本指南目前仅提供英文版。
Under Malaysia's Energy Efficiency and Conservation Act 2024 (EECA 2024, Act 861), every energy consumer the Act applies to must appoint a registered energy manager (REM; pengurus tenaga berdaftar) (section 5(1)). The Act defines a REM as an energy manager who is registered and holds a valid practising certificate under the Act (section 2). This guide covers when the appointment is due, which type of REM you need, whether the REM can come from outside your company, what the REM does, and what to do when one leaves.
When you must appoint a REM
The duty falls on energy consumers using 21,600 GJ or more over twelve consecutive months (section 3(1)(a), regulation 3), once Suruhanjaya Tenaga (ST) has sent its written notice that the Act applies to them (section 3(3)). The duties of the person in charge of an office building (sections 10 to 16) don't include a REM. Check whether the threshold applies to you.
- Appoint the REM within three months from the date of ST's notice (regulation 4(2)).
- Notify ST electronically of the appointment (regulation 4(3)). The Regulations set no separate deadline for this.
- Not appointing a REM is an offence, with a fine of up to RM50,000 on conviction (section 5(3)).
In ST's timeline example, a notice dated 1 January 2026 makes the REM due by 31 March 2026. The REM's appointment date then starts two more clocks: the energy management system within one year (regulation 8), and the energy efficiency and conservation report within 30 days after each year (regulation 9). Work out your dates with the EECA 2024 deadlines calculator.
First Type or Second Type
The Regulations have two types of REM, First Type and Second Type (jenis pertama and jenis kedua). Which one you need depends on your energy consumption (regulation 5):
| Energy consumption in any 12 consecutive months | REM required | Rule |
|---|---|---|
| 21,600 GJ up to 50,000 GJ | A REM who meets regulation 14: First Type or Second Type | Regulation 5(a) |
| Above 50,000 GJ | A Second Type REM, under regulation 14(2) or 14(3) | Regulation 5(b) |
With electricity alone, at GP/ST 44's 0.0036 GJ per kWh, 21,600 GJ is 6,000,000 kWh and 50,000 GJ is about 13.9 million kWh (our arithmetic). Every form of energy counts towards the total, not just electricity. The Regulations don't say how quickly an energy consumer must move to a Second Type REM if its consumption later rises above 50,000 GJ.
Who qualifies
- First Type (regulation 14(1)). A degree in science, engineering, technology or architecture from a college, institution or university ST recognises, with at least two years' working experience; or a diploma in those fields with at least ten years'. Registration also qualifies: as a Graduate Engineer, Engineering Technologist, Graduate Technologist or Graduate Architect with at least two years' experience; as an Inspector of Works with at least ten years'; as a Qualified Technician holding at least a diploma, with at least ten years'; or as a Professional Engineer, Professional Technologist or Professional Architect. Every applicant must also demonstrate knowledge of the Act and Regulations to ST's satisfaction.
- Second Type (regulation 14(2)). At least one year as a First Type REM, with a valid practising certificate, and knowledge of the Act and Regulations. A holder of a valid electrical energy manager registration under the Electricity Supply Act 1990 may also apply to be Second Type, until that registration expires, by sitting ST's assessment (regulation 14(3)).
- Registration (sections 25 to 29). An applicant must be a Malaysian citizen with the prescribed qualification, meet ST's other requirements, including training, and have no conviction for an offence involving fraud, dishonesty or corruption (section 26). A REM holds a certificate of registration (section 27) and a practising certificate (section 28), and renewing the practising certificate needs proof of continuous development programmes run by a registered training institution (section 29(4)). Acting as an energy manager under the Act without both is an offence, with a fine of up to RM20,000 (section 25).
A person who held a valid electrical energy manager registration under the Electricity Supply Act 1990 when the Act came into operation is deemed a REM until that registration expires, provided they have applied to register under the Act (section 71(1)).
In-house or external REM
By default, the REM is one of your own employees (regulation 4(1)). The Regulations allow an external REM in two cases: at the start, for a limited time (regulation 6), and after a vacancy, with ST's approval (regulation 7(3), below).
| Topic | In-house REM | External REM |
|---|---|---|
| Who | One of your employees (regulation 4(1)) | Not your employee, nor an employee of a related corporation (regulation 6(1)) |
| Type | First or Second Type, as regulation 5 requires | Second Type only (regulation 6(1)) |
| How long | No period set in the Regulations | Up to three years from the date of ST's notice, not from the appointment (regulation 6(1)) |
| Other energy consumers served | Up to seven others that are your related corporations (regulation 4(4)) | Up to seven others (regulation 6(3)) |
| Notify ST | Electronically (regulation 4(3)) | Electronically (regulation 6(2)) |
"Related corporation" has the meaning it has in the Companies Act 2016 (regulation 2).
