North Point Power Station

North Point Power Station
Country	Hong Kong
Location	North Point
Status	Decommissioned
Construction began	1913
Commission date	1919
Decommission date	1978
Owner(s)	Hong Kong Electric
Thermal power station
Primary fuel	Coal
Secondary fuel	Town gas
Power generation
Nameplate capacity	34 MW (1966)

North Point Power Station (traditional Chinese: 北角發電廠; simplified Chinese: 北角发电厂; pinyin: Bĕijiăo Diànchăng) was a former power station in Hong Kong located on Electric Road in North Point and near Fortress Hill, to the west side of where the City Garden is now located, built to replace the inadequate Wan Chai Power Station. It was owned and operated by Hong Kong Electric.

North Point was chosen as the location for the new power station because at the time of construction it was a long way from the Hong Kong urban area of Victoria. The project began in 1913 but due to the outbreak of World War I the plant did not become operational until the summer of 1919.

On commissioning the plant had a total generating capacity of around 3 megawatts (4,000 hp). The road in front of the site was renamed Electric Road while the presence of the plant gave nearby "Power Street" (大強街) its name.

In 1941, during the Battle of Hong Kong just prior to the Japanese occupation of Hong Kong the plant was severely damaged during artillery and aerial bombardment. The battle of the North Point Power station occurred shortly after the Japanese troops landed on the North Point short and tried to push through towards Wan Chai. The plant was hastily defended by members of the Hong Kong Volunteer Defence Corps, Punjab Regiment and stragglers from the Middlesex Machine Gun unit in Hong Kong. The Power station was taken after fierce fighting, and a platoon of Hong Kong Volunteer Defence Corps Armoured Cars attempted a counter-attack. However, all the armoured cars received hits from Japanese artillery and armored weapons. All members of the platoon died except for a Lieutenant who managed to escape. Casualties from the battle included the plant's manager Vincent Sorby, who later died in a prison camp of wounds received during the attack. After the war, the plant was repaired and extended several times to cope with growing electricity demand in 1950s Hong Kong. By 1966 its output had reached 34 megawatts (46,000 hp).

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