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Living Energy · No. 9 | December 2013 6968 Living Energy · No. 9 | December 2013

Driving through Hong Kong with Richard Lancaster, CEO of the city’s largest electric utility, CLP Holdings Limited.

Text: Justus Krüger Photos: André Eichmann“Our Grid Is Pretty Smart”

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oing by car isn’t always the best option in Hong Kong. Traffic tends to be dense.

There are simply a lot of people in the road. That’s why most Hong Kongers prefer the subway. With 1.8 billion passenger rides a year, the city oper-ates one of the busiest metro net-works in the world. But sometimes you just need a car, especially when headed for locations that are not cov-ered by Hong Kong’s otherwise for-midable subway system. This is often the case for Richard Lancaster. He is on the road a lot to meet clients and business partners throughout the city. Even though for him driving is mostly a matter of convenience, he also likes cars – espe-cially electric ones. “So how does this feel for you?” he asks, as he pulls out from the garage under his office. “Like a real car?” It certainly does. “People often think that you can’t drive an electric vehicle up a hill,” he adds. “In fact, they fly uphill. They’ve really got a lot of power.”

The World’s Most Vertical CityPower is Lancaster’s business. He works as chief executive officer at CLP Holdings Limited, Hong Kong’s largest electric utility. The company is in charge of generating, transmit-ting, and distributing 80 percent of the city’s electricity. As one of the most densely populated spots on earth, Hong Kong is a uniquely chal-lenging place for a power utility. There is a severe scarcity of space within its borders. Moreover, Hong Kong is exposed to rough weather.

er outage would mean in a city like this?” says Lancaster. “It would mean that everybody would get stuck in their offices and apartments.” The city would simply stand still.

A Matter of SecondsAs Lancaster speaks, he is driving through Kowloon, one of the most densely populated parts of Hong Kong and consequently one of the most crowded places in the world. An endless stream of people is weaving in and out of the neon-studded high-rises that line the streets. Kowloon’s u

tropolis as there are in New York. Hong Kong’s streets are lined with nearly 8,000 high-rises. As a result, many Hong Kongers spend most of their time far above the ground. “This is really quite distinctive,” says Lancaster, as the car buzzes silently through the otherwise not so silent downtown Hong Kong. “More than half of the population in this town either live or work above the 15th floor” – more than in any other city. You might say Hong Kongers are the most airborne people in the world. “Can you imagine what a pow-

It is hot, it is extremely humid, and it is frequently exposed to heavy rain-falls, flooding, and tropical storms. Six to eight typhoons traverse the city every year. Naturally, they pose a dis-ruption risk for Hong Kong’s supply of electricity. CLP has the solutions for these chal-lenges – as it should, because Hong Kong is more dependent on a perfect flow of electricity than any other city. The reason for this is that Hong Kong is by far the most vertical city in the world. There are twice as many skyscrapers in the south Chinese me-

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Seen through the window of a car during a road trip, Hong Kong reveals itself as a city of stark contrasts: It has towering apartment blocks and packed streets full of neon signs as well as sleek skyscrapers and the odd quiet spot like this street corner in Kowloon.

“ A power outage in a city like this would mean that every-body would get stuck in their offi ces and apartments.”Richard Lancaster, CEO, CLP Holdings Limited

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population density is twice that of Manhattan. It is difficult to imagine that this city could ever stand still. In fact, it doesn’t, and one rea-son why it doesn’t is that CLP is doing an extraordinary job. Throughout all of last year, the com-pany’s average customer had their supply of electricity interrupted for all of 156 seconds. In most countries, even those that achieve very good re-sults, downtimes are not measured in seconds, but in tens of minutes. “In London and New York,” says Lancaster, “the rate is between 20 and 40 minutes.” Lancaster – he is 51 years old – was born and raised in Australia. An electrical engineer by training, he moved to Hong Kong in 1992 to join

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CLP. After more than 20 years, he does not think of himself as a for-eigner in Hong Kong. “The city is my home now,” he says. Hong Kong also remains CLP’s home, even though the company’s operations ex-tend far beyond the city limits to Mainland China, Thailand, Taiwan, India, and Australia. The company is headquartered in Kowloon, where CLP was founded in 1901. Life in Hong Kong then was moving at a pretty unhurried pace. It was only in the 1950s and 1960s that Hong Kong turned into the hyper-busy, vertical city that it is today. By the 1970s, Hong Kong had grown into a major industrial hub; in the following decades, it turned into one of Asia’s most important financial centers.

Smart Gear

Naturally, the demand for electricity skyrocketed during Hong Kong’s ur-ban expansion. CLP grew together with the city. Its history is tightly in-tertwined with that of Hong Kong. CLP knows the city’s needs and is well acquainted with its peculiarities. “The reason why we can supply such high availability is that we have planned for it,” says Lancaster. “The way we have configured our network means that we can supply substations from different routes. So for any single problem in our system, we will always have an alternative.”Naturally, the right choice of equip-ment is also of critical importance for CLP. Many of the components used in its network are made to the company’s own specifications. This implies long-term cooperation, and therefore CLP chooses its partners carefully.

