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The Hongkong Electric Company (HEC; ) is one of
Hong Kong Hong Kong)., Legally Hong Kong, China in international treaties and organizations. is a special administrative region of China. With 7.5 million residents in a territory, Hong Kong is the fourth most densely populated region in the wor ...
's two main electricity generation companies, the other being China Light & Power. The company is owned by several companies including Power Assets Holdings,
State Grid Corporation of China The State Grid Corporation of China (SGCC), commonly known as the State Grid, is a Chinese state-owned electric utility corporation. It is the largest utility company in the world. , State Grid is the world's third largest company overall by re ...
,
Cheung Kong Infrastructure Holdings CK Infrastructure Holdings Limited (CKI) is the largest publicly listed infrastructure company in Hong Kong with diversified investments in energy infrastructure, transportation Infrastructure, water Infrastructure and infrastructure related bu ...
and
Qatar Investment Authority The Qatar Investment Authority (QIA; ) is Qatar's sovereign wealth fund. The QIA was founded by the State of Qatar in 2005 to strengthen the country's economy by diversifying into new asset classes. In November 2024, the QIA had an estimated $526 ...
. It was the first company to provide electricity in
Hong Kong Hong Kong)., Legally Hong Kong, China in international treaties and organizations. is a special administrative region of China. With 7.5 million residents in a territory, Hong Kong is the fourth most densely populated region in the wor ...
, having run continually since the 19th century.


