Eligible Hong Kong households will get start receiving their year-long electricity subsidies this June. The subsidy will be divided into 12 installments – the first 11 will amount to HK$80 each, and the final one will be HK$120. The measure will cover 2.9 million households in Hong Kong and is estimated to cost the government HK$2.9 billion.
Financial Secretary Paul Chan announced the subsidy as part of the 2023-2024 budget in February this year. It will be distributed to either of Hong Kong’s two power companies – CLP Power and HK Electric – subject to the Legislative Council’s approving its financing. The proposed arrangement will be similar to the subsidies handed out in 2022-2023.
The Financial Services and the Treasury Bureau, which submitted the proposal to LegCo, said the expiry date of past subsidy schemes will be extended from December 31, 2024 to December 31, 2025. In addition, the credits from these schemes can only be used towards billed charges for electricity consumed up to December 31, 2025.
The electricity subsidy is part of a raft of relief measures included in this year’s budget, which also featured the 2023-2024 consumption voucher scheme by which Hong Kong residents and eligible non-residents will get e-vouchers to spend at retails and F&B outlets in the city.
The vouchers will be paid in two installments: the first on April 16 and the second on July 16. Hong Kong residents will get a total of HK$5,000 over the course of the year, while non-residents will receive HK$2,500.
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