Don't sacrifice energy autonomy: CLP chief
Mainland's natural-gas supplies to the city have already suffered several interruptions, reveals top executive at Hong Kong's biggest power firm
Hong Kong should hold on to its energy security and avoid becoming a burden to the mainland by importing power supplies, the city's largest power firm says.
The city produced more than three-quarters of its electricity needs, and CLP Power vice-chairwoman Betty Yuen So Siu-mai yesterday questioned if it was worth sacrificing "energy autonomy" under a government proposal to buy in more power.
Yuen said that just because the city relied on one or two sources for its natural gas, it was wrong to presume the city had already lost its domestic energy security. "We have been self-sufficient in energy for 100 years," she said. "I absolutely disagree with the suggestion that we have given up energy autonomy."
Yuen was addressing officials, energy specialists and an executive from the city's other power generator, HK Electric, at a Business and Professionals Alliance forum organised to discuss the city's future fuel mix.
The government has proposed two options to meet future energy demands: importing 30 per cent of electricity from the mainland grid, or building more gas-fired generators locally.
The mainland is the city's sole source of natural gas - a point cited to counter concerns that the import option would lead to over-reliance on the mainland.