CLP Eco Building Fund

The Fund will contribute towards improvement works for enhancing the energy efficiency of building services installations designated for communal use in the residential buildings and their nearby ancillary facilities under application.

The installations may include any of the following:

1. Lighting
2. Electrical (e.g. water pump)
3. Air-conditioning
4. Lift and escalator

Private residential buildings located within CLP's supply area and their nearby ancillary facilities (e.g. clubhouse) are eligible to apply for the Fund.

The following are not eligible to apply:

1. Buildings located outside CLP's supply area
2. Estates owned more than 50% by the Hong Kong Housing Authority or Hong Kong Housing Society
3. Government quarters
4. Applicant organisation or buildings that have previously received the Fund

Organisations eligible to apply for the Fund include:

1. Owners' Corporations registered under the Building Management Ordinance (Cap. 344)
2. Owners' organisations (e.g. Owners' Committee)
3. Residents' organisations (e.g. Mutual Aid Committee)

A property management company or a Qualified Service Provider can submit application on behalf of any of the above, with their authorization.

There are two application categories for the Fund:

1. Single Block – applications from single-block residential buildings.
2. Multiple Block – applications from estates or buildings comprising more than one residential block.

A higher proportion of the Fund will be allocated for Single Block applications, although this allotment may change in accordance with needs.

Priority will be given to the buildings fulfilling the following criteria:

1. Single-block residential buildings
2. Aged
3. Without ancillary facilities (e.g. clubhouse)
4. Have not previously received funding for similar purposes (e.g. from Buildings Energy Efficiency Funding Scheme offered by Government)
5. Conducted an energy audit or similar assessment / applied for “Comprehensive Scheme or Energy Use Aspect of Selective Scheme” under BEAM Plus Scheme
6. Projects with higher energy saving effectiveness

Sole owner of building is not eligible to apply.

If the owners of small house have established an Owners' Corporation, Owners' Organisation or Residents' Organisation, they are eligible to apply under the name of such organisation.

If funding has been granted for the same building or estate from the Fund, repeated application will not be accepted.

Funding will be granted to successful applicant organisation on a "50/50 matching" basis. In other words, the Fund will contribute 50% of the approved total actual expenditure of each project. Regardless of whether it is a Single Block or Multiple Block application, funding will be subject to a ceiling of HK$500,000 per building and HK$1,000,000 per application, to be disbursed as a reimbursement, i.e. the recipient organisation must settle payment on its own before seeking reimbursement from the CLP Eco Building Fund.

Effective from 13 February 2015, if the expenditure of the project (excluding the cost of engaging a Qualified Service Provider) is HK$100,000 or below, full subsidy will be provided to the cost of engaging a Qualified Service Provider, subject to a ceiling of HK$10,000 and approval from the Vetting Committee.

Under this funding scheme, no funding will be granted to cover the recurrent maintenance and operation costs of building services installations funded.

For the same project, applicant organisation can still apply for the Fund even though the project has been subsidized by other funding. But the amount of other funding will be deducted from the grant offered by the Fund.

Yes with full justifications. Such requests will be considered by the CLP Eco Building Fund Vetting Committee.

The applicant organisation should include the insurance policy expenditure in the project's estimate. The funding should be able to cover reasonable insurance premiums. CLP and the Vetting Committee shall bear no responsibility for any expenditure arising from the projects (including any claims for compensation); nor will any funding be provided under the funding scheme to cover such expenditure.

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For funding disbursement (Works, Qualified Service Provider (QSP) and Account Auditor where applicable), the following basic documents must be submitted for assessment –    

1. Price schedules of ALL tender returns；
2. Written declinations from the tenderers (if applicable)；
3. Records of meeting confirming acceptance of tender by the applicant；
4. Certified copy of invoices and receipts. [Note 1]
5. Applicant should check if the person-in-charge (PIC) has been changed；
6. Applicant should check if QSP's information has been submitted, including –
• Relevant information stated in the application form；
• Professional qualification documents。 [Note 2]
7. Clear site work completion photos.
8. According to the Guide to Application, the following information must be submitted for assessment – 
• (Clause 2.10.3) For applicant organisation which is not an Owners' Corporation, a signed certified copy of the Term Maintenance Contract or Agreement must be submitted within six months after completion of the project (minimum 3 years)；[Note 3]
• A completion report must be submitted in six months after completion of the project; (Clause 5.5) ；
• A statement of account audited by certified public accountant (practicing) if the project receiving a grant of more than HK$150,000.(Clause 5.6.3)

