Doug Woodring

The recent debate over the proposed increases in electricity prices brings about an interesting dilemma for a crowded city like Hong Kong. In fact, if we care about the quality of air in this city, we should applaud the price increase. The price increase can be fairly easy to offset for those who are efficient in their power consumption. For those who care about Hong Kong’s environment, we should welcome the free market forces that Hong Kong rests its success on.

Hong Kong is one of the most inefficient cities in the world in terms of energy efficiency in buildings. Many property owners aggregate energy consumption into one monthly bill for the entire building, giving no incentive for tenants to save electricity. This needs to change. If and when it does, electricity consumption can be better monitored and managed so that those who adopt energy saving practices can benefit from doing so. It is also estimated that by reducing the temperature in air conditioning, each change in degree celsius can save three percent in overall electricity costs. Some quick and easy modifications such as lowering the overall temperature in buildings and open storefronts would nullify the proposed energy. Hopefully this can be the start of better pricing models that fairly charges those who use it most and ultimately acts to encourage habits of efficient use of electricity.

The cycle of income and expenses in Hong Kong is unsustainable. With employers keeping wages artificially low, the population is not able to bear the burden of inevitable price increases in commodities and services that are becoming more expensive to provide for this overpopulated planet. If we don’t start getting used to price adjustments now across the board (which includes wages), we will continue to see an ever increasing wealth gap in our society.

In a wealthy city like ours, we should not be afraid to make the change in fuel supply for the long-term benefit of our health. The last two years of government subsidies simply delayed the proposal of a raise in energy prices. The increase will allow for cleaner fuels to be used, while encouraging a decrease in the blatant amount of waste that our city is sadly known for.