Tenaga Nasional Berhad clinches three accolades at Asian Power Awards 2025

The company won the Information Technology Project of the Year - Malaysia, Innovative Power Technology of the Year - Malaysia, and Smart Grid Project of the Year - Malaysia accolades.

Electric utility company Tenaga Nasional Berhad (TNB) was honoured with three major wins at the Asian Power Awards 2025 for its Integrated Network Expansion Tool (i-NET) and its artificial intelligence (AI)-driven Predictive Maintenance (PdM) system. Together, these systems empower planners and engineers to conduct end-to-end network planning and predict underground cable failures before they occur through intelligent, automated analysis.

i-NET replaces manual, spreadsheet-based processes with a centralised, intelligent digital platform that supports over 300 planners and engineers across Malaysia in managing 11 kV and 33 kV network planning.

Designed to modernise the Distribution Annual Planning Cycle, the platform integrates key modules such as Load Forecasting, Load Disaggregation, and Distribution Network Master Planning. It features built-in validations, rule-based decision support, and real-time dashboards for improved efficiency, consistency, and transparency.

It also enforces standardised planning methodologies, aligns local tasks with national strategies, and acts as a single source of truth for network data. Whilst data cleansing remains manual, i-NET enhances visibility of raw inputs from SAP, GIS, and TNB’s Enterprise Data Lake, encouraging user ownership and collaboration. Its structured, audit-friendly framework has improved accuracy, fairness, and accountability in infrastructure planning.

In its success in streamlining TNB’s planning processes and fostering a data-driven culture, advancing grid modernisation, and supporting Malaysia’s long-term energy transition goals, i-NET has been awarded the Information Technology Project of the Year - Malaysia at the awards programme.

Improving grid reliability and maintenance

Meanwhile, TNB’s AI-driven PdM system uses a stacked ensemble machine learning architecture to forecast cable failures years in advance with up to 97% accuracy without the need for expensive condition-monitoring hardware.

By integrating historical maintenance records, environmental factors, and asset condition data, the system continuously learns from new inputs to refine its predictive capability. This enables engineers to identify emerging risks early, prioritise high-risk assets, and plan maintenance more efficiently, ultimately optimising resource allocation across the distribution network.

The system has achieved over 90% real-world prediction accuracy, reduced underground cable failures by 15% to 20%, and saved 3,600 kg of CO₂ through lower diesel generator use. It has also enhanced service reliability for critical customers and has proven vital in crisis response situations, generating actionable insights within hours.

At the same time, it has directly contributed to Malaysia’s Smart Grid Index performance, helping TNB rise from #46 globally in 2022 to #11 in 2024, reflecting greater operational digitisation.

“This project exemplifies dynamic, future-ready grid innovation. Built with flexibility in mind, it adapts to both routine and emergency situations, integrates seamlessly across business units, and is designed for scale,” the company said.

For the system’s success in smart utility innovation, TNB bagged the Innovative Power Technology of the Year - Malaysia and the Smart Grid Project of the Year - Malaysia titles.

The Asian Power Awards celebrates the innovative and groundbreaking projects and initiatives in the power sector. Dubbed as the “Oscars” of the power industry, the awards programme honours companies that have taken game-changing steps to meet the growing energy demand.

The Asian Power Awards is presented by Asian Power Magazine. To view the full list of winners, click here. If you want to join the 2026 awards programme and be acclaimed for your company's revolutionary innovations and initiatives in the water industry in Asia, please contact Danica Avila at [email protected].