Sinosky halts natural gas supply to CEM amid rising deficits

Hoi Chi Leong, the new head of the Office for the Development of the Energy Sector

The natural gas supply to Macau had still not resumed yesterday, as the MSAR government and Sinosky, the monopoly importer of gas to Macau, failed to reach a consensus over a supply dispute.
The government granted Sinosky a 15-year monopoly on the provision of natural gas in 2007. This has not stopped the sole importer from halting the supply, which it says is causing an increasingly large deficit for the company.
The company claims that it has accumulated losses of almost MOP180 million, because the selling price in Macau is below the price paid to import the gas.
TDM reported a short blackout in the Border Gate district on Wednesday morning, prompting the new head of the Office for the Development of the Energy Sector (GDSE), Hoi Chi Leong, to clarify that the supply to private household users has remained unaffected.
He said that only the natural gas intended for electricity generation by CEM has been disrupted.
Hoi is due to meet with CEM to discuss a solution to the current crisis, and to make Macau less reliant on electricity from mainland China by generating it locally at the electricity company.
“We have to ensure that Sinosky can supply gas for electricity generation in the long-term. It involves Macau’s entire electricity generation plan,” Hoi said.