Kuala lumpur: Malaysia’s leading electricity utility, Tenaga Nasional Berhad (TNB), has received the ASEAN Innovation Business Platform (AIBP) Enterprise Innovation Award 2025 in the Data and Artificial Intelligence (AI) category for its groundbreaking AI-powered predictive maintenance initiative.
According to BERNAMA News Agency, TNB received the award at the 49th AIBP Conference last Wednesday, noting that the event is widely recognised as a regional benchmark for digital transformation, honouring organisations that deliver innovative, scalable, and high-impact solutions across ASEAN.
AIBP stated that TNB’s AI-powered predictive maintenance initiative transforms management of its extensive 11kV underground cable network, traditionally affected by numerous breakdowns annually. Successfully piloted in Selangor with over 80 per cent accuracy in predicting failures up to two years in advance, the project reduces cable failures by 15-20 per cent, significantly enhancing customer service reliability.
Senior leaders in asset management and analytics represented TNB at the ceremony, alongside prominent industry figures, including CyberSecurity Malaysia chief executive officer (CEO) Datuk Dr Amirudin Abdul Wahab, National AI Office CEO Shamsul Majid, and AIBP CEO Irza Fauzan Suprapto.
AIBP noted that there were over 100 nominated projects from both private and government-linked corporations in that category. Other finalists included major regional players such as Petronas, Genting, AirAsia, Sime Darby, and Allianz, highlighting the project’s regional competitiveness and innovation strength.
The winning project underwent a rigorous evaluation process conducted by an independent panel of experts spanning digital government, economic policy, enterprise technology, and global innovation sectors. Final presentations were held in May, with judging criteria focusing on impact, scalability, innovation, and value creation.
TNB’s in-house project, developed entirely by its Analytics Project Unit, applies advanced machine learning models to identify potential failure risks in the 11kV underground cable system. This enables earlier risk detection, improved maintenance scheduling, fewer unplanned outages and emergency repair costs, enhanced operational efficiency with prioritised critical infrastructure, and greater supply reliability, particularly in industrial and high-risk urban areas.
The project is TNB’s first internally built and fully deployed AI-based operational tool within its grid infrastructure, aligning with Malaysia’s Smart Utility 2030 roadmap, which emphasises grid digitisation, reliability, and sustainability. It successfully improved customer service reliability through proactive maintenance and represents a tangible example of how AI can be operationalised to deliver measurable outcomes within regulated critical infrastructure environments.
AIBP mentioned that the event was endorsed and supported by the Ministry of Digital, the Ministry of Investment, Trade and Industry, CyberSecurity Malaysia (CSM), and the Malaysian Industry-Government Group for High Technology (MIGHT). The AIBP Conference showcases advancements in Malaysia’s digital landscape while addressing the challenges faced by local enterprises and public service organisations in adopting digital transformation.