Hong Kong residents to pay up to 6.7% less for electricity in September

Hong Kong residents will pay a smaller electricity bill in September, with some having prices cut by up to 6.7 per cent compared with January, after the city’s two power companies adjusted fuel costs in response to global geopolitical tensions.

HK Electric, which supplies electricity to users on Hong Kong and Lamma islands, said on Monday that its customers would pay a bill in September with an average net tariff per kilowatt-hour that was 6.7 per cent lower than in January.

By comparison, customers of CLP Power, which serves Kowloon, the New Territories and some outlying islands, will pay 2.4 per cent less in September than in January, after the company’s monthly fuel cost fell 7.3 per cent to 42.9 HK cents (5 US cents) per kWh, according to its website.

CLP supplies electricity to more than 80 per cent of Hong Kong’s 7.5 million people.

Prices of natural gas and coal, the bulk of fuel resources used by HK Electric and some by CLP, declined in recent months from their peak at the beginning of this year, following trade tensions between the United States and other countries.

HK Electric said its monthly fuel charge for September would be reduced by 10.4 per cent to 32.9 HK cents per kWh from 36.7 cents in August. Compared with January, the reduction was greater still, at 25.4 per cent.

Despite the coming decrease in electricity tariffs, an HK Electric spokeswoman warned of possible volatility for the rest of this year.