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PUBLIC WORKS AND UTILITIES
Construction of a pumping station and pipeline to receive additional water from China was completed, and the construction of a new tunnel and pipeline system as a further development of the East River Scheme made good progress. Construction progressed satisfactorily on the new supply systems for the new towns of Sha Tin, Tuen Mun and Tsuen Wan, as well as Tsing Yi, and work also commenced to increase the supply to Sai Kung. On Hong Kong Island, works continued on the improvement of supplies to Pok Fu Lam, Stanley and Repulse Bay.
Detailed studies and monitoring to examine the safety of reservoirs continued and a programme of remedial works was implemented.
A new water tariff became effective on April 1, 1979, with a concessionary rate for large trade consumers satisfying certain consumption and water cost criteria. Preparatory work for implementing the first stage of phase two of the computerised water billing and in- formation system progressed steadily. Owing to the non-availability of computer time, the commencement of computerised billing for domestic and other consumers previously planned for the middle of 1979 was delayed to early 1980.
Electricity
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Hong Kong Island and the neighbouring islands of Ap Lei Chau and Lamma are supplied with electricity by the Hongkong Electric Company Limited while Kowloon and the New Territories - including Lantau and a number of outlying islands receive supplies from the China Light and Power Company Limited. The island of Cheung Chau is served by the Cheung Chau Electric Company Limited. The three companies are investor-owned and do not operate under franchise. However, the government does exercise a measure of control over the tariff charges and profits of the two main undertakings.
The Hongkong Electric Company's Ap Lei Chau power station has a generating capa- city of 936 megawatts (MW) following the commissioning of its eighth generating unit (125 MW) in 1979. Two more 125 MW units will be commissioned in 1980 and 1981. By 1981, the Ap Lei Chau power station will be fully developed and will have a total installed capacity of 1,186 MW.
Generation of electricity on the mainland is carried out by China Light and Power, Peninsula Electric Power Company Limited (PEPCO) and Kowloon Electricity Supply Company Limited (KESCO). Both PEPCO and KESCO are financed 60 per cent by Esso and 40 per cent by China Light. PEPCO owns power stations ‘A' (762 MW) and 'B' (800 MW) at Tsing Yi and Hok Un station 'C' (240 MW). KESCO owns a gas turbine unit (56 MW) at Hok Un which came into operation in September. The plants owned by PEPCO and KESCO are operated by China Light, which also has its own stations 'A' and 'B' (total 350 MW) at Hok Un and a number of diesel sets (total 6 MW).
The installed capacity of the Cheung Chau Electric Company is 8 MW.
Transmission is carried out at 132 kilovolts (kV), and 66 kV, while distribution is effected mainly at 33 kV, 11 kV and 346 volts. The supply is 50 hertz alternating current, normally at 200 volts single-phase or 346 volts three-phase. For bulk consumers, supply is available at 33 kV and 11 kV.
A power failure occurred in August which affected wide areas of Kowloon and the New Territories. The failure was caused by a malfunction at one of the Tsing Yi power stations resulting in a black-out which, in some areas, lasted more than 12 hours.
During the year an agreement was reached to establish an interconnection, through submarine cables, between the systems of China Light and Power and Hongkong Electric by April, 1981. The interconnection is expected to help to defer the need for tariff increases