Kolumnentitel
Kolumnentitel
“Our Grid
Is Pretty Smart”
68 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
Living Energy · No. 9 | December 2013
69
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G
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 operates one of the busiest metro networks in the world. But sometimes
you just need a car, especially when
headed for locations that are not covered by Hong Kong’s otherwise formidable 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 – especially 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 City
Power 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, transmitting, and distributing 80 percent of
the city’s electricity. As one of the
most densely populated spots on
earth, Hong Kong is a uniquely challenging place for a power utility.
There is a severe scarcity of space
within its borders. Moreover, Hong
Kong is exposed to rough weather.
70 Living Energy · No. 9 | December 2013
“A power outage in a city like
this would mean that everybody would get stuck in their
offices and apartments.”
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.
Richard Lancaster, CEO, CLP Holdings Limited
It is hot, it is extremely humid, and it
is frequently exposed to heavy rainfalls, flooding, and tropical storms.
Six to eight typhoons traverse the city
every year. Naturally, they pose a disruption risk for Hong Kong’s supply
of electricity.
CLP has the solutions for these challenges – 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-
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-
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 Seconds
As 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 highrises that line the streets. Kowloon’s u
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71
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“The reason why we
can supply such
high availability is
that we have
planned for it.”
Richard Lancaster
Kolumnentitel
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 reason why it doesn’t is that CLP is doing
an extraordinary job.
Throughout all of last year, the company’s average customer had their
supply of electricity interrupted for
all of 156 seconds. In most countries,
even those that achieve very good results, 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
CLP. After more than 20 years, he
does not think of himself as a foreigner in Hong Kong. “The city is
my home now,” he says. Hong Kong
also remains CLP’s home, even
though the company’s operations extend 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.
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.
Smart Gear
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.
72 Living Energy · No. 9 | December 2013
Naturally, the demand for electricity
skyrocketed during Hong Kong’s urban expansion. CLP grew together
with the city. Its history is tightly intertwined 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 equipment 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 longterm 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 conventional 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 property prices are among the highest in
the world. The less space CLP needs u
Living Energy · No. 9 | December 2013
73
Kolumnentitel
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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:
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.
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 vessels 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.
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
Like a Smartphone
for transformer rooms in such buildings, 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 City
Lancaster’s road trips take him all
around the city. It’s a lot of driving, but
not a problem for his electric car. CLP
74 Living Energy · No. 9 | December 2013
Advanced switchgear makes very significant contributions to the same effect. “Even though, at the most basic 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-
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.
Large, noisy, busy – Hong Kong is not a place for leisure. The city is
moving fast.
sumption,” says Lancaster. This helps
CLP, because by leveling out spikes in
power demand, the company can reduce 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 itinerary. “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.
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