Supply more details for better debate on Hong Kong’s future energy mix
Edwin Lau welcomes government's neutral stance on power supply
The Environment Bureau has recently picked up what has been on hold since the completion of Hong Kong's Climate Change Strategy and Action Agenda consultation over three years ago.
At that time, it proposed a fuel mix with more natural gas and nuclear energy to lower the city's carbon intensity by 50 to 60 per cent by 2020 compared with 2005 levels.
One option is to import 30 per cent of our electricity supply from across the border; another is to increase the amount of natural gas to 60 per cent from the current 22 per cent
In 1998, the government commissioned consultants to study the local energy market. They recommended connecting the power grids and introducing competition to lower tariffs. But no action was taken; a concern about the power supply reliability of third parties was the "reason" given by the administration at the time.
Now the Environment Bureau has raised the issue again. One option is to import 30 per cent of our electricity supply from across the border; another is to increase the amount of natural gas to 60 per cent from the current 22 per cent.
It is difficult for anyone, even the experts, to judge which option would be environmentally and economically better, as well as in terms of reliability, as a lot of pertinent information is missing from the current consultation document. More work is needed by all stakeholders before any decision can be made.
The fact that neither option includes an increase in the amount of nuclear energy is probably due to public concerns about the risks of nuclear power. Some worry that connecting the grid with the mainland might pose stability and reliability issues for Hong Kong.
Such concerns are valid, especially if we recall the massive blackout in the US and Canada in the summer of 2003.