The Hong Kong and China Gas Company, also known as Towngas, said on Thursday that it has consulted the Environment and Ecology Bureau regarding its plans to raise its basic tariff by 4.4 percent to 1.25 HK cents per megajoule, effective August 1.
The increase is equivalent to a 3.9 percent increase in the average effective gas tariff, including the basic tariff and the fuel cost variation charge in 2025. The fixed monthly maintenance charge will increase by HK$1, bringing it to HK$11.
Meanwhile, Towngas has announced that the basic tariff and the monthly maintenance charge will not be subject to further adjustments for the next two years.
After the tariff adjustment, about 65 percent of Towngas’s residential customers will pay no more than HK$10 extra for their gas consumption each month, and about 50 percent of its commercial and industrial customers will pay less than HK$320 extra for their gas consumption each month.
Towngas said that operating expenses have increased over the past two years, with rising labor costs in the gas industry. In the coming years, the company will need to make substantial capital investments to maintain safe and reliable services and to supply gas to new development areas such as the Northern Metropolis. The total capital investment for 2026 and the next five years is expected to reach HK$13.1 billion. After fully considering customers' affordability, the company has made a modest tariff adjustment.
Towngas said it will continue to offer concessions to around 41,000 eligible elderly, disabled, low-income, and single-parent households. They will continue to enjoy a 50 percent discount on the first 500 MJ of gas usage per month, as well as exemptions on maintenance monthly fees and parts charges.
In addition, Towngas said it provides various forms of support to customers, including donating equipment such as smart controllers and multifunction thermo ventilators to families in need, as well as offering HK$50 million annually in sponsorship for small and medium-sized enterprises to upgrade energy-saving and green equipment.
Since October 2006, Towngas has introduced natural gas as one of the feedstocks for gas production, saving customers approximately HK$24.3 billion in fuel costs to date, with the full amount returned to users through the fuel cost adjustment mechanism. It said that although geopolitical tensions in recent years have brought uncertainty to international crude oil prices, the average real gas tariff in 2025 was only 15 percent higher than in September 2006, before natural gas was introduced, while the cumulative inflation rate over the same period was approximately 62 percent.
