RAM Sustainability Sdn Bhd in collaboration with Monash University conducted this workshop for SB.This 4-day virtual workshop is an update and review exercise to the GDP forecast model used by Load Forecast unit of SB. The highlight of the update is the “Two Step Forecast Process”, where impact of Movement Control Order (MCO) is introduced to the forecast model. General overview of COVID-19 impact on the Malaysian economy was also presented during this workshop. The virtual sessions were attended by Load Forecast and Capacity Planning units of SB, Sabah Electricity Sdn Bhd (SESB) and ST. The instructors walked the participants through modelling theories and practical tools used in GDP forecasting. Participants were also trained to equip themselves with the skills to perform quantitative and qualitative forecasting where intuition and expert opinion is considered a critical component of forecasting. Day 1 began with an introduction on economics and analysis on the impact of COVID-19 to the economy. The instructors spent Day 2 and 3 presenting technical materials with a refresher on time series econometrics, forecasting software, and methods to forecast uncertainties of 2021, 2022 and beyond using the two-step process. Group presentations on GDP forecast were held on Day 4 where each group presented their GDP forecast results using the theories and methods taught in the workshop. It was interesting to see that each group came up with different GDP forecast results using the same quantitative method but with different qualitative forecasts.
