LAND, PUBLIC WORKS AND UTILITIES
In May, the department announced its achievements against performance targets for the past year, declaring the results to be satisfactory. For the majority of the targets, the achievement rates were close to, or reached, 100 per cent. Enchanced performance targets were also publicised.
Electricity
Electricity is provided by two commercial companies - the Hongkong Electric Company Limited (HEC), which supplies Hong Kong Island and the neighbouring islands of Ap Lei Chau and Lamma; and China Light and Power Company Limited (CLP), which supplies the whole of Kowloon and the New Territories, including Lantau and a number of outlying islands. The supply to consumers is at 50Hz alternating current, while the voltage is being upgraded to 220 volts single phase and 380 volts three phase from 200 and 346 volts, respectively.
The two supply companies are investor-owned and do not operate on a franchise basis. The government monitors their financial arrangements and technical performance through mutually-agreed scheme of control agreements. New agreements with CLP and HEC came into effect on October 1, 1993 and January 1, 1994, respectively. Both will last for 15 years. The agreements require each company to seek the approval of the government for certain aspects of their financing plans, including projected tariff levels.
In 1985, the Hong Kong Nuclear Investment Company (a wholly-owned subsidiary of CLP) and the Guangdong Nuclear Investment Company (wholly-owned by the Chinese Ministry of Nuclear Industry) signed a joint venture contract for the formation of the Guangdong Nuclear Power Joint Venture Company, to construct and operate a nuclear power station at Daya Bay in Guangdong.
The Guangdong Nuclear Power Station comprises two 985MW pressurised water reactors. The two units were put into commercial operation in February and May 1994, respectively. About 70 per cent of the power from the station will be purchased by CLP to meet part of the longer-term demand for electricity in its area of supply.
The operations of the three generating companies affiliated to CLP — Peninsula Electric Power Company Limited (PEPCO), Kowloon Electricity Supply Company Limited (KESCO) and Castle Peak Power Company Limited (CAPCO)—were consolidated under CAPCO in April 1992. CAPCO's present generating facilities include the Tsing Yi 'A' (796MW), Tsing Yi 'B' (876MW), Castle Peak 'A' (1 752MW), Castle Peak 'B' (2 708MW) and Penny's Bay (300MW) power stations. The total installed capacity is 6 432MW. The government has also approved the installation by CLP of four 600MW blocks of additional generating capacity, the first two of which will be installed in a new power station at Black Point, Tuen Mun, in 1996 and 1997, respectively. The other two blocks will be commissioned within the periods 1998 to 2000 and 1999 to 2001. All will be fuelled by natural gas piped from the Yacheng 13-1 gas field off Hainan Island in China.
CAPCO is 60 per cent owned by Exxon Energy Limited and 40 per cent by CLP, while the associated transmission and distribution systems are wholly owned by CLP. CLP's transmission system operates at 400kV, 132kV and 66kV, and distribution is effected mainly at 33kV, 11kV and 380 volts.
CLP has more than 173 primary and over 7 916 secondary sub-stations in its transmission and distribution network.
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