Guests chat before the roundtable starts.

Richard Lancaster, managing director of CLP Power Hong Kong Ltd, signs in before entering the venue.

Christine Loh, Under Secretary for the Environment, delivers a keynote speech.

Amid the rising societal concerns for air quality improvement, the city's major utility provider CLP Power Hong Kong Limited pledged that it is diversifying its energy mix further into other cleaner energy forms to help improve Hong Kong's air quality.

"We are developing the necessary infrastructure to bring more in natural gas as the company's energy mix. This is in line with the government policy of improving air quality," CLP Power Hong Kong Managing Director Richard Lancaster told China Daily on the sidelines of the roundtable event.

The electricity provider, which has completed two energy projects in 2012, is expected to improve air quality in the city.

The company has finished the construction of a 20 km undersea pipeline connecting the gas launching station in Dachan Island (Shenzhen) and gas receiving station in Black Point Power Station (Hong Kong) in 2012 that to help Hong Kong receive natural gas supply from the Second West-to-East Pipeline on the mainland. The completion would allow Hong Kong to gain access to a vast quantity of natural gas supply that is expected to help improve air quality and environment for Hong Kong.

"This is critically important for us to meet our emission target in 2015 through the adoption of more natural gas but less coal in our energy mix," Lancaster noted. "Natural gas flow from the pipeline is expected to commence in early this year."

CLP Holdings, the parent company of CLP Power Hong Kong, strived to increase natural gas supply so that its energy mix portfolio in Hong Kong would be met 40 percent by natural gas by the year 2020, according to the CLP Holdings 2010 Sustainability Report.

About half of the city's power is generated by coal-fired plant, with the other half being produced from gas or nuclear power.

Last year, CLP Power Hong Kong also completed a renewable energy project on Town Island in Hong Kong waters to help generate electricity supply in the island through the transmission of solar power and wind power.

Looking ahead, the utility company is also looking at making energy infrastructure enhancement for promoting more saving in energy consumption.

The company in the first half of 2013 will launch an Advanced Metering Infrastructure (AMI) pilot scheme to provide smart meters for 3,000 residential clients and 1,400 business customers to gauge their energy consumption habits.

"The smart meters can provide better information about our clients' energy usage and the meters, provided with tools and support, can work on how to change the energy consumption habits and behaviors of our clients. This can help achieve cost and energy savings for our clients and hence achieve environmental protection as well." Lancaster noted.

The commercial sector in Hong Kong generally accounts for 37 percent energy consumption in Hong Kong and is the largest energy consumption sector, followed by transportation (36 percent) and residential (19 percent), according to a World Wildlife Fund (WWF) report.

Looking forward, Lancaster said the government has mapped out a clear roadmap on how to deal with environmental issues particularly those related to air quality and climate change.

"This is very important for CLP to know (as) the government's clear timetable and roadmap will enable us to envisage and carry out early planning in the years ahead," Lancaster said.

"There has always room for improvement in air quality in Hong Kong," Lancaster added. "Improving air quality definitely is a high priority issue in Hong Kong."

oswald@chinadailyhk.com

(HK Edition 01/22/2013 page2)