Briefs | Electricity usage has tripled in past 20 years

Electricity consumption in Macau is more than triple that of 20 years ago, revealed the Director of the Office for the Development of the Energy Sector (GDSE) according to a report by Macao Daily News. In 1999, the city’s total electric energy consumption was 1,672 GWh. In 2018, consumption reached 5,528 GWh. On average, annual electricity consumption has increased by 6.5% in the past two decades. Since 2005, the local government has been increasing the amount of electricity supplied from mainland China. In 2018, the local power generation capacity was 33% in the peak period. Local power generation mainly includes power-plant-generated electricity and about 3% of waste incineration power generation.

Fewer residents visited museums and world heritage sites

The number of local residents visiting museums or World Heritage sites dropped significantly this year, down by 14.4% year-on-year to 86,200, according to the Statistics and Census Service (DSEC), which cited the results of the “Survey on Participation of Residents in Cultural Activities” for the second quarter of 2019. Local residents visiting museums (61,000) and World Heritage sites (58,200) dropped by 12.4% and 12.6%, respectively. The main reasons for not visiting were “no interest” (65.3%) and “no time” (46%). Despite a fall in the number of local participants, the average number of visits edged up by 0.1% year-on-year. The number of local residents going to libraries increased by 4.6% year-on-year to 137,600. The rate of participation in activities rose by 1.1 percentage points to 30.5%.

Mainland man arrested for drug dealing

A 32-year-old mainland man has been arrested for dealing drugs in Macau, the Judiciary Police (PJ) said yesterday. The PJ found about 31.7 grams of cocaine on the suspect, in addition to MOP13,000 in cash and dismantling tools. The total black market price of the drugs is estimated at about MOP100,000. The PJ revealed that the suspect claimed he owed a gambling debt in mainland China and that he was later hired by a Hong Kong drug trafficking group to sell drugs in Macau on a daily salary of HKD1,500. The suspect further claimed that his Hong Kong employer used a mobile app to instruct him to deliver the drugs to designated locations in Macau. Five grams of cocaine was sold to frequent visitors of NAPE nightclubs.