Citizen walking across the CLP Group by Focus Story. (ParkerZheng/ChinaDaily)

Power giant CLP promised to keep electricity prices for 2021 at last year’s levels because the increase in the basic charge has been offset by lower fuel prices.

Hong Kong power prices consist of two components, a basic charge and a fuel clause surcharge, the latter of which is adjusted according to fuel costs. CLP announced an increase in its basic charge in November by 1.5 Hong Kong cents (0.19 US cents) per unit of electricity for 2021, but a drop in global oil and gas prices has allowed the Hong Kong-based electricity company to lower the fuel clause surcharge and maintain the overall rates for this year. Serving Kowloon, the New Territories and Lantau, CLP currently charges HK$1.218 per unit of electricity.

In coordination with Hong Kong Special Administrative Region Government’s environmental policy, the company said it will continue to maintain the level of around 50 percent gas-fired generation that was achieved in 2020 to reduce carbon emissions, but that strategy will weigh on the company’s fuel costs. “While supporting the government’s policies, we will monitor closely the fuel prices to minimize the impact of price fluctuations on our customers,” said Betty Yuen, group director and vice-chairman of CLP Power Hong Kong Ltd. The company will review electricity prices with the government at the end of this year.

CLP announced an increase in its basic charge in November by 1.5 Hong Kong cents (0.19 US cents) per unit of electricity for 2021, but a drop in global oil and gas prices has allowed the Hong Kong-based electricity company to lower the fuel clause surcharge and maintain the overall rates for this year. Serving Kowloon, the New Territories and Lantau, CLP currently charges HK$1.218 per unit of electricity

ALSO READ: CLP first-half net surges 26%

The household company saw its stocks advancing as much as 2 percent on Monday before closing up 1.45 percent at HK$73.25. The benchmark Hang Seng Index retreated by more than 1 percent after opening higher.

CLP said its net profit surged by 145 percent year-on-year to HK$11.46 billion in 2020 from 2019, when a goodwill impairment — paying more than the fair market value for assets — was booked in the Australian business. Its operating earnings for 2020 were up 4.1 percent compared with the same period last year.

The 120-year-old company also declared a fourth interim dividend for 2020 of HK$1.21 per share, a 1.7 percent year-on-year increase, adding that the total dividend per share for 2020 was HK$3.10, slightly higher than the previous year.

READ MORE: CLP earnings rise 11%

CLP said its overall electricity sales in Hong Kong amid the ongoing pandemic slid year-on-year by 0.9 percent in 2020, with commercial sector sales leading the drop. Limiting the loss, residential sector sales rose 9 percent as more people worked from home and the city had a hot summer. “The fall in sales would have been larger if demand from data centers had not continued to rise,” CLP added. The increased adoption of big data and cloud computing contributed to 3 percent in 2020’s total sales, the company said.

Looking into an overall Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area strategy, CLP said it will pursue opportunities in the emerging region with new-energy infrastructure and smart energy solutions as its priorities. In accordance with the central government’s plan to achieve carbon neutrality by 2060, CLP said it will continue to focus on developing low-carbon projects in the coming years.

The company’s operating earnings on the Chinese mainland for 2020 decreased by 1.9 percent year-on-year due to a weaker electricity demand affected by lower industrial activity as a result of COVID-19 in early 2020.