Hong Kong’s CLP Power and HK Electric to cut charges by up to 16%
- Residential bills for CLP Power to be cut by 7.4 per cent while those for HK Electric by 16 per cent starting in January, compared with year ago
- Secretary for Environment and Ecology Tse Chin-wan says consumers should still brace for annual 2-3 per cent tariff increase in coming five-year period
Hong Kong’s two power companies will cut their charges by as much as 16 per cent next year after reaching an agreement with the government on adopting harsher punishment and special subsidies in the event of an electricity supply crisis, such as a natural disaster that causes prices to fluctuate.
The two firms last reduced overall charges in 2017.
Secretary for Environment and Ecology Tse Chin-wan said the two companies’ capital expenditure for the next five years would be lower than that of the previous five years, so consumers should still brace for an annual 2 to 3 per cent tariff increase in the coming five-year period.
“If global fuel prices remain stable, the future tariff increases will be 2 per cent at most annually,” he told a Legislative Council panel meeting.
CLP Power, which serves Kowloon, the New Territories and most outlying islands, said it would increase its basic tariff by 3.1 per cent to 96.6 HK cents (12 US cents) per kilowatt-hour after keeping the rate unchanged for three consecutive years.
But the company will decrease its fuel charge by 15.7 per cent to 46.3 cents per kWh. Taking into account an existing rebate, bills will be 7.4 per cent lower, at 142.9 cents beginning in January compared with the level at the start of the year.
