CLP electricity sales down for 1Q

CLP electricity sales for the first quarter in Hong Kong and Chinese mainland decreased by 8.9 percent to 6,891GWh.

Hong Kong electricity sales for the first three months were 6,137GWh, a decrease of 0.1 percent compared to the same period in 2008. China Light and Power Holdings Limited attributes warm weather in February contributed to the increase of 4.2 percent in sales to the Infrastructure & Public Services sector and 4 percent to the Commercial sector.

The decrease at 5.5 percent Residential Sales coincides with the lower number of public holidays in the first quarter of 2009, compared to 2008. Sales to Manufacturing sector declined at a faster rate of 18.6 percent as a result of the weaker domestic and international demand.

Against a higher base in the first quarter of 2008, CLP also announced that sales to Guangdong Power Grid Corporation dropped significantly. Together with a decline in electricity demand from Shekou, overall sales to the Chinese mainland decreased by 47.percent to 754GWh in the three-month period.