First announced back in September, the implementation of the Solar Accelerated Transition Action Programme (ATAP) has been shifted to 2026. The delay was confirmed through a notice on the Energy Commission’s (ST) official website and social media channels.
The new solar programme for consumers is meant to replace the Net Energy Metering (NEM) initiative that expired in June this year. NEM was the underlying policy that determined how consumers were able to enjoy significant savings on their electricity bill when they installed a solar system at their home.
Under this policy, excess energy generated by the solar system is used to offset one’s electricity bill on a one-to-one basis. The registration for Solar ATAP was supposed to be opened to the public on 1 December, but it has now been moved to 1 January 2026.
The reason behind the delay was not mentioned in the announcement by ST, though. However, the agency did say that the Solar ATAP guideline is currently in the final stage of consultation and will be published on 31 December 2025.
Ministry of Energy Transition and Water Transformation (PETRA) has previously hinted that Solar ATAP will retain the fundamentals of NEM and Net Offset Virtual Aggregation (NOVA). This includes the usage of the energy offset principle and the marginal price system.
When NEM ended at the end of June, which was right at the time when the new electricity tariff structure was implemented, PETRA said that the existing arrangement remained the same for solar owners as per their NEM contract. The same also applies to those who are attached to the Malaysian Building Integrated Photovoltaic (MBIPV) programme.
For existing users whose offset period has ended, they were given the option to switch to any ongoing rooftop solar programmes, such as the Solar for Self-consumption Programme (SelCo) or the Community Renewable Energy Aggregation Mechanism (CREAM) programme. Alternatively, they can install energy storage systems or participate in any future solar programmes from the government if they are eligible.
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