Natural gas nearly 50pct cheaper than LPG gas

2013-3-27

From：Macau Daily Times

Residents in the Sec Pai Van public housing estates and the University of Macau (in Hengqin) will be able to use natural gas, which is nearly fifty percent cheaper than LPG (liquefied petroleum gas), by the middle of this year, according to an announcement published in the Official Gazette. The price of natural gas is set at MOP 6.4 per cubic meter. The contract, which the government has signed with the gas provider, will allow the whole city to switch to the cheaper form of energy in around five years.
The government decided on the price of gas eight months after it had signed a twenty-five year natural gas supply agreement with Nam Kwong Natural Gas Co. Ltd., the energy branch under the Chinese Nam Kwong Group. At MOP 6.4 per cubic meter, the price for general household consumption was 51.7 percent of LPG gas, currently at around MOP 12.38 per cubic meter. However the price difference does not take into account for facility maintenance fees which amount to a maximum of MOP 20 each month. That said, even after calculating this fee, natural gas prices are still much more attractive than LPG. However, corporate users will pay under a different scheme, which will save them just 2 to 3 patacas compared to the same amount of LPG.
According to the authority’s announcement, the company has already laid gas supply infrastructure in UM’s Hengqin campus and in the Sec Pai Van public housing estates, which will be the first two districts to have access to the cheaper form of energy.  Natural gas will be available from the middle of this year at the earliest.
The contract Nam Kwong signed with the government requires the company to finish the pipeline network covering the entire city in five years. Nam Kwong said they would invest MOP 1 billion in the project, which will help fund the laying pipelines and building of a gas storage and supply center in Coloane.
The contract means that the city will have a centralized natural gas supply directed to all households in five years. The first three years will be spent building a pipeline in the Coloane and then Taipa districts. The peninsula district will be the final district to receive a pipeline and will not have a natural gas supply until around 2017.
To ensure the standards of service, the contract stipulates that a three percent discount of the monthly bill will be imposed on the supplier should supply be suspended three or more times in one year or if suspensions last for over twenty four hours in a year. A penalty of MOP 30,000 to MOP 1 million will be imposed on Nan Kwong depending on other violations or the gravity of each case. A termination of concession will be available to the government should the accumulative penalty add up to MOP 7.5 million.

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