How Energy Storage Can Help You Beat the New Time-of-Use (ToU) Tariff

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How Energy Storage Can Help You Beat the New Time-of-Use (ToU) Tariff

Reading Time: Approximately 7-8 minutes

Key Takeaway: Are you a business owner or facility manager in Malaysia starting to feel the pressure of rising electricity bills, especially with the recent changes to TNB's tariff structure, including the new Time-of-Use (ToU) tariff that became more widely available from July 2025? You might be wondering how to manage these fluctuating costs and avoid higher charges during peak hours. Many companies are struggling to adapt their operations to this new system, risking increased expenses. This article will reveal How Energy Storage Can Help You Beat the New Time-of-Use (ToU) Tariff, showing you a smart way to take control of your energy costs. We'll explain how energy storage systems can turn what seems like a challenge into a significant opportunity for savings and greater energy independence.

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Problem: Businesses in Malaysia are now facing significant shifts in electricity costs due to TNB's expanded Time-of-Use (ToU) tariff, more widely available from July 2025. This new structure charges different rates for electricity based on the time of day, making peak-hour consumption significantly more expensive. Many companies, especially those with consistent operations throughout the day, are finding it difficult to shift their energy usage to off-peak hours, leading to higher monthly bills and budget unpredictability.

Agitate: Without a proactive strategy, businesses will continue to incur substantial costs during peak tariff periods, eating into their profits and potentially hindering competitiveness. The inability to effectively manage energy consumption under the new ToU tariff means losing control over a critical operating expense, and simply paying more for the same amount of electricity, which is an unsustainable path in the long run.

Solve: This article will demonstrate How Energy Storage Can Help You Beat the New Time-of-Use (ToU) Tariff by enabling businesses to store cheaper off-peak electricity or excess solar energy for use during expensive peak periods. We will explain how Battery Energy Storage Systems (BESS) facilitate "peak shaving" and "load shifting," significantly reducing peak demand charges and overall electricity costs. By adopting energy storage, companies can gain greater energy independence, stabilize their utility expenses, and enhance their operational resilience in the face of evolving energy tariffs.

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Summary

Malaysia's electricity tariffs have changed, and the Time-of-Use (ToU) tariff is now a big deal for businesses. This means electricity costs more at certain times of the day (peak hours) and less at others (off-peak hours). Here's How Energy Storage Can Help You Beat the New Time-of-Use (ToU) Tariff:

• What is ToU? It's like phone plans where calls cost more during busy hours. Electricity rates are higher from 2 PM to 10 PM on weekdays (peak hours) and lower from 10 PM to 2 PM the next day (off-peak hours) and all day on weekends/public holidays.
• Why is this a problem? If your business uses a lot of electricity during peak hours, your bills will go up.
• What is Energy Storage? It's like a big battery system for your business. It can store electricity.
• How Energy Storage Helps You Beat ToU:
1. Store Cheap Electricity: You can charge your battery using cheaper electricity from the grid during off-peak hours.
2. Use Stored Electricity During Peak: When electricity prices go up during peak hours, you use the power from your battery instead of buying expensive electricity from TNB. This is called "load shifting" or "peak shaving."
3. Store Solar Energy: If you have solar panels, you can store the extra solar power your panels make during the day (when you might not use all of it) and use it later during peak hours or at night.
4. Backup Power: It also gives you backup power if there's a blackout.
5. Save Money: By doing these things, you significantly lower your electricity bills.

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1. Understanding Malaysia's New Time-of-Use (ToU) Tariff

Electricity prices in Malaysia have changed, and it's important for businesses to understand these changes. One of the biggest shifts is the wider availability and impact of the Time-of-Use (ToU) tariff, which became more widespread from July 2025, especially for businesses with smart meters.

What is the ToU Tariff?

Imagine that the price of electricity changes throughout the day, just like how taxi fares might be higher during rush hour. That's essentially what a ToU tariff does. TNB (Tenaga Nasional Berhad), our electricity provider, charges different rates for electricity at different times because the cost of making and delivering electricity changes throughout the day.

• Why different rates? During certain hours, many businesses and homes use electricity at the same time (like during the afternoon when factories are running, offices are busy, and everyone's air conditioners are on full blast). This is when demand is highest, and it costs TNB more to produce and deliver that power. To encourage people to use less electricity during these busy times, or to shift their usage, TNB charges more.
• The Goal of ToU: The idea behind ToU is to encourage customers to use electricity when it's cheaper to produce (when demand is low) and avoid using too much when it's expensive to produce (when demand is high). This helps balance the electricity grid and can lead to lower overall costs for everyone in the long run.

