KUALA LUMPUR (Sept 26): Amir Hamzah Azizan was appointed to the CEO post in Tenaga Nasional Bhd (TNB) in April last year, when the Pakatan Harapan government was still in power. Fast forward to September 2020, after a change of power at the federal level in February.

Against this background, Amir says TNB is staying the course of transformation — a move instituted by Yeo Bee Yin, during her stint helming the Ministry of Energy, Science, Technology, and Climate Change. Now under Perikatan Nasional, the ministry has been reverted back to the Ministry of Energy and Natural Resources and Ministry of Science, Technology and Innovation. 

Over the last one year, Amir has continued to lead the transformation of TNB, despite the current minister Datuk Dr Shamsul Anuar Nasarah having said that the government will relook at the recommendations made in the Malaysian Electricity Supply Industry 2.0 (MESI 2.0).

Why? After all, one of the recommendations under MESI2.0 is for TNB's generation and retail businesses to be separated into two different entities, wholly-owned by the group, which leaves the utility company open for scrutiny. 

"I think the current government is looking at how the pace of reform needs to be done in Malaysia, hence they are relooking at MESI 2.0. We are supportive to help the government think through this because at the end of the day, it is not something that we control," says Amir, during an exclusive interview with The Edge last Thursday. 

"But whatever it is, my obligation to TNB is that in whatever form MESI is, we are ready to do it. Hence, whether there was MESI 2.0 or not, we posited on GenCo and RetailCo because it was important for TNB to have a better control, a better focus of its generation and retail businesses," he says. 

So, what has Amir done at TNB over the last one year? What kind of reforms has he undertaken at the national utility company, and where is it heading? What is its growth story, given that more than 99% of households in the peninsula are already connected to the grid? What new business is TNB growing at the moment, leveraging its strengths? 

Find out in this week's cover story "Tenaga stays the course of transformation". 

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