Hong Kong households to receive 1st instalment of HK$1,000 electricity subsidy in June
- Subsidy for offsetting billed electricity charges will be rolled out in 12 instalments, paper submitted to lawmakers says
- First round scheduled for June, officials say, with HK$80 credits to be distributed each month and HK$120 on final one
Eligible Hong Kong households will receive the first instalment of a HK$1,000 (US$128) government electricity charge subsidy as soon as June, authorities have said.
The subsidy will be distributed in 12 instalments to residents’ electricity accounts with either of the city’s two power companies. Subject to the Legislative Council’s approval of its financing, the first round will be rolled out in June at the earliest, according to a government paper submitted to lawmakers.
The allowance was among a raft of relief measures unveiled in Financial Secretary Paul Chan Mo-po’s budget announced in February.
“Specifically, we will credit HK$80 to each residential electricity account on the first day of each month for 11 consecutive months and HK$120 in the 12th month,” the Financial Services and the Treasury Bureau said in the paper.
The credits can only be used for offsetting billed charges for electricity consumed up to December 31, 2025, or the close of the account, whichever is earlier.
As with the established practice, the bureau said the expiry date of the past subsidy schemes will consistently be extended from December 31, 2024 to December 31, 2025.
