Hong Kong's business sector accounts for more than 70% of the city's total power consumption, it is in everyone's interest for businesses to improve their energy efficiency which can reduce carbon emissions and create cleaner air for the society.
CLP Power Hong Kong Limited (CLP Power) has for years offered energy audit service to business customers, assessing their consumption and recommending energy improvement solutions. It has teamed up with a university for the first time to launch an energy audit internship programme to nurture a new generation of talent, and has also introduced drones to improve the effectiveness of audits.
In light of the growing demand for energy audits, CLP Power launched its first energy audit internship programme in partnership with the School of Energy and Environment at the City University of Hong Kong in the 2018/2019 academic year. Six students from the Bachelor of Engineering in Energy Science and Engineering worked under the mentorship of CLP Power experts, completing energy audits and providing energysaving solutions to 27 businesses and non-Government organisations over a period of in eight months. If these solutions are adopted, they will represent a potential savings of 7 GWh of electricity a year - equivalent to the annual energy consumption of around 1,700 households.
'An energy audit is like a medical check-up,' CLP Power Corporate Customer Experience Director Dr Anthony Lo said. 'We support our business customers by examining their energy facilities, identifying inefficiencies, and providing recommendations for improvement works. This helps reduce their operational costs and at the same time lowers energy use and carbon emissions.'
Student Ben Lee, who took part in the internship programme, said, 'Apart from examining facilities and collecting data, the most important thing I learned from this internship was to communicate and build trust with customers, so that we can make an accurate analysis and provide appropriate energy-saving advice.'
Having completed the internship, the students appreciated the opportunity to apply the theory learned in school into real life operations. By working with their CLP Power mentors, the students have raised their understanding on energy industry and earned valuable work experience, making them ready for the job market upon graduation.
An energy audit involves examining the performance of different types of energy facilities, including measuring room temperatures and checking equipment specifications and their consumption history. For facilities in high or narrow spaces, CLP Power engineers think outside the box and use drones to perform works such as carrying a thermometer to measure temperatures at hard-to-access air-conditioner vents, and observing the condition of facilities on external walls for a more comprehensive energy efficiency assessment.
CLP Power engineers provide customers with an energy-saving advice after each audit, ranging from making simple adjustments to the settings of air-conditioning systems forzero cost to more complicated, costlier large-scale improvement works such as the replacement of chillers. Customers who want to adopt the improvement works can apply to the CLP Eco Building Fund and the CLP Electrical Equipment Upgrade Scheme for subsidies.
CLP Power providesfree energy auditservice to its business customersthroughout the years. The potential savings from solutions adopted following energy audits this year is more than 48 GWh of electricity - equivalent to a reduction in carbon emissions of over 24,000 tonnes, or the amount of carbon dioxide removed from the atmosphere by around one million trees.
About CLP Power Hong Kong Limited
CLP Power Hong Kong Limited ('CLP Power') is the Hong Kong utility subsidiary wholly owned by CLP Holdings Limited, a company listed on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange and one of the largest investor-owned power businesses in Asia. CLP Power operates a vertically integrated electricity supply business in Hong Kong, and provides a highly reliable supply of electricity and excellent customer services to 6 million people in its supply area.
Contact:
Tel: (852) 2678 8111
Fax: (852) 2760 4448
Email: clpinfo@clp.com.hk
CLP HOLDINGS LIMITED 