The external route is a bridge. Because the three years run from the notice, an external REM appointed some months after it serves for less than three years, and the Regulations don't mention any extension. Immediately after the period ends, you appoint a REM from among your employees (regulation 6(4)). So use the time to get an employee registered: above 50,000 GJ, that employee must be Second Type, which takes at least a year as a First Type REM first (regulation 14(2)).
What a REM does
Section 5(2) gives the REM seven functions and duties:
- collect and analyse the energy consumer's energy data;
- make sure the energy consumer implements the energy management system;
- monitor that implementation;
- prepare the energy efficiency and conservation report;
- make sure the information in the report is accurate;
- advise on other energy saving measures and monitor their implementation;
- carry out other duties ST determines.
ST's Guidelines on Functions and Duties of Registered Energy Manager (GP/ST/No.47/2024) explain what these involve:
- Data (paragraph 3(a)). Make sure consumption is recorded for every form of energy and energy resource in the Act's First and Second Schedules, collect and analyse at least twelve consecutive months of data from before the appointment, and keep collecting and analysing it throughout.
- Energy management system (paragraph 3(b)). Assist the Energy Management Committee in preparing the energy policy and getting top management's approval; propose objectives and targets, an action plan, the resources needed and energy efficiency indicators (EEIs) to the committee; obtain top management's approval of the energy performance objectives and targets; and help develop the implementation plan and monitor it.
- Monitoring (paragraph 3(c)). Verify the data; arrange Energy Management Committee meetings at least four times a year and a management review with top management at least once a year, with minutes endorsed; and report on energy performance and progress to the committee.
- The report (paragraphs 3(d) and 3(e)). Prepare the energy efficiency and conservation report in the format of ST's guidelines on that report, and check its figures against the actual utility bills and invoices, and against maintenance records, equipment specifications and energy audit reports.
- Savings (paragraph 3(f)). Use the energy saving measures in the registered energy auditor's audit report to propose the action plan, and propose a measurement and verification plan.
- Other data (paragraph 3(g)). Production data for industrial facilities, an inventory of the processes and equipment in significant energy uses (SEUs), and variables such as shutdown days, cooling degree days and occupancy.
The REM prepares the energy efficiency and conservation report; the energy consumer submits it to ST (section 7). A REM who fails to carry out the duties in section 5(2), or to prepare the report, commits an offence with a fine of up to RM20,000 for each (sections 5(4) and 7(3)), whether they are an employee or external. See every offence and fine under EECA 2024.
When a REM leaves
- Within 14 days from the date the office was vacated, serve a notice in the form ST determines (regulation 7(1)). Missing it is an offence with a fine of up to RM10,000 (regulation 7(4)).
- Within three months of the vacancy, appoint a new REM from among your employees (regulation 7(2)).
- If you can't, you may appoint an external Second Type REM with ST's written approval, on the conditions ST sets (regulation 7(3)). Unlike regulation 6, no maximum period is stated.
The Regulations don't say whether a replacement restarts the energy management system and report clocks; ST's timeline example counts them from the first appointment of the REM. The deadlines calculator works out the vacancy dates too.
Key terms in Bahasa Malaysia
Pengurus tenaga berdaftar (registered energy manager), jenis pertama and jenis kedua (first and second type), perakuan amalan (practising certificate), pengguna tenaga (energy consumer), sistem pengurusan tenaga (energy management system) and laporan kecekapan dan konservasi tenaga (energy efficiency and conservation report).
How 2R can help
2R Control Automation has Registered Energy Managers of both types, First Type and Second Type, and two Registered Energy Auditors. Its director is a Second Type REM and a Registered Energy Auditor (credentials). Our EECA 2024 compliance service covers the REM, establishing the energy management system (policy and targets, training and baseline, action plan and review), the energy efficiency and conservation report (data verification, performance review and EMIS submission support) and the energy audit. See also energy management.
For the whole Act, read the EECA 2024 guide.
This guide summarises Act 861, P.U. (A) 466/2024 and GP/ST/No.47/2024 (Pind. 1/2026) as published on st.gov.my, read on 3 November 2026. It is not legal advice: ST decides who is covered, and may revise its guidelines. Check the current texts before relying on it.