New | Hong Kong needs reserves of natural gas and more energy sources: lawmaker
Importing 30 per cent of the city's energy from the mainland would compromise Hong Kong's energy security, says Kenneth Leung
Hong Kong should hold reserves of natural gas to ensure a stable supply and cost if the government decides to boost domestic production from local sources.
Kenneth Leung, of the Professional Commons, warned that the government lacked a comprehensive energy policy and had not considered the importance of a long-term energy reserve despite recently drawing up plans for the future of the city’s energy supplies for public consultation.
Its consultation paper put forward two options, which boiled down to boosting local gas-fired generation capacity to 60 per cent or importing 30 per cent of the city’s energy needs from the mainland grid. The consultation, which drew 86,000 submissions, ended on June 18.
Leung said the natural gas option would offer Hong Kong more “energy autonomy and security”, while the option to tap the mainland power grid compromised the city’s energy security.
“We need to secure more than just one source to maintain our energy autonomy,” said Leung. “If natural-gas consumption goes up, importers will automatically find other suppliers and this will diversify our sources of energy supply.”
Leung said natural gas needed to be placed under the Reserved Commodities Ordinance to ensure stable supply in periods of shortages or price volatility.