CEM to select eligible buildings for electricity facility upgrade

The preparatory works of the Safety Upgrade Subsidy Program for Communal Electrical Installations in Low-rise Aging Buildings (Program), launched by the Companhia de Electricidade de Macau (CEM) are now underway, the public utility company disclosed yesterday.
During yesterday’s TDM radio program, Macau Forum, CEM revealed that it is now surveying around 3,000 old buildings in Macau to single out — through a rating system — those bearing potential safety hazards in their communal electricity systems.
The program, launched in early March 2021, is intended to subsidize concerned property owners to upgrade the time-worn communal electrical installations in the old buildings they are residing in.
The electrical capacity of outmoded communal electrical installations in some old buildings is not sufficient for modern use. The cases necessitate an upgrade, rather than just a renewal, in the system to rectify the chronic issues, Charles Leong, senior manager of CEM Customer Services Department, stressed during a media briefing yesterday.
“Yet upgrading warrants the submission of building plans, which will also require higher legal requirements [for the maintenance projects],” Leong said.
In each project, CEM will fund up to 80% of the overall project costs, whilst the remaining costs will be borne by the property owners.
“The maintenance cost incurred on each involved household is expected to not exceed MOP3,000,” Leong stressed.
According to a statement issued by CEM earlier, the program is projected to fund 150 to 200 buildings and benefit around 3,000 households.
Only resident buildings aged 30 years or above, that have no more than seven storeys and no lifts, and have not received any subsidies related to communal electrical installations from the Housing Bureau (IH) over the past three years, are eligible for the program.
The shareholders of CEM invested MOP30 million into the Program in 2020. CEM will commission third-party contractors to carry out the upgrade projects.
Previously, Macao Water also committed MOP10 million as subsidies for owners residing in buildings aged over 20 years to recondition their water facilities. Forced maintenance will be carried out if the project is not approved from two-thirds of the building’s dwellers.
However, Leong said the current operating contract does not give CEM the right to impose maintenance fees into the household’s electricity bills. As a result, the company cannot demand an enforced modernization project.
However, a member of the advisory council from the northern district Kou Ngon Fong warned that this is a “ticking-time-bomb” issue, and urged the government to amend the law to empower authorities to oversee the situation.
Some locals also voiced their concerns during the radio program, saying the worn-out electrical system would pose perils to residents, but there is no regulation in place to monitor and enforce the renovation.