As of the period from September 2024 to August 2025, Malaysia's electricity consumption heavily relies on fossil fuels, with over three-quarters of its electricity generated from this source. Specifically, coal contributes almost 45%, while gas accounts for about 31%. In contrast, low-carbon energy sources make up slightly more than a fifth of the total, indicating room for improvement. Hydropower is the largest clean energy contributor at around 18%, followed by biofuels and solar energy, which account for a small fraction of 2.5% and 1.8% respectively. This distribution highlights a significant reliance on fossil fuels, with low-carbon options still a minor presence in Malaysia's electricity portfolio.
Is Electricity Growing in Malaysia?
Electricity consumption in Malaysia appears to be on a recent decline, as shown by the decrease to 5192 kWh/person in 2025, down from a previous high of 5512 kWh/person in 2024. This drop of 320 kWh/person suggests a worrying reduction in total electricity usage. However, in contrast, there is promising growth in low-carbon electricity generation, which increased to 1172 kWh/person in 2025 from the prior year, showing a positive shift upwards by 130 kWh/person. While overall electricity consumption shows signs of decrease, the advancement in clean energy adoption underscores a silver lining in Malaysia's efforts to pivot towards more sustainable electricity generation.
Suggestions
To enhance its low-carbon electricity generation, Malaysia could look to regions with significant achievements in solar and nuclear energy. For example, Lebanon generates close to a third of its electricity from solar energy, illustrating a pathway to significantly expand solar power. On the nuclear energy front, countries like France and Slovakia demonstrate the potential of nuclear energy, with more than half of their electricity generated from this source, serving as leading examples for Malaysia. Observing these successful regions, Malaysia could strategize on increasing solar installations and consider developing a robust nuclear energy sector to meet the rising demand for clean electricity while simultaneously reducing dependency on fossil fuels.
History
The history of low-carbon electricity in Malaysia has been marked by periods of growth and slight contractions, primarily within the hydro sector. Starting in the early 1980s, hydropower saw modest growth with fluctuations, such as a noticeable reduction in 1990 and increases like those in 1999 and 2014. However, the most significant surge in hydropower arrived between 2016 and 2017, most notably in 2016 with a substantial increase of over 6 TWh. Recently, the year 2025 showcased further diversification with an uptick in biofuels and hydropower. Despite the mixed historical trends, these recent developments signal Malaysia's ongoing journey towards a cleaner energy landscape.
Electrification
We estimate the degree of electrification by comparing electricity and total energy emissions. More about methodology.