LCQ4: Electric vehicle charging services in government car parks
8.5.2024

Following is a question by the Hon Luk Chung-hung and a written reply by the Secretary for Environment and Ecology, Mr Tse Chin-wan, in the Legislative Council today (May 8): Question: Fee-paying electric vehicle (EV) charging services (fee-paying charging services) in government car parks have been implemented progressively since December last year, with charging fees ranging from $19 to $21 per hour. However, there are views that the fees payable for fee-paying charging services are excessively high while the charging efficiency is unsatisfactory, and the arrangement of charging the fees on a time basis is also unreasonable. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council: (1) of the implementation timetable of fee-paying charging services in various government car parks that have yet to implement the services; (2) of the monthly utilization rate of the EV charging facilities in government car parks having implemented the fee-paying charging services since December last year; (3) of the following information on the EV charging facilities in government car parks at present: (i) the types and numbers of chargers of different charging speeds; and (ii) the monthly basic operating expenses of each EV charging facility; and (4) as there are views pointing out that the fees charged by EV charging stations in the market vary according to the power output of different chargers and are mostly calculated on the basis of power consumption while the fees charged by EV charging facilities in government car parks are based on the charging time, which are excessively high as a result, of the Government's pricing mechanism for fee-paying charging services; whether the Government will, by drawing reference from the market practice, consider adopting the mode of charging the fees based on the chargers' power output and power consumption; if so, of the details; if not, the reasons for that? Reply: President, The Government launched the Hong Kong Roadmap on Popularisation of Electric Vehicles (EVs) in 2021, setting out the target to marketise the EV charging services by starting to impose a fee on the EV charging services provided in government carparks from around 2025, with a view to promoting the sustainable development of the services in the long run. To expedite the process of marketisation, the Government has advanced the completion of the tendering and progressively proceeded with the marketisation of EV charging services in government carparks starting from the end of 2023. My reply to the question raised by Hon Luk Chung-hung is as follows: (1) Currently, various government departments (including the Environmental Protection Department (EPD)) are responsible for the management and operation of a total of 2 550 public EV chargers. Starting from the end of 2023, the EPD has progressively implemented fee-paying EV charging services for its over 1 600 medium chargers of seven kilowatt (kW) (involving 74 government carparks). As at the end of March 2024, the fee-paying EV charging services have been implemented in 54 government carparks, covering over 1 000 EV chargers. It is anticipated that the plan to marketise EV charging services in the remaining 20 government carparks will be completed by mid-2024. Other relevant government departments are responsible for the management and operation of over 900 public EV chargers, and are in the process of or considering marketising their EV charging services progressively. (2) The utilisation rates of chargers in government carparks are affected by various factors, such as the location and occupancy of carparks, the number of EVs, and the fee levels, etc. According to the data from the charging service operators, as in March 2024, the average utilisation rate of EV chargers in those government carparks where fee-paying EV charging services have been implemented is about seven per cent. As the marketisation of the EV charging services has just commenced, some of the government carparks have yet to implement fee-charging for their EV charging services. Together with the fact that the EV drivers are still adapting to the changes brought about by the marketisation of the EV charging services, the data collected at this stage merely reflects the short-term utilisation rates of the relevant charging facilities. The actual usage can only be reflected numerically after the implementation of the fee-paying EV charging services for a period of time. (3)(i) Currently, various government departments (including the EPD) are responsible for the management and operation of a total of 2 550 public EV chargers, including 560 standard chargers, 1 986 medium chargers and four quick chargers. (ii)The major operating expenditure incurred by the public EV chargers provided by the Government is electricity tariff. In 2023, over 1 600 EV public chargers were operated by the EPD, and their total electricity tariff of the year was around $21.7 million. The average monthly electricity tariff per each EV charger was around $1,100. (4) Currently, commercially operated EV charging stations in the markets have adopted different modes of charging based on their own business considerations, including time-based charging and energy-based charging. The fee-charging level also varies depending on factors such as the location and the time period of using the charging services, etc. The marketisation of EV charging services in the government carparks has commenced since the end of 2023. Currently, a time-based charging is being adopted with the hourly rates ranging from $19 to $21, which were determined by the operators taking into account the prevailing market rates of EV medium charging services in the same district. If the operators propose other charging modes in the future taking into account their business considerations and actual operations, the EPD will remain open to discuss with them the feasible modes of charging.