its Manual on Transmission Planning Criteria to add provisions for 1,150 kV ultra high-voltage AC systems. The update also revises modelling requirements for renewable projects, battery storage and HVDC infrastructure. The available summary gives no timelines or details on how the new criteria will be applied.
A Bangladeshi minister said work is under way to supply about 300 MW from the first reactor of the 1,200 MW Rooppur nuclear plant to the national grid by November. He added that fuel loading for the second reactor is expected around June 2027. The project is being delivered with Russia's Rosatom.
Exa Energy has connected a 100 MW/1 GWh compressed carbon dioxide storage system to the grid in Xinjiang, described as China's first at this scale, with a 6-hour duration and about 66% round-trip efficiency. A main intended use is pairing with dense data centres. The article also compares it with Energy Dome and notes an IP dispute.
The Palli Karma-Sahayak Foundation signed a Tk500 crore agreement with the Finance Division on 13 October and launched a Renewable Energy Financing Programme for solar. Loans will be channelled through partner organisations at 6% interest to end users, with goals of diversifying energy sources and strengthening energy security.
Disruption to Gulf fuel shipments this year has pushed ASEAN energy ministers to consider accelerating the ASEAN Power Grid, now aimed at 2045. As of 2025, nine of 18 priority interconnections were operating, and more than $300 billion is said to be needed for regional grid upgrades by 2050. Singapore is the destination for about 40% of planned links.
Vietnam's prime minister told ministries to review delayed or unfeasible power projects so that supply can support growth of at least 10% a year, with data centres among the priority users. A ministry report found only one of 18 key LNG power projects on schedule. Planned grid expansion includes extensive 500 kV and 220 kV lines.
Power Grid Corporation of India took over two special purpose vehicles won through competitive bidding. They cover a new 765/400/220 kV substation at Alephata in Maharashtra, a gas-insulated substation at Kalyanpur in Gujarat and associated 765 kV lines, serving renewable energy zones. Each still needs a transmission licence and tariff approval.
Cable stocks including KEI Industries slipped again in mid-October on competition worries. A brokerage view cited in the report says KEI, Polycab and R R Kabel have more diversified revenue, including high-voltage above 11 kV, exports and EPC, so overlap with the new entrant is limited. India's cable and wire market is put at INR 1 trillion in FY26.
President Anura Kumara Dissanayake said Sri Lanka will tender four high-voltage lines to private firms, ending full state control of transmission. The state keeps the ADB-supported Kilinochchi-Habarana line. Experts estimate grid modernisation at US$4-5 billion. The Ceylon Electricity Board was split into six successor companies in March 2026.
A joint white paper from the ASEAN Centre for Energy and the IEA concludes that obstacles to battery storage in the region are mostly about policy and market rules rather than technology. Variable renewables are projected to rise from 53.7 GW in 2024 to about 231 GW by 2030, and regional data centre demand from 2.6 GW to 10.7 GW by 2035.
Powergrid commissioned an interstate transmission project to evacuate 20 GW of renewable energy in Rajasthan, effective 22 September and notified on 11 October. It includes a 765/400 kV substation with STATCOM at Ramgarh, a 765 kV double-circuit line and bay extensions. Rajasthan has curtailed 11.5 GW of renewable output since January.
Malaysia's Budget 2027 coverage says Tenaga Nasional will invest RM15 billion to strengthen the national grid, while UEM Lestra plans RM1 billion including a storage project at KLIA and a 1 GW hybrid energy project in Johor. TNB expects Peninsular Malaysia power use to rise 4.9% in 2027. The report notes it is unclear how the figure relates to earlier approved spending.
Ember estimates Southeast Asia's utility-scale battery pipeline due by 2030 at about 7 GW, against 23-26 GW needed for regional renewable goals. Analysts say the bottleneck has shifted to creating bankable assets. The report also notes the Philippines declared an energy emergency in March and that gas capacity in its pipeline has shrunk.
