OREANDA-NEWS. December 25 2014. HK Electric announced that the net tariff would be frozen for another year. All 560,000 HK Electric customers will enjoy the same net tariff in 2015 as in 2013, averaging at 134.9 cents per unit of electricity.

Addressing a meeting of the Legislative Council’s Economic Development Panel, Mr. Wan Chi-tin, Managing Director of HK Electric said he is delighted to have honoured the pledge of freezing the tariff for another year (see table below). He remarked that last year when HK Electric announced the 2014-2018 Five Year Development Plan, the net tariffs were forecast to remain unchanged for five years.

Mr. Wan pointed out that rises in material costs and operating expenses have resulted in the need to increase the basic tariff by 0.8 cents per unit of electricity to 102.6 cents in 2015. However, lower fuel clause charge as a result of a drop in fuel prices will fully offset the basic tariff increase, which in turn enables HK Electric to freeze the net tariff for the second consecutive year.

Mr. Wan stressed that HK Electric will strive to keep costs under control as it continues to provide customers with a highly reliable electricity supply and world-class services. “If we could freeze tariffs for the whole five-year period as planned, it would represent a marginal increase of only 5.9 per cent in HK Electric’s net tariff over the ten-year period from 2008 to 2018, far lower than the inflation rate during the same period. A lot still remains to be done before we could accomplish this remarkable achievement.”

In addition, the existing tariff structure will be maintained, as will the offer of the “Super Saver Discount” to encourage energy conservation. Domestic customers using no more than 100 units of electricity in any month will be given a 5% discount on their electricity bills. The concessionary tariff schemes to assist those in need will also enable eligible customers – the elderly, disabled, unemployed or single-parent families to continue to benefit from a 60% discount for the first 200 units each month together with a waiver in the deposit and minimum charge. Eligible families consuming 100 units a month will be charged only at the level of 35.5 cents per unit of electricity, far less than 88.6 cents for ordinary customers.

To help the community improve energy efficiency, HK Electric has launched the “Smart Power Fund” to subsidise residential buildings wishing to carry out energy efficiency enhancement works in public areas, and has injected five million dollars into the fund this year. So far 22 applications have been received out of which six have been approved by a vetting committee comprising representatives from various sectors and the Company. Improvement works include lift driving system replacement, public lighting and ventilation. Eligible buildings have until 2018 to apply for funding.