CEM: Electricity rates may decrease

Electricity rates may decrease as a result of the yuan’s devaluation, according to the chairman of Companhia de Electricidade de Macau’s (CEM) executive committee, Bernie Leong.
Speaking on the sidelines of yesterday’s CEM media lunch  at the JW Marriott Hotel Macau, Leong said the drop in rates could be introduced as soon as next month.
The electricity company’s investment plan for 2016 includes about MOP680 million to be used in major infrastructure projects such as the high-voltage substations at the Cotai Healthcare Complex, Hospital Conde S. Januário and the Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macau Bridge Island. CEM received MOP980 million from the government for its 2016 Annual Development Plan.
Leong also introduced the company’s future investment plan, adding that, “In light of the serious aging of some of the generators, CEM has been in negotiations with the Macau government to replace some obsolete and inefficient diesel power generation units with eco-friendly and efficient gas turbine units, which would be crucial for retaining Macau’s power generation capacity [in order] to increase Macau’s bargaining power [with suppliers] and boost the safety of Macau’s power supply.”
He also said that local authorities have approved a new Dispatch Centre project, which will be located at the Coloane Power Station.
The company’s total investment in 2015 amounted to approximately MOP960 million, of which MOP750 million was spent upgrading and expanding power transmission and distribution networks.
Power consumption in Macau continues to hit new highs, with a growth of 6.2 percent year-on-year. Over 81 percent of the region’s electricity was imported from the mainland, down 1.1 percent from 2014. CEM stressed that this was “the first ever negative growth” in terms of electricity importation. PB

Power-trading hubs in Beijing and Guangzhou

China’s two dominant electricity distributors will build power-trading platforms in Beijing and Guangzhou in a step toward electricity-market reform that will allow users to buy power directly from generators.
State Grid Corp. of China will run a trading center in Beijing and China Southern Power Grid Co. will start a hub in its home city of Guangzhou in the south, the National Development and Reform Commission said in a statement on its website yesterday. The two centers will provide a fair and transparent platform for users to negotiate and buy electricity directly from generators, it said.
Power is among the industries in President Xi Jinping’s reform drive to overhaul the nation’s bloated state-owned businesses and allow market forces to play a bigger role.