TBEA reported first-half 2026 revenue of CNY 56.58 billion, up 16.9%, while net profit attributable to shareholders fell 19.8% to CNY 2.55 billion, partly linked to coal. Wire and cable revenue rose 38.2% and new-energy products and engineering rose 51.1%. The article gives no transformer-specific figures.
Secondary financial news site; results were reported 2026-09-30.
Larsen & Toubro's power transmission and distribution arm won EPC orders in Saudi Arabia for 380 kV transmission and substation projects that add capacity and integrate renewable power, plus an order in the UAE for 132/11 kV substations and associated cabling. Clients and contract values were not disclosed.
India's cabinet approved Phase III of the Green Energy Corridor through FY2032-33, with about INR 1.37 trillion for intra-state transmission to evacuate up to 135 GW of renewables and INR 500 billion for 50 GWh of battery storage. State transmission utilities will implement it, aiming to reduce curtailment of clean power.
Singapore's energy and finance ministries signed a three-year partnership with the World Bank Group aimed at making ASEAN Power Grid projects easier to finance. The work covers cross-border wheeling arrangements, regional cooperation, capacity building and knowledge exchange. The report gives no funding amounts or named projects.
Abu Dhabi's utility EWEC lifted its 2035 solar goal to more than 35 GW, with an interim 14 GW target for 2030 and up to 15 GW of energy storage by 2035. EWEC expects gas-fired generation to decline as capacity grows, but did not explain how the extra solar and storage will be deployed.
Indonesia's energy minister said the country has not yet signed the ASEAN Power Grid agreement and will do so only when terms benefit both sides, while remaining open to power exports at fair prices. He cited plans to add 69.5 GW of capacity under the 2025-2034 supply plan, with 70% from new and renewable sources.
A consortium of Sri Lanka's Vidullanka and India's Skipper was named lowest bidder for a Rs5 billion contract to build and commission 132 kV transmission lines, funded by JICA. Work is estimated at 18 months from commencement. The award remains subject to technical evaluation and a formal letter of award from the utility.
Vietnam's state utility EVN says it cleared accumulated losses and booked an estimated profit of about VND12.2 trillion for the first eight months of 2026. It started 118 grid projects between 110 and 500 kV and energised 116. Management noted that wind and solar are being built faster than the transmission lines needed to carry their output.
A Dubai Supreme Council of Energy official said the emirate plans 1,000 MW of lithium-ion storage, expandable to 2,000 MW, with 6,000 MWh of capacity, expected between 2027 and 2029. Upfront cost remains a challenge. Masdar separately described a 5.2 GW solar and 19 GWh storage project in Abu Dhabi.
Indian cable and wire stocks dropped after the Aditya Birla Group announced Ultravolt, a wires and cables business under UltraTech with INR 1,800 crore of planned capex. KEI Industries fell 8.25% in the session, the sharpest decline among peers, though brokerage Nuvama named it one of two preferred sector picks alongside Polycab.
Waaree Transpower, a Waaree Energies subsidiary, plans a transformer manufacturing facility rated 500 MVA at 400 kV, expected to be operational by April 2027 and covering 132, 220 and 400 kV classes. The company reports an order book of about INR 3.6 billion for FY2027. Investment figures in the source were inconsistent, so none are quoted here.
The Red Sea multi-utility project in Saudi Arabia is now in full commercial operation as an isolated grid, combining 358 MWac of solar with about 1.2 GWh of batteries and 112.5 MW of backup engines. It supplies power, desalination and cooling to a tourism destination. ACWA Power developed it and SEPCOIII built it.
Industry Watch summarises public reporting in MEHSOL's own words and links to the original publishers for the full story. It is provided for general information only and is not investment, legal or engineering advice. Company names appear only because they are the subject of public news and do not imply any business relationship. MEHSOL is not responsible for third-party content.
Headlines gathered automatically from public news feeds on power transmission, data centres, solar and equipment manufacturers. Every two weeks a snapshot is saved to the headline archive.
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