(To watch the full media session with sign language interpretation, click here.)

Chief Executive John Lee today addressed concerns over the June 23 voltage dip incident and urged CLP Power to identify the root causes of the problem and make fundamental improvements.

He responded to such issues ahead of the Executive Council meeting this morning while fielding questions from the media about the power supply issue.

Mr Lee said: “The voltage dip incident that occurred on June 23 affected the stability of power supply in different areas in Kowloon and the New Territories.

“Although the preliminary investigation indicates that the cause of this voltage dip might be caused by unstable weather, CLP (Power Hong Kong) must quickly identify the actual cause of the incident.”

Apart from explaining that the Electrical & Mechanical Services Department (EMSD) has asked CLP to identify the cause of the power supply incident as soon as possible, formulate improvement plans, and submit a detailed report within four weeks, the Chief Executive noted that the EMSD has also formed a task force to follow up on the improvement plans.

“The Secretary for Environment & Ecology has asked CLP to enhance the capability of (the) power supply system as a whole to withstand the impact of inclement weather.

“The director of EMSD will follow up (on) the matter with CLP immediately with a view to reducing the risks brought about by the high frequency of thunderstorm warnings during these few months.

“I reiterate that a stable and reliable power supply system is important for the well-being of the people and also for our economic activities. It is necessary for CLP to identify the root causes of the problem (and) make fundamental improvements to reduce the chances of similar incidents (occurring) in the future.

“Some systems may have been running for a long time, so it is important that they are always well maintained, (and) that there will be a good system to ensure that periodic checks take place.”