(51) in CITA/MTG (60)

13th August 1999

The Hon. Fred LI Wah-ming
Chairman of the Bills Committee
Legislative Council
Legislative Council Building
8 Jackson Road
Central
Hong Kong

By post

Dear Mr. Li,
Electricity (Amendment) Bill 1999 and
Draft Electricity Supply Lines (Protection) Regulation

Thank you for your letter of the 29th July 1999, inviting views from our Authority on the draft Electricity Supply Lines (Protection) Regulation. We are pleased to confirm our total support of the content of the said Regulation, which define clearly the role to be played by a "competent person" and the duties to be performed by the parties concerned. The Regulation would certainly help to ensure the safety and continuity of electricity supply by protecting the underground cable and overhead electricity line in the vicinity of works site.

As a statutory training body serving the construction industry, this Authority would be happy to assist, and to complement the efforts of, the Government in achieving the objective of the Regulation by the provision of relevant training courses in this area.

Please be informed that this Authority has been offering a 14-hour part-time day-release course, namely "Detection of Underground Electricity Cables/Gas Pipes Course"since February 1999, with each class having a total of 10 trainees. As at the end of July 1999, a total of 56 persons completed this course already. This Authority is now offering a total of 120 training places for this part-time course each year; and in anticipation of the imminent legislative requirement, we would be ready to suitably expand the training capacity of this course if there is such a demand. For your information, this Authority will have the resources to offer a maximum of 400 training places for the said course each year if required. Should you require any assistance, please feel free to contact me.

Thank you and regards,

Yours faithfully,

____________________
Y.C. Tong
Executive Director

c.c. Mr. Chan Ka-Kui, Chairman

YCT/SYL/cc