GENERATING electricity will be more cost-effective when China Light & Power starts using natural gas at its Black Point Power Station.
The first of the eight generation units will be operational within the next couple of months, and consumers can expect a more cost-effective and environmentally-friendly process, CLP says.
The gas will be channelled from a gas field off Hainan Island in the South China Sea and connected to Hong Kong by a 778-kilometre pipeline after the onset of a purchase contract between CLP and a multi-national consortium in China.
Under the deal, 2.9 billion cubic metres of natural gas will be supplied to Hong Kong annually for 20 years.
CLP expects to fire up all the eight units by 2001 to cope with the territory's electricity demands, which are increasing at a rate of five per cent a year.
CLP spokesman Sandra Mak said consumers would eventually benefit from the cheaper fuel-generation process.
