Govt extends unused electricity subsidy balances by one year to 2026

The government announced on Tuesday that unused balances under the Electricity Charges Subsidy Scheme and the 2024-25 Electricity Charges Relief Scheme will be extended by one year, remaining valid until December 31, 2026, instead of expiring on December 31, 2025.

A considerable number of households have not fully used their allocated subsidies or relief, leading to the extension.

All unused balances will automatically carry forward to offset future electricity charges in the same account until the new deadline or account closure, whichever occurs earlier.

These credits will continue to appear on bills for eligible accounts.

The government will monitor the situation and consider further extensions if appropriate.

This decision follows appeals from lawmakers Edward Lau Kwok-fan and incoming legislator Tam Chun-kwok, who jointly wrote to the Financial Services and the Treasury Bureau and the Environment and Ecology Bureau.

They urged authorities to prolong the validity of unused credits for at least one year, highlighting that the subsidy has been vital support for grassroots families, the elderly, and vulnerable groups over the past two years.

Many beneficiaries, through conscious energy conservation efforts, accumulated unused balances that would otherwise be forfeited upon the scheme's original end on December 31.

The lawmakers argued that extending the period would incur no additional government expenditure while sustaining incentives for energy saving and delivering continued relief to financially struggling households.

(Updated at 8.17pm)