Shape Up! It’s Time to Make Our Electricity Market Fitter
Electricity generation currently produces nearly 70 per cent of Hong Kong’s local carbon emissions. However the current regulatory arrangement with the power utilities does not prioritize either the reduction of the emissions produced by local electricity generation or a reduction of the electricity tariff. These barriers are slowing down Hong Kong’s ability to combat climate change.
The current Scheme of Control Agreements (SCAs) between the government and the utilities allows the power companies to create more profit by building new generation units. This leaves Hong Kong with a large electricity reserve margin – over 30 per cent. This means that we are moving away from the growing trend of energy saving. In addition, this out-dated agreement ignores the present advantages of renewable energy and does not encourage investment in related technology. As a result, our electricity market keeps growing in size and intensively emitting carbon, preventing Hong Kong from becoming an energy-efficient, low-carbon society.
2018 will see the expiry of the current SCAs. In the run-up to this date, the Environment Bureau kicked off a public consultation on the future development of our electricity market. The consultation results will influence both Hong Kong’s ability to combat climate change and the electricity tariff paid by Hong Kong citizens.
If you want to transform Hong Kong’s electricity market into one which is more climate friendly, sign the WWF petition linked here. Your letter will be sent to Environment Bureau (emr@enb.gov.hk). Submission deadline is 30 June 2015