Electricity bills expected to peak in August

The head of the government's Energy Advisory Committee on Sunday said he expected electricity bills to be at their highest in August. Committee chairman Simon Wong made the remarks on a TVB programme. The city's power companies had earlier announced increases to electricity charges due to the impact of the Middle East conflict. Wong expects Hong Kong households will see their electricity bills rise starting from June, due to the overall rise in fuel costs. Since the conflict began in March, and fuel charges are calculated on a three-month average, costs are expected to peak later over the summer, he said. "In May, we are calculating the bill with the three-month average of January, February and March, so we haven't seen a hike yet, but we might face a price hike in June. We won't see a sudden surge due to the three-month average calculation. "Based on my calculation, electricity costs may reach a short-term peak in August. After that, costs might fluctuate at a high level, with a possibility of them easing slightly. "As we look at the international oil prices, prices rose to around US$120 per barrel then fell back to US$80, and have now climbed back to around US$100," Wong said. Wong also said businesses and the public do not need to worry about the end of the two-month diesel subsidy. Launched on April 30, diesel users can receive a subsidy of HK$3 per litre of diesel. Due to the fact that oil prices remain high, Wong believed the government would maintain the diesel subsidy once the two-month period was up. Edited by Tony Sabine