HK Electric Launches Total Deployment of Smart Meters

HK Electric will be deploying smart meters for customers from April 2020 to 2025. The smart meters and associated applications will provide customers with more consumption details, facilitating them to optimise energy use so that appropriate measures can be taken to save energy. The move will also help transform Hong Kong into a smart city.

Unveiling the Advanced Metering Infrastructure (AMI) scheme, Mr. Raymond Choi, General Manager (Customer Services) of HK Electric said that with encouraging results from previous pilot schemes on the smart meter, the Company has decided to launch the mass rollout next month. As a total of 580,000 customers will be involved, the scheme will be implemented by districts and in phases over the next six years.

The rollout schedule will be based on various factors including the locations of the existing meters, meter age, cost effectiveness of replacement works and supply reliability. During the first phase, HK Electric will install smart meters for customers in Quarry Bay, Chai Wan, Ap Lei Chau and Lamma Island (see appendix). Customers will be kept informed about the status of the plan as it progresses.

"HK Electric is committed to delivering excellent and reliable services to our customers. The deployment of smart meters will mark a new milestone in the improvement of our services," Mr. Choi said.

Mr. Choi explained that smart meters would provide customers with information on the overall energy usage as well as electricity consumption during a specific period of time which would help them use energy smartly and also help transform Hong Kong into a smarter and cleaner city.

As part of the AMI scheme, HK Electric will be providing customers with a range of digital services. Through an online platform or mobile app, customers will be able to access their energy consumption data that include energy consumption at half-hour intervals anytime they like. This could help them better understand their consumption habits and patterns, and by taking corresponding measures, optimise energy use.

The use of smart meters could also improve the efficiency in the Company's operations. The encrypted data on energy consumption would be transmitted to the company's data system safely and automatically via a wireless network. This would save manpower from doing manual meter reading for determining electricity bill payment and could also enhance data accuracy.

"HK Electric takes the protection of our customers' personal data very seriously. Data collected could only be accessed by the customers themselves or authorised persons," Mr. Choi stressed, adding that the Company would take all practicable and necessary measures to ensure the security and confidentiality of such information.

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Appendix: HK Electric Smart Meters Rollout Plan (Tentative)

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