
It’s the document that allows CLP to bring electricity into the homes of 2.65 million Hong Kong customers, and an agreement that played a key role in helping the city grow from a fishing port into a world-famous metropolis.
The Scheme of Control (SoC) agreement is a vital document that sets out the basis for CLP to do business and serves as a framework by which the government monitors CLP's financial, operational, and environmental performance.
For more than half a century now, it has ensured customers enjoy a safe, reliable supply of electricity at a reasonable price, while CLP is granted a regulated return in relation to the time and capital-intensive nature of its business.
First signed in 1964 between CLP, the Peninsula Electric Power Company Limited (PEPCO, later known as Castle Peak Power Company Limited or CAPCO), and the Hong Kong government, the agreement played a key role in making electricity services more within reach in the post-war era.
Suddenly, homes across the city were given access to affordable electricity, fuelling the city’s transformation from a fishing port to a booming metropolis and global financial hub.
Here is how the SoC agreement came into existence and what it means to us today.
This is the first in a series of articles examining some of the milestones in CLP’s 120-year history.