Notes:

1. The document shall be signed by either the PIC or Chairman of the applicant organisation；
2. QSP's professional qualifications shall satisfy the requirements as per clause 2.10.1 of the Guide to Application；
3. Only 12 months Defect Liability Period (DLP) services would be accepted. If the tender (sum) has included more than 12 months DLP services, the applicant shall request the contractor to provide the costs for the extra services. The extra cost would be deducted from disbursement.

Remark:
More relevant information can be submitted to facilitate the funding approval.

Funding will be disbursed on a reimbursement basis; that is to say, the recipient organisation must settle payment on its own before seeking reimbursement from the CLP Eco Building Fund. The recipient organisation may propose a disbursement plan for CLP's consideration. A maximum of 3 instalments will be allowed in addition to the final 10% payout.

Our fund will be disbursed on a reimbursement basis; that is to say, the recipient organisation must settle payment on its own before seeking reimbursement from the CLP Eco Building Fund.

The applicant organisation should fill in the proposed disbursement plan in the application form for consideration by the CLP Eco Building Fund Vetting Committee. Funds will be released according to the plan approved by the Vetting Committee. When applying for reimbursement, the recipient organisation should present supporting documents such as invoices and, if documents are sufficient, we will process the payout within about 45 working days.

The applicant organisation should engage a Qualified Service Provider to help submit the application and the Qualified Service Provider should be either -

1. a Registered Professional Engineer in the Building Services, Electrical, Mechanical or Environmental discipline registered under the Engineers' Registration Ordinance (cap. 409); or
2. a corporate member of the Hong Kong Institution of Engineers in the Building Services, Electrical, Mechanical or Environmental discipline, who has no less than 1 year's relevant post-qualification work experience (i.e. local work experience in engineering design, installation, commissioning, inspection, testing or maintenance of building services installations)

To set out in detail the full scope of the project, including justification of its cost-effectiveness; monitoring of the procurement of capital items, goods and services; supervision of the project; and certification of the completion reports, with particular regard to the completed works' compliance with their respective Building Energy Codes. The completion reports shall be submitted in the prescribed format.

The "Qualified Service Provider" must declare his / her relationship with the project contractor in the application form for the CLP Eco Building Fund Projects so that their relationship can be made clear.

If the property management company has already employed a "Qualified Service Provider", it is unlikely that the same service will be subsidised by the Fund.

Yes, the applicant organisation should provide information and documentary proofs of the "Qualified Service Provider" when submitting the application.

As engagement of “Qualified Service Provider” has cost implication, if it is proposed to have more than one “Qualified Service Provider”, full justifications should be given to CLP or the Eco Building Fund Vetting Committee for consideration. Approval from CLP or the Eco Building Fund Vetting Committee is required for switching “Qualified Service Provider” if the project is in progress.

It is the responsibility of the project contractors to purchase relevant insurances for the energy efficiency project and their employees. The applicant organisation should ensure that the project contractor can present those relevant insurance documents as document proof when requested by CLP or CLP Eco Building Fund Vetting Committee.

There is no requirement of minimum number of tenders for engaging "Qualified Service Provider" by the applicant organisation.

Either "Qualified Service Provider" or the applicant organisation can select project contractors to carry out the works by conducting tender exercise. But whoever conducts the tender exercise, the requirement of minimum number of tenders must be met.

Either consultant by consultancy service or the applicant organisation can select project contractors to carry out the works by conducting tender exercise. But whoever conducts the tender exercise, the requirement of minimum number of tenders must be met.

Any request for the change in funding must be approved by the CLP Eco Building Fund Vetting Committee with full justification. To avoid any unnecessary delay in the project, the applicant organisation should specify an adequate validity period in the tender document, for example at least six months.

