New ST ESMP Guidelines 2026: 7 Actions Malaysian Electrical Teams Should Take Now
The short answer:Â Suruhanjaya Tenaga's 2026 Electrical Safety Management Plan guidelines turn electrical safety into a documented management system - not merely a collection of procedures, inspection reports and competent-person certificates.
For affected organisations, having an electrical safety policy is not enough. Management must be able to demonstrate how electrical risks are identified, who is responsible, whether workers and contractors are competent, how high-risk work is authorised, how emergencies are managed and whether corrective actions are actually completed.
For engineering and technical teams, the important question is: If ST reviewed your organisation's electrical safety system tomorrow, could you demonstrate that it is working?
What changed in 2026?
Suruhanjaya Tenaga published the Guidelines on the Electrical Safety Management Plan, GP/ST/No.63/2026, under the Electricity Supply Act 1990. The official guideline is available at https://www.st.gov.my/guidelines-electrical-safety-management-esmp.
The guideline establishes requirements for preparing and implementing an Electrical Safety Management Plan, or ESMP. It formally applies to licensees referred to under Section 33A of the Act and to persons intending to prepare an ESMP under the Act.
Organisations should confirm their precise legal obligations with ST or an appropriately qualified professional. However, the framework is also useful as a best-practice benchmark for factories, utilities, data centres, commercial buildings and facilities operating significant electrical infrastructure.
The guideline organises electrical safety around six key elements:
Policy and documentation
Organisation and competency
Planning and implementation
Risk-control measures
Performance evaluation
Corrective action and continual improvement
The message is clear: electrical safety must be planned, implemented, measured and improved - not left entirely to one competent person or maintenance department.
Seven actions for electrical and facility teams
1. Confirm whether the guideline applies to your organisation
The first action is not to start writing another safety manual. It is to establish the organisation's legal and operational position.
Management should identify the licences and electrical installations held by the organisation, which ST requirements apply, the person accountable for the ESMP, the electrical competent persons and contractors involved, existing electrical-safety procedures and records, and gaps between current practice and the 2026 guideline.
The guideline includes an ESMP preparation checklist. This provides a useful starting point for a documented gap assessment. Even organisations outside its formal scope can use the checklist to evaluate whether their electrical-safety system is sufficiently structured and auditable.
2. Make top management visibly accountable
The electrical safety policy should be verified and signed by top management, communicated in a language and format that employees understand, and maintained as controlled documented information.
Management is also expected to assign clear responsibilities, provide resources, establish an electrical-safety committee, review investigation reports and corrective actions, monitor safety performance and promote continual improvement.
The safety committee should include competent persons and employee representatives and meet at least twice a year. An ESMP therefore cannot be treated solely as an engineering-department document.
3. Review competency - not just certificates
A valid certificate is essential, but competency management extends beyond checking expiry dates.
The guideline expects organisations to ensure that employees and contractors exposed to electrical risks receive suitable training and information. Those performing electrical work must be able to identify hazards, apply safe working practices and respond correctly during an emergency.
Organisations should verify that registered competent persons and contractors work within their authorised categories, competent-person coverage is included in operational schedules, required inspections occur at the prescribed frequency, contractor competency is assessed before work begins, and training and certification records remain current.
4. Strengthen electrical-risk assessment and Management of Change
Electrical risks are not static. Equipment ages, loads increase, protection settings change and production lines are modified. Solar PV, battery storage, generators and automation systems may also be connected to installations originally designed for different operating conditions.
The ESMP guideline requires a systematic process to identify hazards, assess risks and determine appropriate controls. It also calls for a Management of Change process when changes to operations, equipment, processes or organisational arrangements could affect electrical safety.
Before implementing a significant change, teams should confirm that an electrical-risk assessment has been completed, fault levels and protection coordination have been reviewed, drawings and single-line diagrams are current, procedures are updated, approvals are obtained and affected workers are trained.
5. Treat Permit to Work as a control system
The guideline requires a documented Permit to Work system for high-risk electrical work.
A strong PTW system should demonstrate that work has been properly assessed, authorised by the correct person, isolated where necessary, communicated to everyone involved, monitored during execution, and formally closed or cancelled after completion.
The guideline states that a PTW should only be issued by a competent person after the required safety measures have been confirmed. A safety briefing should also be conducted before high-risk electrical work begins.
The permit itself is not the safety control. The value comes from the verification, communication and discipline surrounding it.
6. Prepare for electrical shock, fire and switching emergencies
An emergency plan should not stop at displaying telephone numbers beside a switchboard.
The guideline expects an Emergency Preparedness and Response Plan covering preparation, response and recovery for electrical emergencies. This includes electrical shock, fire, incident reporting and coordination with relevant authorities and emergency services.
Organisations should establish an Emergency Response Team with clearly assigned responsibilities. Where emergency electrical switching is required, an electrical competent person should be present.
Practical readiness includes accessible procedures, current emergency contacts, suitable rescue equipment, periodic drills, participation by employees and relevant contractors, and formal reviews following drills or actual incidents.
7. Measure performance and close corrective actions
The final test of an ESMP is whether electrical-safety performance improves.
Possible measurements include electrical incidents, lost-time injuries, compliance with training requirements, safety-inspection frequency and timely closure of corrective actions.
Incident statistics should be analysed, root causes identified and both short-term and long-term controls implemented. Organisations should conduct periodic internal audits and perform a management review at least once a year.
Repeated incidents or overdue corrective actions are warning signs that the management system is not functioning effectively.
A practical 30-day ESMP readiness plan
Week 1: Determine your position
Confirm applicability, appoint an ESMP owner and identify relevant licences, installations, competent persons and contractors.
Week 2: Conduct a gap assessment
Compare present practices with the six ESMP elements and ST's preparation checklist.
Week 3: Prioritise critical controls
Review high-risk work, PTW, competency coverage, emergency response, overdue inspections and outstanding corrective actions.
Week 4: Present the findings to management
Assign owners, budgets and completion dates. Establish measurable indicators and a schedule for audits and management reviews.
Common ESMP mistakes to avoid
Copying a generic safety policy without matching actual operations
Treating a certificate as complete evidence of competency
Excluding contractors from electrical-safety controls
Using PPE as the primary risk-control measure
Modifying equipment without a Management of Change review
Issuing permits without verifying isolation and site conditions
Conducting drills without recording lessons and corrective actions
Closing investigations without addressing underlying causes
Final engineering perspective
The strongest electrical-safety systems are not defined by the thickness of their manuals.
They are defined by whether engineers, technicians, competent persons, contractors and managers understand their responsibilities - and whether the organisation can demonstrate that critical controls are working.
ST's 2026 ESMP guideline provides Malaysian electrical teams with a timely opportunity to move from fragmented compliance activities to a structured, measurable and continuously improving safety-management system.
The right time to identify a weakness is during a review, inspection or training session - not after an electrical incident.
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Technical note:Â This article provides a professional overview for education and awareness. Organisations should refer to the complete ST guideline and obtain appropriate regulatory or professional advice for their specific installations.
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