History

Following a meeting in 188_ of the Executive Council to discuss land reclamation,
Bendyshe Layton Bendyshe Layton (died 17 January 1918) was a British businessman and member of the Legislative Council of Hong Kong The Legislative Council of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, colloquially known as LegCo, is the Unicameralism, ...
suggested to Sir Catchick Paul Chater that Hong Kong acquire an electricity generator. Chater, who was to remain a director of the new Hongkong Electric Company for 37 years, took charge of raising finance for the project. The total capital of $300,000 was divided into 30,000 shares, half of which were offered to the public. As a result, the first power station in Hong Kong was secretly built on the site of an old graveyard in Star Street,
Wan Chai Wan Chai (Traditional Chinese characters, Chinese: 灣仔) is located in the western part of Wan Chai District on the northern shore of Hong Kong Island, Hong Kong. It is bounded by Canal Road, Hong Kong, Canal Road to the east, Arsenal St ...
. The plant was designed by electrical engineer William Wickham who subsequently remained its manager until 1910. At 6:00 p.m. on 1 December 1890, 50 street lights along
Queen's Road Central Queen's Road is a collection of roads along the northern coast of Hong Kong Island, in Hong Kong, within the limit of Victoria, Hong Kong, Victoria City. It was the first road in Hong Kong, constructed History of Hong Kong (1800s–1930s), by ...
, Battery Path and Upper Albert Road were switched on. p. 249 The lights failed on the second night then again one week later. Thereafter there were no further faults for 26 years. Street lighting was later extended west as far as Bonham Strand and
Caine Road Caine Road ( Chinese: 堅道) is a road running through Mid-Levels, Hong Kong. It connects Bonham Road to the west (at the junction with Hospital Road and Seymour Road), and Arbuthnot Road, Glenealy and Upper Albert Road to the east. The roa ...
then later along Queens Road East and Wanchai Road to Mission Hospital Hill (site of the present
Ruttonjee Hospital Ruttonjee Hospital is a district general hospital in Wan Chai on Hong Kong Island in Hong Kong. It is affiliated with the Li Ka Shing Faculty of Medicine, at the University of Hong Kong, and provides clinical attachment opportunities for the u ...
). In the 1890s, as electricity became popular, the first private houses were connected to the company's supply to power lights and fans. On the commercial front, a substation was built in 1898 to service the lifts of the new tall buildings mushrooming along the waterfront. By 1905 the company was supplying power for 15 lifts, thousands of lamps as well as for street lighting. The power grid was extended underground to
West Point The United States Military Academy (USMA), commonly known as West Point, is a United States service academies, United States service academy in West Point, New York that educates cadets for service as Officer_(armed_forces)#United_States, comm ...
then later to
Victoria Peak Victoria Peak ( zh, t=太平山, j=taai3 ping4 saan1) is a hill on the western half of Hong Kong Island. It is also known as Mount Austin, and locally as The Peak only generally. With an elevation of , it is the tallest hill on Hong Kong Isla ...
and
Shau Kei Wan Shau Kei Wan or Shaukiwan is a neighborhood in the Eastern District, Hong Kong, Eastern District of Hong Kong Island. The area is bordered by Chai Wan to the east, Mount Parker (Hong Kong), Mount Parker to the south, Sai Wan Ho to the west, and ...
. By 1916,
Aberdeen Aberdeen ( ; ; ) is a port city in North East Scotland, and is the List of towns and cities in Scotland by population, third most populous Cities of Scotland, Scottish city. Historically, Aberdeen was within the historic county of Aberdeensh ...
and
Ap Lei Chau Ap Lei Chau or Aberdeen Island is an island of Hong Kong, located off Hong Kong Island next to Aberdeen Harbour and Aberdeen Channel. It has an area of after land reclamation. Administratively it is part of the Southern District. Ap Lei ...
were also connected. One by one large organisations like
Dairy Farm Dairy farming is a class of agriculture for the long-term production of milk, which is processed (either on the farm or at a dairy plant, either of which may be called a dairy) for the eventual sale of a dairy product. Dairy farming has a h ...
, Taikoo Docks, the
Peak Tram The Peak Tram is a funicular railway in Hong Kong, which carries both tourists and residents to the upper levels of Hong Kong Island. Running from Garden Road Admiralty to Victoria Peak via the Mid-Levels, it provides the most direct route and o ...
and the
University of Hong Kong The University of Hong Kong (HKU) is a public research university in Pokfulam, Hong Kong. It was founded in 1887 as the Hong Kong College of Medicine for Chinese by the London Missionary Society and formally established as the University of ...
which had formerly generated their own supplies, switched to the company's supply. In 1924 there were 1,369 street lamps lit by gas with only 469 powered by electricity. However, by 1936, few gas lamps remained. During the
Japanese invasion of Hong Kong The Battle of Hong Kong (8–25 December 1941), also known as the Defence of Hong Kong and the Fall of Hong Kong, was one of the first battles of the Pacific War in World War II. On the same morning as the attack on Pearl Harbor, forces of the ...
in December 1941, a number of staff at the North Point power plant held the Japanese at bay in an epic defence. Casualties from the battle included the plant's manager Vincent Sorby, who died in a prison camp of wounds received during the attack. A second power plant was built in
North Point North Point is a mixed-use urban area in the Eastern District, Hong Kong, Eastern District of Hong Kong. Located in the northeastern part of Hong Kong Island, the area is named after a cape between Causeway Bay and Tsat Tsz Mui that projects ...
in 1919 and a third at Ap Lei Chau in 1968 which was decommissioned in 1989. Since 1990, all of HEC's electric generators have been situated at the
Lamma Power Station Lamma Power Station, informally known as Lamma Island Power Station, is a thermal power station and solar farm in Po Lo Tsui, Lamma Island, Hong Kong. With an installed capacity of 3,617 MW, the power station is the second largest coal-fired p ...
.
Hongkong Land Hongkong Land (HKL) is a property investment, management and development group with commercial and residential property interests across Asia. It owns and manages some 850,000 sq. m. of office and retail property in Asia, principally in Hong K ...
(HKL), which owned a 34% stake in the company, underwent a restructuring in January 1985 whereby it was forced to sell its stake in the company for HK$3 billion to reduce debt levels.Chito Santiago
HK Land came out better despite $375 million payout
Hong Kong Standard, 17 October 1985
The company is now controlled by
Li Ka-shing Sir Ka-shing Li (; born 29 July 1928) is a Hong Kong billionaire business magnate, investor, and philanthropist. He is the senior advisor for CK Hutchison Holdings and CK Asset Holdings, after he retired from the Chairman of the Board in May ...
's
Cheung Kong Holdings Cheung Kong (Holdings) Limited, is a multinational conglomerate, based in Hong Kong. It was one of Hong Kong's leading multi-national conglomerates. The company merged with its subsidiary Hutchison Whampoa on 3 June 2015, as part of a ma ...
as part of listed company Power Assets Holdings Limited, which before February 2011 was known as "Hongkong Electric Holdings Limited".


Power generation


Lamma Power Station

Lamma Power Station is a either (
coal Coal is a combustible black or brownish-black sedimentary rock, formed as rock strata called coal seams. Coal is mostly carbon with variable amounts of other Chemical element, elements, chiefly hydrogen, sulfur, oxygen, and nitrogen. Coal i ...
-fired, or
combined cycle A combined cycle power plant is an assembly of heat engines that work in tandem from the same source of heat, converting it into mechanical energy. On land, when used to make electricity the most common type is called a combined cycle gas turb ...
when used alongside
natural gas Natural gas (also fossil gas, methane gas, and gas) is a naturally occurring compound of gaseous hydrocarbons, primarily methane (95%), small amounts of higher alkanes, and traces of carbon dioxide and nitrogen, hydrogen sulfide and helium ...
). Built in 1982 as a coal-fired station, it was upgraded to in 1987 and to by 1989.Hongkong Electric Holdings Ltd. History
on fundinguniverse.com


