Under the impact of the epidemic, people's lives have become more and more difficult. Even if they stay at home, they cannot escape the pressure of quietly increasing electricity bills.
Starting from this month, the two power companies will change their fuel costs on an actual reimbursement basis. After adjustment, they will be almost "on par" next month. Among them, CLP has increased the price by 6.2% compared with the beginning of the year, and HK Electric has soared by 50.5%.
Overall, CLP will increase the price per kWh to 1.313 yuan next month, which is about 1.9% higher than that in January; and HK Electric users will increase the price per kWh to 1.491 yuan, an increase of about 10%.
Based on the calculation of a three-person household with a monthly electricity consumption of 275 kWh, the monthly electricity bill of HK Electric users is about 38 yuan higher than that at the beginning of the year.
Some scholars have analyzed that CLP's part of its electricity comes from the Daya Bay Nuclear Power Plant, and the power generation scale is relatively large, so the increase in electricity bills is relatively small. It is also expected that due to the impact of the Russian-Ukrainian war, the fuel price in the coming quarter may still be at a high level.
▼On March 21, the government announced to relax social distancing measures as soon as April 20▼
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The electricity fee is composed of the basic electricity fee and the fuel price clause. The latter reflects the change of fuel price and is paid by the user to the power company in the form of actual reimbursement. Since this month, the two electricity companies have adjusted the fuel fee.
Electricity bills of CLP users are expected to increase by about 1.9% compared with the beginning of the year, while that of HK Electric users will increase by nearly 10%
The annual fuel adjustment fee for CLP customers is 38.6 sen and will be adjusted to 41 sen next month, an increase of about 6.2%.
CLP explained that the fuel cost per kWh of coal-fired electricity was 2.8 cents higher than the forecast, but the price of natural gas was 0.4 cents lower than expected. Therefore, the fuel cost for the month was adjusted to 2.4 cents per kWh, so the net electricity cost per kWh was 131.3 cents. cents, an increase of about 1.9% from the beginning of the year.
The annual fuel adjustment fee for HK Electric users is 27.3 cents, which will be significantly increased to 41.1 cents next month, slightly surpassing that of CLP. .
Electricity bills for three-person households will increase from a few yuan to tens of yuan
Taking a family of three people (with an average monthly electricity consumption of 275 kWh) as an estimate, the electricity bill of CLP users in January was 345.15 yuan, which increased to 352.69 yuan in April, and the electricity bill was overpaid by about 7.54 yuan (an increase of about 2.2%); The electricity bill for HK Electric users in January was 275.06 yuan, and in April they had to pay 37.95 yuan more, which increased to 313.01 yuan (an increase of about 13.8%).
The Budget proposes to provide each eligible residential account with a subsidy of $1,000 on electricity bills, with the first subsidy to be issued as soon as June this year.
(File photo / Photo by Zheng Zifeng)
Electricity subsidy as soon as June
However, the Budget proposes to provide each eligible residential account with a subsidy of $1,000 for electricity bills (for 11 consecutive months, $80 will be injected into the account on the first day of each month, and $120 will be injected into the account on the 12th month), the first The subsidy is expected to be paid in June.
The Government also launched the Electricity Charges Relief Scheme earlier, providing a monthly subsidy of $50 to residential electricity users for 60 consecutive months from January 2019, bringing the total subsidy to $130.
The Government stated that the subsidies provided under the new subsidy scheme will be deducted only after the unused subsidy under the previous subsidy scheme and the amount disbursed under the Electricity Charges Relief Scheme have been exhausted until the period expires.
Next month, CLP will increase the price per kWh to 1.313 yuan, which is about 1.9% higher than that of January; and HK Electric will increase the price per kWh to 1.491 yuan, about 10%.
(File photo / Photo by Liang Pengwei)
Scholars expect CLP to benefit from nuclear power to moderate electricity tariff increases
Former Energy Advisory Council member and associate professor of the Department of Finance and Decision-Making of Hong Kong Baptist University, Mak Cui Cai analyzed that the fuel costs of the two power plants are actually reimbursed, and part of the electricity of CLP comes from the Daya Bay Nuclear Power Plant. The price is relatively stable, and the scale of power generation is large, so The increase in electricity bills is relatively small; however, HK Electric's fuel mix is natural gas and coal, and its relatively small scale makes prices more susceptible to fluctuations.
Looking at HK Electric's fuel mix, as of the end of last year, natural gas came from Australia and Qatar, while coal came from Indonesia and Russia.
Mai Cui Cai analysis pointed out that due to the impact of the Russian-Ukrainian war, the fuel price in the coming season may still be at a high level.
(File photo/Photo by Zhang Haowei)
The Russian-Ukrainian war has caused fuel prices to soar. Mai Cui Cai: Hong Kong Electric has the opportunity to double the fuel cost
Mai Cui Cai said that natural gas and oil prices have soared recently, especially since the outbreak of the Russian-Ukrainian war. He believes that the 50% increase in HK Electric's fuel costs is not an exaggeration, and there is a chance that it will double, and the increase in European electricity bills is even more tenfold.
He explained that the natural gas source in Hong Kong is not a single source, and the fuel mix is diverse, while Europe relies on Russia for supply, so the impact is even greater.
Mak estimates that fuel prices may still be at a high level in the coming quarter, but whether it will continue to rise from the middle of the year to the end of the year will depend on whether the situation has deteriorated. Even if the war is ended, sanctions against Russia may continue, so that oil prices may not fall immediately.
However, if the international crude oil price is high, he believes that it may be profitable to encourage some regions to produce oil on their own, such as the United States, so the oil price may not be easy to reach a new high.
He also pointed out that the northern hemisphere with a large population uses more energy in winter, which drives up energy prices due to high demand, but relatively less in summer, prices may drop slightly.
▼On March 26, Hong Kong participated in Earth Hour▼
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