Siemens is one of these partners, supplying much of CLP’s gas-insulated switchgear. Its advantages over con-ventional switchgear are especially important in the case of Hong Kong. Designed to withstand environmental factors such as dust, small animals, and high humidity, it is a perfect fit for Hong Kong’s subtropical climate. With its high degree of resilience to extreme weather events, it is also an important part of the city’s ability to ride out the typhoons that hit Hong Kong every year. Gas-insulated switchgear also takes up considerably less space than the conventional alternatives. In Hong Kong, this is essential. Large property developments have their transformer rooms on their premises, for example inside a high-rise. Hong Kong prop-erty prices are among the highest in the world. The less space CLP needs

Hong Kong is one of the most densely populated places on earth. Kowloon – CLP’s home – is packed even by Hong Kong standards. The population density in Kowloon is 50 percent higher than in Manhattan. One implication of this is that CLP needs equipment that saves space.

“ The reason why we can supply such high availability is that we have planned for it.”Richard Lancaster

As he is on the road a lot, the telephone is an important tool for Richard Lancaster to organize his itinerary. “Advanced switchgear works rather like a smartphone,” he says. “It has many capabilities added on to its basic functions.” These are designed to help CLP further to increase the city’s energy efficiency. At present, Hong Kong’s per capita consumption is comparable to that of Denmark.

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for transformer rooms in such build-ings, the better for its clients. “This is why we use very compact equipment,” says Lancaster. “This way, we are able to make the installations as small as possible without compromising safety.”

Cruising the CityLancaster’s road trips take him all around the city. It’s a lot of driving, but not a problem for his electric car. CLP

sumption,” says Lancaster. This helps CLP, because by leveling out spikes in power demand, the company can re-duce excess capacity that is only needed during short intervals at peak times. Naturally, this is also good for CLP’s customers, because it saves them money. Most importantly, making Hong Kong more energy-efficient is crucial for further improving the city’s ecological sustainability. Even now, per capita consumption is low in Hong Kong. “It is roughly on the same level as in Denmark,” says Lancaster. Advanced equipment plays an important role in lowering consumption even further. It’s a case where economic interest and ecological benefit are one and the same thing. “This is a situation where everybody wins,” says Lancaster as he pulls out his phone to check his itin-erary. “I think our grid is pretty smart,” he adds. Then he gets back into his car – electric, of course, and powered by CLP. p

Justus Krüger is a freelance journalist based in Hong Kong. He has written for the Financial Times Deutschland, GEO, the South China Morning Post, the Berliner Zeitung, and McK Wissen.

owns a fleet of roughly 100 electric and hybrid vehicles for use by its staff. Lancaster is looking to expand the fleet. “Fully charged,” he adds, “a car like this takes you three times across Hong Kong’s entire territory.” Today, however, the ride is restricted to Kowloon. Lancaster is on the way to a substation that is to service the new terminal for cruise ships in Kai Tak. The substation, equipped with Siemens gas-insulated switchgear, will service not only the cruise terminal, but also the ships themselves – rather like a charging station for electric cars. “The advantage is that the ships don’t need to keep their engines on while they are berthed,” says Lancaster. Large ves-sels consume a lot of oil. Moreover, the terminal is situated in downtown. So the “charging station” at Kai Tak is a major contribution to air quality in Hong Kong.

Like a SmartphoneAdvanced switchgear makes very sig-nificant contributions to the same ef-fect. “Even though, at the most ba-sic level, it works much like the switchgear in your house, it has many functions added on to it,” says Lancaster. “Rather like a smartphone: You can make calls with it just like with an old-fashioned telephone, but you can do many other things as well.”In the case of the equipment in CLP’s substations, the most important of these functions is the ability to collect information. “This means that we are able to advise our clients on how they can reduce their electricity con-

Hong Kong Energy

Per capita energy consumption: about 6,000 kWh

(USA: 12,000 kWh; Germany: 6,600 kWh)

Only 7% of electricity is consumed by industry – the city’s economy

is largely based on the service sector

Energy sources: Coal (54%), gas (23%), nuclear (23%)

CLP Holdings Limited

First power utility to introduce gas-fired generation in Hong Kong

Generates, transmits, and distributes about 80% of electricity

used in the city

Market player across Asia and beyond, including Mainland China, India,

Australia, and Thailand

Operates over 70 assets with combined capacity of over

21,000 MW

Richard Lancaster

Trained as an electrical engineer in the University of

New South Wales in Sydney, Australia

Joined CLP in Hong Kong in 1992

2010–2013: Managing Director at CLP Power Hong Kong Limited, in charge of CLP’s Hong Kong business

Since 2013: Chief Executive Officer at CLP Holdings

Limited, responsible for the group’s overall performance

Large, noisy, busy – Hong Kong is not a place for leisure. The city is moving fast.

The International Commerce Centre in Kowloon is the tallest building in Hong Kong. Its electricity is supplied by CLP. The substation on its premises is equipped with Siemens gas-insulated switchgear (GIS). GIS is by far more compact than conventional switchgear – an important consideration in Hong Kong, where property prices rank among the highest in the world.

CLP is pioneering the use of electric vehicles in Hong Kong. The company has installed an extensive network of charging stations in Kowloon and operates a fleet of about 100 electric and hybrid cars for its employees.