Blackouts raise questions of power Outages in North America and London have added fuel to the debate about the future of Hong Kong's electricity system.

(From South China Morning Post)

Byline: Denise Tsang

Could it happen here? Recent power failures that paralysed the United States and London have fuelled a clash of opinions on what Hong Kong should do to ensure it does not. At its heart is a contentious debate on whether Hong Kong should follow other centres in deregulating its power sector and potentially jeopardise an almost perfect record of reliability.

Lawmakers are urging the government to investigate what Hong Kong can learn from overseas blunders. Proponents of change argue that overseas failures have little to do with Hong Kong's heavily built-out power industry, while the companies say that radical change risks power outages that a high-rise city like Hong Kong cannot tolerate.

David Dodwell, a consultant who advises the government through the Energy Advisory Committee, argues that Hong Kong should take heed from the US and London experience.

"The incidents highlight important issues such as …