15 September 2020, Macau

In order to increase the power supply capacity in the old districts and meet the growing power demand of merchants and residents, CEM and the Macau SAR Government have announced earlier that nine locations have been selected in Macau, Taipa and Coloane for building additional customer substations. Locations include Beco dos Faitiões, Largo do Aquino, a plot of land near no.14 Travessa do Cais, no.3 Travessa dos Mercadores, junction of Rua da Tercena and Travessa do Armazém Velho, Rua de Entre-Campos, Beco da Rosa, a plot of land opposite to no.35 Rua Correia da Silva in Taipa and the pedestrian area near Rua do Tassara in Coloane. Preparatory works for the project started in the first quarter of 2020. At present, the outdoor customer substation in Coloane has already been completed. The civil engineering works of 4-5 customer substations are expected to be completed within this year, while the rest are expected to be completed by the second quarter of 2021.

Macau has very limited land resources, particularly in the old districts. Most of the buildings are low-rise and generally covering small area, which lacks the conditions to build customer substation. The project of building nine additional customer substations in the old districts has received strong support from the Macau SAR Government as it could significantly boost power supply capacity in those areas.

In June and July this year, CEM has organized seminars for various resident associations and organizations as well as sent letters to the residents and merchants of the nine areas where the customer substations will be built to introduce the power supply optimization projects, in hopes that they will take the opportunity to plan for future power demand as early as possible, upgrade the customer power facilities and get equipped to increase the subscribed demand to meet their electricity consumption needs. So far, CEM has received more than 200 applications. More applications are expected to flow in after some of the property owners have concluded the discussions on upgrading building communal electrical installations.

Citizens have always believed that the difficulty in increasing subscribed demand in the old districts is due to insufficient power supply of the power network. In fact, the power network has fully fulfilled all applications of increasing subscribed demand since 2016. Upon receiving customers’ applications for increasing subscribed demand, CEM will analyze the power network first. If it involves network modification project, CEM needs to apply for road excavation for the distribution of power to the customer. Moreover, the situation is also subject to the condition of the customers’ communal electrical installations in the buildings. In many cases, there are hidden safety hazards due to the long-term lack of regular repairs and maintenance, thus the applications of increasing subscribed demand are often unable to proceed. As the communal electrical installations in buildings are jointly owned by property owners, they must examine and repair communal electrical installations in buildings regularly to ensure electrical and public safety. When potential risks of communal electrical installations in buildings are detected by CEM, notices will be posted in the buildings to remind property owners to repair the installations. In the last three years, CEM has issued over 300 notices and sent special reminding message on the electricity bill to over 20,000 property owners. CEM will also provide technical advice to customers when necessary.

As CEM will build nine customer substations in the old districts to increase the power supply capacity, a wide range of road excavation projects will be carried out in these districts and the nearby areas to optimize the power network. During the project, roads will be excavated for cable laying. The excavation work may cause inconvenience and CEM would appreciate the public’s understanding in this matter. CEM will keep communicating with relevant government departments and contractors of the projects to minimize the impact of the road works on the public. CEM will also put up notice in buildings and business establishments within the area of the projects in advance, in order to inform the public of the affected areas and duration of the projects and allow them to make necessary transport plan accordingly.