Environment officials and the city's two power utilities have been spared from having to surrender information used to justify this year's tariff increases after lawmakers last night voted down a motion seeking to invoke their power and privileges to obtain the firms' books and documents.
Lawmakers who supported the motion said that without invoking the power to force disclosure the truth behind the tariff increases might never be fully understood, including whether the government carried out its due diligence study.
Those opposed to the move said it would hurt investor confidence and interfere with CLP Power and Hongkong Electric's business operations by pressing them to surrender sensitive information such as capital expenditure forecasts - which affect their permissible tariffs - and development plan details. The motion was shot down by lawmakers from the functional constituencies, even though it won support from the geographical constituency legislators.
An amended motion, tabled by Liberal Party legislator Vincent Fang Kang, to impose restrictions on disclosing sensitive commercial information when exercising the lawmakers' power, was also voted down.
CLP Power provoked public outrage after proposing a 9.2 per cent tariff rise for this year. Bowing to public pressure, it reduced that to 7.4 per cent and later to 4.7 per cent. Hongkong Electric also cut its original proposed increase, from 8 to 6.3 per cent.
The row was further escalated after Chief Executive Donald Tsang Yam-kuen opposed the tariff rise on his Facebook page, a comment that was 'liked' by almost 6,000 people.
Secretary for the Environment Edward Yau Tang-wah, apparently relieved after the two motions were voted down, questioned whether they had been necessary or helpful.