Hongkong Electric
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| HongKong Electric | |
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| Type | Public company |
| Founded | 1890 |
| Headquarters | Hong Kong |
| Industry | Public Utility |
| Products | Electric service |
| Website | www.heh.com |
Hongkong Electric (traditional Chinese: 香港電燈集團有限公司; SEHK: 0006) is a vertically integrated electric utility company. It is the first company to provide electricity in Hong Kong. The service has been running in continuation since the 19th century.
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[edit] History
In 1890 the Hongkong Electric company went into production with help from Catchick Paul Chater as an informal member of the Executive Council[1]. The operation started on December 1, 1890 at 6:00pm and lighted the first electric streetlight in Central.
The first power station was established in Wan Chai and the second in North Point in 1919. The third was established in Ap Lei Chau in 1968 and decommissioned in 1989. Since 1990 all electric generators are situated at the Lamma Power Station[2]. One of the only source to document the earliest account of the construction, process and the finalizing of the electric power plant was in Austin Coates' book A Mountain of Light: the Story of the Hongkong Electric Company.
Hongkong Land, which owned a 34% stake in the company, underwent a painful restructuring in January 1985. HKL was forced to sell the stake for HK$3 billion to reduce debt levels[3]
The company is now controlled by Li Ka-shing's Cheung Kong Holdings.
[edit] Background
Today Hong Kong Electric is just one of the many suppliers of electricity in Hong Kong. Hong Kong Electric International Limited is the international arm of the company. The unit consists of:
- ETSA Utilities, Australia - acquired in 2000
- Powercor Australia, Australia - acquired in 2000
- CitiPower, Australia - acquired in 2002 and jointly owned by Cheung Kong International
- Ratchaburi Power Company Limited, Thailand - 25% stake with Ratchaburi Power Company
- Northern Gas Networks Limited, UK - 19.9% stake acquired in 2005
- Associated Technical Services Limited
[edit] Plants
- Lamma Power Station 250 MW (coal)
- Lamma Winds 800 kW (wind turbine)
[edit] Closed
- Wan Chai Power station - decommissioned 1989
- North Point Power Station (1919) - decommissioned 1989
- Ap Lei Chau Power Station (oil - 1968) - decommissioned 1989
[edit] References
- ^ Wiltshire, Trea. [First published 1987] (republished & reduced 2003). Old Hong Kong - Volume Two. Central, Hong Kong: Text Form Asia books Ltd. Page 11. ISBN Volume One 962-7283-60-6
- ^ Hec. Hec.com. Electricity Generation. Retrieved on 2007-04-26.
- ^ Chito Santiago, HK Land came out better despite $375 million payout, Hong Kong Standard, October 17, 1985
[edit] External links
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