}
3
6.
Mr Andrew So has again turned to the public
utilities and the Schemes of Control complaining that he
still suffers from a feeling of unease. He says that the
public is faced with higher charges and refers to price.
increases taking place almost everyday.
Mr So, of course,
realises that public utilities have to ad just their prices
in order to recover the cost of providing the particular
over But he should remember that
a
service in question.
two-year period some
increases have been so modest
that
Other
there has in fact been a decrease in real terms in the
prices charged by certain public utilities.
increases, whilst they may be large in percentage terms,
are very small in nominal terms because the base is
comparatively low. One cannot generalise.
7.
Mr So has suggested that there are no criteria
for the Government's decision as to which public utility
should be brought under a scheme of control or be granted
a franchise. In fact, I touched upon this in my answer to
his question in this Council on 6 February 1985 when I
pointed out that whilst some
A
utilities are not subject to
there is adequate
formal profit control schemes, there is
regulation through other methods.
Even where there is no
formal scheme of control, the Government can regulate
charges through a provision requiring that charges or
imposed by the public utility in question be approved by
the appropriate authority or, indeed, by this Council.
18.
Mr So