You keep your grid supply. Under CREAM, TNB or another Electricity Utility Company (EUC) acts as supplier of last resort (SoLR) and covers any gap when the solar plant is not generating, whether at night, under cloud or during maintenance. You pay the LEGA for solar delivered and the EUC for the balance.
Key facts
- The EUC, for example TNB, acts as supplier of last resort for every CREAM consumer.
- Backup applies to night, cloud cover, maintenance and any stop in generation at the Local Community Solar Plant (LCSP).
- The consumer stays connected to the national grid throughout.
- You pay the LEGA for green electricity delivered and the EUC only for the remaining balance.
- The backup arrangement is the CREAMA, the agreement between the consumer and the EUC, which also facilitates the transfer of electricity.
Will I lose supply if the solar plant stops?
No. You stay connected to the national grid, and the EUC is obliged to supply you when the plant cannot (Energy Commission CREAM Guidelines). Power from the rooftop plant is delivered through the existing TNB distribution network, which the EUC manages, and your premises never disconnect from it. The EUC also reads the meters: the MLEGA at the plant and the MLGC at your premises. Solar is an additional source, not a replacement for grid supply.
What does supplier of last resort mean?
A supplier of last resort is the party obliged to supply you when your chosen source cannot. In CREAM that is the EUC, designated through the CREAMA, the backup supply agreement the consumer signs with it (Energy Commission CREAM Guidelines).
The triggers are ordinary ones. Solar generation falls after sunset and under heavy cloud, and plants stop for scheduled maintenance or faults. In each case the EUC supplies the load instead. The EUC is the holder of a licence from the Energy Commission under Section 9 of the Electricity Supply Act 1990 to distribute and supply electricity in Peninsular Malaysia, so it is an established operator rather than an applicant to the scheme.
How does billing work when solar and grid share the load?
You pay two parties for one supply. The LEGA bills the green electricity actually delivered, at the rate in your Bilateral Energy Supply Contract. The EUC bills the remaining balance, which is the electricity you used beyond what solar delivered.
| Situation | Who supplies | Who you pay |
|---|---|---|
| Midday, plant generating | LEGA, through the grid | LEGA for the solar; the LEGA pays the network charge (CAC) |
| Night or heavy cloud | EUC as supplier of last resort | EUC |
| Plant under maintenance | EUC as supplier of last resort | EUC |
How much of my power will the solar plant cover?
That depends on the plant, not on CREAM itself. A LEGA can contract with several consumers only up to the plant’s maximum registered export energy, so the solar share of your supply is capped by what the plant is registered to deliver and by how much it generates at the time.
Whatever solar does not cover comes from the EUC as the remaining balance. Ask the LEGA for the contracted volume in writing, and compare it with your own load profile so you know how much of your demand stays with the grid.
Is CREAM solar the same as having a battery?
No. CREAM does not store energy for you, and reliability comes from the grid, not from batteries. To ride through outages or shift solar into the evening peak, a battery energy storage system (BESS) behind your meter is a separate investment.
Factories weighing that option can read solar and BESS for Malaysian factories and adding a BESS to existing solar.
What should I check in the contract?
Read the Bilateral Energy Supply Contract for what happens to price and delivery obligations when the plant is offline, and ask how the LEGA reports outages and planned maintenance. Confirm that the CREAMA is in place before you rely on the arrangement.
Any Excess Energy, output above contracted demand, that the LEGA sells back through the New Enhanced Dispatch Arrangement (NEDA) earns a nominal rate such as 8 sen/kWh, carries no Community Access Charge and forfeits its green attributes to the Single Buyer, covered in our article on certificates and ESG reporting.
How ERS Energy helps
Plant reliability starts with engineering and commissioning, which is where ERS Energy works: 2 GWp+ installed and 2,000+ projects since 2009, under ISO 9001, 14001 and 45001. Our teams build and commission rooftop, commercial and utility-scale systems. See our commercial and industrial solar work and the CREAM overview.
Frequently asked questions
Do I pay extra to keep the grid as backup?
You pay the EUC for the electricity it supplies as the remaining balance. The sources show no separate standby fee for CREAM consumers; check your CREAMA for any fixed charges.
Does the plant stopping cause an outage?
No. The EUC is your backup supplier, so a stopped plant does not remove your grid connection. Outages on the wider network are a separate matter and would affect any grid customer equally.
Does CREAM guarantee 100% solar power?
No. Solar supplies power only while the plant generates, and the grid supplies the rest. CREAM reduces the grid-sourced share of your electricity rather than removing the grid.
Sources
Facts and figures may vary by the time you read this. This article is for general information only and is not financial, legal, tax or engineering advice. Always double-check key facts and figures with the relevant official source before relying on them.
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