Mangdechhu Hydropower Project Authority (MHPA) in Trongsa generated revenue of Nu 11B until July 13 this year. The 720 MW project was commissioned in June last year and had projected an annual revenue of Nu 12B.
Unit 3 and Unit 4 of the project still have a month to complete its one-year, as the commercial operation of these units started only in August last year. By August end, the project management is expecting to fulfill its annual target of full power generation and sale.
The project’s four power-generating machines have so far harnessed about 2.7B units of electricity from its target of 3B units in a year. The electricity, which is exported to India, is sold at a tariff of INR 4.12 per unit. The tariff agreed between the two governments is the highest tariff set for hydropower plants in the country that export electricity to India.
The Joint Managing Director of MHPA, Chencho Tshering said initially they had some problems but now all the four units are operating well. “And today, we are generating about 792 MW which means we have achieved 720 MW capacity and plus 10 percent extra generation. So the project is now fully functioning as expected by the two governments of Bhutan and India,” he said.
Meanwhile, the project said some units of energy are lost during transmission of electricity from Mangdechhu to Jigmeling and then to Alipurduar in India, however it is below the highest acceptable loss limit of two percent.
Chief Finance Officer of MHPA, Sonam Wangdi said, “When we exported over a period of one year the average transmission loss was 1.3 to 1.5 percent.”
The project management also said more energy is generated during peak season, which starts in June and ends in September. However, during the lean season, power generation drops to as low as 90 MW.
The MHPA project was built with 70 percent loan and 30 percent grant from the Government of India. It is expected to take fifteen years for the project to clear the loan.
Passang