Lamma Winds

Lamma Winds operates a
Nordex Nordex SE is a European company that designs, sells and manufactures wind turbines, founded in 1985 and headquartered in the German city of Rostock with production in Germany, Brazil, India, Mexico, Poland and Spain. According to the company, it ...
standard N50
wind turbine A wind turbine is a device that wind power, converts the kinetic energy of wind into electrical energy. , hundreds of thousands of list of most powerful wind turbines, large turbines, in installations known as wind farms, were generating over ...
with a rotor diameter of . Completed in 2006, the turbine is of stall-regulated, "horizontal axis" design and is mounted up-wind.


Solar power system

In July 2010, the company commissioned the largest commercial-scale solar power system in Hong Kong. Based on
amorphous silicon Amorphous silicon (a-Si) is the non-crystalline form of silicon used for solar cells and thin-film transistors in LCDs. Used as semiconductor material for a-Si solar cells, or thin-film silicon solar cells, it is deposited in thin films onto ...
thin film photovoltaic (TFPV) technology, the requisite
solar panel A solar panel is a device that converts sunlight into electricity by using photovoltaic (PV) cells. PV cells are made of materials that produce excited electrons when exposed to light. These electrons flow through a circuit and produce direct ...
s are located on the rooftops of the main building of Lamma Power Station. Power generated is fed directly to Hong Kong Electric's 380 V electrical grid via
solar inverter A solar inverter or photovoltaic (PV) inverter is a type of power inverter which converts the variable direct current (DC) output of a photovoltaic solar panel into a utility frequency alternating current (AC) that can be fed into a commercial ...
s, distribution boards and power transmission cables. All panels are set to face south to maximise power output and are inclined at an angle of 22 degrees. With an
installed capacity Nameplate capacity, also known as the rated capacity, nominal capacity, installed capacity, maximum effect or gross capacity,


Electricity tariff

Tariff for residential clients * https://www.hkelectric.com/zh/customer-services/billing-payment-electricity-tariffs/residential-tariff Tariff for non-residential clients * https://www.hkelectric.com/zh/customer-services/billing-payment-electricity-tariffs/non-residential-tariff


Closed plants

Most of the older power stations were closed as residential development began to surround them. As HEC was owned by a land developer, these properties were in turn re-developed into housing estates.


Wan Chai

Wan Chai Wan Chai (Traditional Chinese characters, Chinese: 灣仔) is located in the western part of Wan Chai District on the northern shore of Hong Kong Island, Hong Kong. It is bounded by Canal Road, Hong Kong, Canal Road to the east, Arsenal St ...
Power station was a coal-fired power station opened in 1890 and decommissioned in 1922. Built in the colonial architecture style, it was later demolished and is now the site of Art Deco residential flats at 31, Wing Fung Street.


North Point

The North Point Power Stations were a series of power stations built between 1919 and 1966. The site is now home to the City Garden residential flats and Maxim Mall. * North Point Power Station (A) - coal-fired generating station opened in 1919 to replace Wan Chai station and decommissioned in 1989 * North Point Power Station (B) - coal-fired generating station opened in 1958 and decommissioned in 1989 * North Point Power Station (C) - oil-fired generating station opened in 1966 and decommissioned 1989


Ap Lei Chau Power Station

Opened in 1968, the
Ap Lei Chau Power Station The Ap Lei Chau Power Station was an oil-fired power station in Ap Lei Chau, Hong Kong. History The power station was commissioned in 1968 and was the largest power station in British Hong Kong at that time. The power station was decommission ...
was a oil-fired generating station. The plant was decommissioned and its generators moved to Lamma Power Station between 1984 and 1989; HEC office tower and building is now surrounded by the
South Horizons South Horizons () is a Private housing estates in Hong Kong, private housing estate located in Aberdeen, Hong Kong, Aberdeen at the western end of Ap Lei Chau ( Aberdeen Island), in the Southern District, Hong Kong, Southern District of ...
housing estate, 34 towers built by
Hutchison Whampoa Hutchison Whampoa Limited (HWL) was an investment holding company based in Hong Kong. It was a Fortune Global 500 company and one of the largest companies listed on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange. HWL was an international corporation with a dive ...
.Industcards:


References


Further reading

*


External links

*{{official website, https://www.hkelectric.com/ Electric power companies of Hong Kong Companies formerly listed on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange Hong Kong Island Lamma Island Ap Lei Chau Po Toi Islands Hong Kong Electric