Applicant organisations should make the best effort to fulfil this requirement. To avoid this situation, applicant organisations are advised to invite tender from more suppliers than the required number, and to send invitation letters to prospective suppliers in addition to posting newspapers for tender invitation. For example, when the applicant organisations are proceeding with the tendering procedures for the lift or escalator retrofit works, they may make reference to the Registered Lift and Escalator Contractors list published in the Electrical and Mechanical Services Department's website (http://www.emsd.gov.hk/emsd/eng/pps/le_pub_mpr.shtml) to select sufficient and appropriate suppliers for tender invitation. If the suppliers decide not to submit tender proposal, applicant organisations should obtain regret letters from the suppliers and provide to CLP as a proof, but subject to final approval by the CLP Eco Building Fund Vetting Committee.

If the applicant organisation wishes to select other bidder, who is among the bidders in the submitted list, full justification must be given to, and prior agreement obtained from, the Vetting Committee, either in Vetting Committee Meeting or via circulation, prior to selection of the other bidder.

If the applicant organisation wishes to select other bidder, who is not among the bidders in the submitted list, re-tendering and application re-submission are required. It is treated as a new application.

Nevertheless, during the application assessment, the amount of funding would be assessed based on the lowest bid of the energy saving parts irrespective of the bidder ultimately selected.

In that case, the recipient organisation should provide full justifications to the CLP Eco Building Fund Vetting Committee for consideration.

The aim of the Fund is to subsidise building owners in a open, fair and accountable manner. Against this background, we suggest not to include any brands or models in your application or other related documents.

Applicant organisation must complete the application form which can be downloaded from CLP Online website (www.clp.com.hk/EcoBuildingFund). The completed application form should be returned to the following address at least four months before the commencement of the project:

Business Strategy & Innovation
Customer & Business Development
CLP Power Hong Kong Limited
7/F, Sham Shui Po Centre
215 Fuk Wa Street
Sham Shui Po
Kowloon
(Application to CLP Eco Building Fund)

Yes, it is necessary to include the breakdown. Since the Fund is only granted to energy saving items, the CLP Eco Building Fund Vetting Committee has to assess the nature of each item to see if the item fulfil the objective of the Fund, and has the final judgement on the funding approval to each item.

Remark:

The prospective suppliers shall list out the unit costs and the number of units of each item with respect to the energy saving parts in their submitted bid for reference by the Vetting Committee in approving funding. If the submitted bid(s) does not list out the unit costs and number of units of each item with respect to the energy saving parts, it will be considered as invalid. Under this circumstance, if applicant organization selects the invalid bid(s), funding will not be granted.

Under the circumstances that all required documents have been submitted by applicant organisation, applicant organisation will normally be notified of the Vetting Committee's decision three months after submission of their application, depending on the Committee's schedule of meetings (usually held quarterly) and the balance of the CLP Eco Building Fund.

Yes, subject to approval of the CLP Eco Building Fund Vetting Committee and the funding may also be adjusted in the light of the revision.

Yes, subject to approval of the CLP Eco Building Fund Vetting Committee and the funding may also be adjusted in the light of the revision.

Normally, change in the composition of the recipient organisation will not affect the funding. But if the change results in a new person-in-charge for the project or affect the project schedule, approval from CLP or the CLP Eco Building Fund Vetting Committee is required for the funding to continue.

No, only hard copy of the completed application form is acceptable.

Buildings that have previously received the Fund are not eligible to apply for the Fund. However, a previously declined application may be resubmitted only if it has been revised substantially or if the applicant organisation has been able to produce new evidence to address the comments made by CLP or the Vetting Committee in its earlier review. In completing the application form for a resubmitted application, the applicant organisation must set out clearly the differences between the resubmitted application and the original one. The revised application will be treated as a new application, and will be subject to the same assessment procedures as set out in the "Guide to Application".

All applications will be handled by CLP while final approval will come from a Vetting Committee comprising various stakeholders from across the community who are committed to promoting energy efficiency.

Income derived from the project during the project period, including sales of output, fee generated from activities and interest income generated from cash in hand for the project, should be ploughed back into the project account.

No, we do not have any penalties for projects which fail to achieve the planned targets. Of course, the aim of our Fund is to save energy or reduce emission by encouraging wider use of energy-saving installations.