Following a meeting in 188_ of the
Executive Council to discuss land reclamation,
Bendyshe Layton suggested to Sir Catchick Paul Chater that Hong Kong acquire an electricity generator. Chater, who was to remain a director of the new Hongkong Electric Company for 37 years, took charge of raising finance for the project. The total capital of $300,000 was divided into 30,000 shares, half of which were offered to the public. As a result, the first power station in Hong Kong was secretly built on the site of an old graveyard in
Star Street,
Wan Chai. The plant was designed by electrical engineer William Wickham who subsequently remained its manager until 1910. At 6:00 p.m. on 1 December 1890, 50 street lights along
Queen's Road Central,
Battery Path and
Upper Albert Road were switched on. The lights failed on the second night then again one week later. Thereafter there were no further faults for 26 years. Street lighting was later extended west as far as
Bonham Strand and
Caine Road then later along Queens Road East and Wanchai Road to Mission Hospital Hill (site of the present
Ruttonjee Hospital). In the 1890s, as electricity became popular, the first private houses were connected to the company's supply to power lights and fans. On the commercial front, a substation was built in 1898 to service the lifts of the new tall buildings mushrooming along the waterfront. By 1905 the company was supplying power for 15 lifts, thousands of lamps as well as for street lighting. The power grid was extended underground to
West Point then later to
Victoria Peak and
Shau Kei Wan. By 1916,
Aberdeen and
Ap Lei Chau were also connected. One by one large organisations like
Dairy Farm,
Taikoo Docks, the
Peak Tram and the
University of Hong Kong which had formerly generated their own supplies, switched to the company's supply. In 1924 there were 1,369 street lamps lit by gas with only 469 powered by electricity. However, by 1936, few gas lamps remained.
Hongkong Land (HKL), which owned a 34% stake in the company, underwent a restructuring in January 1985 whereby it was forced to sell its stake in the company for HK$3 billion to reduce debt levels. The company is now controlled by
Li Ka-shing's
Cheung Kong Holdings as part of listed company
Power Assets Holdings Limited, which before February 2011 was known as "Hongkong Electric Holdings Limited". ==Power generation==