Local electricity bills will rise in September as both the city's two main power suppliers hike fuel adjustment charges.

CLP Power has set its fuel adjustment charge at 45.1 cents per unit of electricity for September, a marginal rise of 0.1 cent from August.

According to a company spokesperson, the adjustment primarily reflects shifts in actual fuel prices observed over the past three months.

To cushion the impact of these fluctuations, CLP is providing a three-month special fuel rebate from August through October.

The initiative offers a rebate of eight cents per unit of electricity to residential customers whose monthly consumption does not exceed 900 units – a threshold that covers roughly half of all residential households.

Following the rebate, qualifying customers will effectively pay a fuel charge of 37.1 cents per unit of electricity, which is lower than the level in January.

For a typical household consuming around 450 units per month, the rebate translates into savings of more than HK$100 over the three-month period.

Meanwhile, HK Electric has also adjusted its fuel clause charge (FCC) for September, raising it by 3.4 cents to 60.7 cents per unit.

The company explained that the increase is tied to the "deferred effect" built into the monthly FCC adjustment mechanism, meaning the current rate largely reflects fuel costs incurred between May and July of this year.

When combined with the basic tariff, HK Electric’s average net tariff for September stands at 188.6 cents per unit – a 1.8 percent increase compared with August.

To ease the burden on smaller households, HK Electric is offering a separate special electricity subsidy of eight cents per unit to customers using 450 units or less per month, also in effect from August to October.

For a household at that consumption level, the net monthly bill will rise by approximately HK$15.3 after accounting for the subsidy and the basic tariff.

HK Electric said spot prices for liquefied natural gas (LNG) have more than doubled since the start of geopolitical tensions earlier this year and continue to trend upward.

As fuel costs are gradually passed through via the FCC mechanism, consumers should expect the fuel adjustment charge to stay relatively elevated in the coming months.



Edited by Tony Sabine