The Peak and Off-Peak Hours in Malaysia (as of July 2025):

For most businesses under the ToU scheme in Peninsular Malaysia:

• Peak Hours (Higher Rate):
• Monday to Friday: 2:00 PM to 10:00 PM (8 hours)
• Off-Peak Hours (Lower Rate):
• Monday to Friday: 10:00 PM to 2:00 PM the next day (16 hours)
• Saturdays, Sundays, and Public Holidays: All 24 hours are considered off-peak.

This means that if your business operates heavily during the weekday afternoon and evening (2 PM to 10 PM), you will likely see higher electricity bills under the ToU tariff compared to the old flat-rate system. This is why knowing How Energy Storage Can Help You Beat the New Time-of-Use (ToU) Tariff is so important.

 

2. The Problem: Why ToU Tariffs Can Increase Your Bills

For many businesses, changing when they use electricity isn't easy. Factories might need to run machines all day, offices need air conditioning during working hours, and retail stores need lights on when customers are present.

If your business's "energy habits" don't change, and you use a lot of electricity during those new peak hours (2 PM to 10 PM on weekdays), you'll end up paying more for the same amount of electricity. This can significantly increase your operating costs and make it harder to plan your budget.

Imagine a restaurant that needs its kitchen equipment running and lights on during dinner rush (which falls squarely within peak hours). Or a manufacturing plant that has production lines working continuously through the afternoon. These businesses will face higher electricity costs.

This is where energy storage comes in as a powerful solution.

 

3. What is Energy Storage and How Does It Work for Businesses?

Think of an Energy Storage System (ESS) for your business like a giant rechargeable battery. It's not just a small battery for your phone; these are powerful systems, often using advanced batteries like lithium-ion, that can store a lot of electricity.

How it works in simple terms:

1. Charging: The ESS gets charged up with electricity. This can happen in a few ways:
• From the electricity grid (TNB supply) during off-peak hours when the electricity is cheaper.
• From your own solar panels (if you have them) during the day when the sun is shining and they're producing extra power you might not immediately use.
2. Discharging: When you need electricity, or when the electricity from TNB becomes expensive (during peak hours), the ESS can release the stored electricity to power your building or machines.
3. Smart Control: Modern ESS come with smart control systems. These systems learn your energy use patterns and the ToU tariff schedule. They can automatically decide when to charge the battery and when to use the stored power to help you save the most money.

In essence, an ESS gives your business a way to "bank" electricity when it's cheap and use it when it's expensive, or when your own solar panels are producing it.

 

4. How Energy Storage Can Help You Beat the New Time-of-Use (ToU) Tariff

Now, let's get into the heart of How Energy Storage Can Help You Beat the New Time-of-Use (ToU) Tariff. Energy storage systems, especially Battery Energy Storage Systems (BESS), offer several key ways to lower your electricity bills under this new pricing structure:

A. Load Shifting / Energy Arbitrage

This is the primary way ESS helps with ToU tariffs.

• The Strategy: The idea is to buy electricity from the grid when it's cheapest (during off-peak hours) and store it in your battery. Then, when the electricity price goes up (during peak hours), you stop buying from TNB and use the cheaper electricity you've stored in your battery instead.
• Example:
• From 10:00 PM to 2:00 PM the next day (off-peak), electricity is cheaper. Your BESS can automatically charge itself from the grid during these hours.
• From 2:00 PM to 10:00 PM (peak hours), electricity is expensive. Instead of drawing power directly from TNB at the higher rate, your business uses the electricity stored in your BESS.
• Benefit: You effectively "shift" your energy consumption from expensive peak times to cheaper off-peak times, even if your actual operations don't change. This directly reduces your overall electricity costs.

B. Peak Shaving (Reducing Maximum Demand Charges)

For many commercial and industrial customers in Malaysia, a big part of their electricity bill isn't just about how much total energy they use, but also their Maximum Demand (MD). This is the highest point of electricity usage your business hits during a billing period, typically measured in kilowatts (kW) over a 30-minute period. TNB charges a separate fee based on this peak.

