Domestic sales increased by over Nu 1.6B while export sales decreased by Nu 2.6B
Hydropower generation saw a dip in the production of power by 25.71 million units between January and June this year as compared to the same period last year.
The overall generation was recorded at 3132.97 million units in the first six months of 2024 compared to 3158.5 million units of power in the same period of last year, according to the Royal Monetary Authority (RMA) report released in August this year.
The decrease in power generation is being attributed to the reduced production of power by six hydropower plants namely, Basochhu Hydropower Plant (BHP), Chhukha Hydropower Plant (CHP), Dagachhu Hydropower Corporation Limited (DHPCL), Kurichhu Hydropower Plant (KHP), Tala Hydropower Plant (THP), and Mangdechhu Hydropower Plant (MHP) in the months of January, February, May and June this year compared to the same period last year.
In the month of January this year, a total of 309 million units of power were generated while in the same period last year, 333 million units of power were generated.
Similarly in the month of February, a total of 264 million units of power were generated, while last year in February, the power generation was 265 million units.
In May this year, a total of 618 million units of power were generated while in the same period of last year, the power generation was 647 million units.
In June this year, the six hydropower plants produced about 1071 million units of power, down from 1131 million units of power last year.
Meanwhile, the total revenue from exports and domestic consumption of the power is about Nu 7.2B for the first six months of this year, which was about Nu 8.2B in the first six months of last year.
Export sales have decreased by almost 128% and domestic sales have increased by almost 31% compared to last year’s figures.
The country exported power worth around Nu 2B in the first half of this year, while around the same time last year, the country exported power worth around Nu 4B.
In the month of June this year, the country exported power worth around Nu 1.6B, while the country exported power worth around Nu 3.3B last year, a decrease by almost Nu 1.7B.
However, the revenue from the domestic sales has increased by almost Nu 1.6B this year in the first half as compared to the same month last year.
The increased in the domestic sales revenue is mainly attributed in the increased sales of the power in the month of April, May and June.
This year in the month of April, the domestic sale was worth Nu 1.1B while the same accounted for Nu 795 million (M) last year. Similarly, the domestic sales in the month of May and June this year was Nu 1.2B and 1.05B, respectively, and last year the domestic sales in the same month was about Nu 774M and Nu 307M.
By Sherab Dorji, Thimphu