Steering Hong Kong Motorists Towards a Low-Carbon Future

The Hong Kong Government is stepping up its support for electric vehicles with a subsidy scheme for charging infrastructure – and the city’s largest energy company, CLP Power, is helping drive the switch to green motoring with a one-stop support service called Eco Charge 2.0. – By Dr Anthony Lo

A quiet green evolution is taking place on the streets of Hong Kong as rising numbers of drivers make the switch to electric vehicles (EVs), reducing vehicle roadside emissions and helping to lower the city’s carbon footprint.

The number of EVs in Hong Kong has soared from less than 100 in 2010 to around 17,000 today, accounting for around 2.6 per cent of all cars in the city. But a long and winding road lies ahead before EVs become Hong Kong’s vehicles of choice.

With its limited driving distances and its high population density, Hong Kong is in many ways ideal for EVs. For drivers, however, one of the biggest hurdles to green motoring is finding convenient and reliable ways to recharge their vehicles. To accelerate the growth of EV driving and reduce roadside air pollution, the Hong Kong Government has launched a HK$2 billion EV-charging at Home Subsidy Scheme (EHSS), providing subsidies for Incorporated Owners (IO) or management offices to install EV charging-enabling infrastructure in private residential buildings.

According to the government’s estimation, the scheme is expected to fund the installation of charging facilities in around 60,000 parking spaces in private housing estates across Hong Kong over the next three years, which in turn encourages more people with driving needs to switch to EVs.

CLP Power Hong Kong Limited – a champion of EV driving which already provides a network of free EV charging points across the territory – is supporting the subsidy scheme with a service called Eco Charge 2.0 to help eligible applicants by facilitating their applications to the subsidy scheme.

A roadmap to easier EV motoring

Eco Charge 2.0 is a one-stop platform that provides technical support and customer service to help applicants get the charging facilities they need in place. It offers easy to remember 2-2-2 services:

- The owners’ corporation or management office applying for the subsidy can fill out a form and send it with supporting documents to CLP Power, which will then conduct a free preliminary assessment of the building’s power supply capacity and give a written report in around two weeks to support an application for government EHSS funding.

- CLP Power engineering staff will contact contractors or consultants appointed by the applicant within two days of receiving a power supply application and give advice on the work needed to the building’s power equipment and electricity network.

- When EV charging infrastructure is installed, individual motorists interested in installing chargers for their personal parking spaces can contact CLP Power. Upon request, engineers will contact applicants within two days to arrange site inspections and give technical advice on meter installation.

Eco Charge 2.0 has its own dedicated webpage (http:// clp.to/ecocharge2_en) with an easy-to-follow guide to applying for these technical assistance services.

Leading the green charge

CLP Power has been a pioneer of green motoring in Hong Kong since its early days, introducing the first EV to its fleet in 1984. It now operates a fleet of over 150 EVs including cars, trucks and coaches. To help drivers switch from diesel and petrol cars to EVs, the power company set up its first EV charger in 2009 and now provides a territory-wide network of 54 semi-quick and quick charging stations with a total of 161 chargers in Kowloon, the New Territories and Lantau.

The energy company has fully supported the growth of the city’s EV market by deploying power expertise in providing a stable and reliable electricity supply and conveniently located charging facilities for EV users. It is also acting as the focal point in Hong Kong’s EV ecosystem, offering EV users a comprehensive customer service package that delivers one-stop solutions to drive EV conversion and help transform Hong Kong into a low-carbon city.

Before the launch of Eco Charge 2.0, CLP Power offered technical advice and supported many EV owners to install private EV chargers in their own car parks, with EV drivers given the advantage of individual billing to record the exact power use of their EVs.

CLP Holdings is also the first Hong Kong company to join the global EV100 initiative run by The Climate Group, to commit to and promote green driving for a cleaner future.

Dr Anthony Lo Director of Corporate Customer Experience, CLP Power Hong Kong Limited CLP Power is the Hong Kong utility subsidiary wholly owned by CLP Holdings Limited, a company listed on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange and one of the largest investor-owned power businesses in Asia. It operates a vertically integrated electricity supply business in Hong Kong, and provides a highly reliable supply of electricity and excellent customer services to 6 million people.