• The Problem: If all your heavy machinery or air conditioning kicks in at the same time during peak hours, your MD will spike, leading to a higher MD charge for the entire month.
• How Energy Storage Helps: An ESS can be programmed to "shave" these peaks.
• When your business's electricity demand starts to climb towards a high point, the BESS automatically kicks in and supplies power. This reduces the amount of electricity your business needs to draw from the TNB grid at that critical moment.
• By lowering your peak demand (MD) that you pull from TNB, you reduce the maximum demand charges on your bill.
• Benefit: This can lead to significant savings, as MD charges can be a substantial portion of a business's electricity bill. The BESS helps smooth out your electricity demand, avoiding costly spikes.

C. Maximizing Self-Consumption of Solar Energy

If your business has (or plans to install) solar panels, energy storage makes your solar investment even more valuable.

• The Problem with Solar Only: Solar panels produce most electricity during the middle of the day when the sun is strongest. However, your business might not use all that electricity exactly when it's being generated. Without storage, any excess solar power is sent back to the grid (and you might get a lower rate for it, or sometimes none if your export limits are met). Then, when the sun goes down or during peak hours, you have to buy expensive electricity from TNB.
• How Energy Storage Helps:
• During sunny hours, your solar panels generate electricity. Any power your business doesn't immediately use is sent to charge your BESS.
• Later in the day, especially during the 2 PM to 10 PM peak hours, when your solar production might be dropping (as the sun gets lower) but your demand is still high, you can use the stored solar energy from your BESS instead of buying from TNB.
• After the sun sets, or at night, you can continue to use the stored solar energy, further reducing your reliance on grid electricity.
• Benefit: This is called "maximizing self-consumption." It means you use more of the free, clean electricity you generate yourself, further reducing your electricity bill and making your business more independent from TNB's tariffs.

D. Backup Power During Outages

While not directly related to ToU tariffs, a significant added benefit of an ESS is providing backup power.

• The Benefit: If there's a power outage from TNB, your BESS can automatically switch over to supply electricity to your critical operations, preventing disruptions, downtime, and potential financial losses. This improves your business's resilience.

E. Enhanced Grid Resilience and Sustainability

• By managing your electricity use more smartly, your business contributes to a more stable and efficient national electricity grid.
• If your ESS is paired with solar, you further reduce your carbon footprint, helping Malaysia meet its climate goals and improving your company's environmental image.

 

5. Key Considerations for Implementing Energy Storage

While the benefits are clear, there are a few things to think about when considering an ESS:

• Initial Cost: Energy storage systems can be a significant investment upfront. However, prices are decreasing, and the long-term savings from ToU optimization and potential backup power can lead to a good return on investment (ROI).
• System Sizing: It's crucial to get the right size of ESS for your business. An energy expert will analyze your electricity consumption patterns, peak demand, and ToU tariff structure to recommend the optimal battery capacity.
• Integration with Solar (if applicable): If you have solar panels, ensure the ESS can be seamlessly integrated with your existing solar PV system to maximize efficiency.
• Maintenance and Safety: Like any major equipment, an ESS requires proper maintenance. Safety is also paramount, and reputable suppliers will ensure your system meets all relevant safety standards.
• Incentives and Financing: Look into any government incentives, grants, or green financing options available in Malaysia that could help offset the initial cost of an ESS.

In conclusion, Malaysia's expanded Time-of-Use (ToU) tariff, effective from July 2025, presents both a challenge and a significant opportunity for businesses to rethink their energy strategy. While the new peak and off-peak rates can lead to higher electricity bills for those with substantial weekday afternoon and evening operations, energy storage systems offer a powerful solution. This article has clearly demonstrated How Energy Storage Can Help You Beat the New Time-of-Use (ToU) Tariff by enabling "load shifting" (storing cheaper off-peak grid electricity for use during expensive peak hours), "peak shaving" (reducing costly maximum demand charges), and maximizing the "self-consumption" of self-generated solar energy. Beyond direct cost savings, an Energy Storage System (ESS) also provides crucial backup power, ensuring operational continuity and enhancing your business's overall resilience and sustainability profile. Investing in an ESS is not just about adapting to new tariffs; it's about gaining greater control over your energy costs, future-proofing your operations, and contributing to a greener energy future.

Are you ready to transform your electricity bill from a source of stress into a strategic advantage under Malaysia's new ToU tariff? Don't let peak hour charges eat into your profits. Implementing an intelligent Energy Storage System can unlock significant savings and provide peace of mind. We specialize in designing and deploying customized energy storage solutions that are perfectly tailored to your business's energy profile, helping you navigate the complexities of the new tariff structure and achieve true energy independence. Take control of your power costs today. WhatsApp or call us at 0133006284 for a personalized consultation on How Energy Storage Can Help You Beat the New Time-of-Use (ToU) Tariff.