… country imports power worth Nu 2.53 billion

Dechen Dolkar

Bhutan earned Nu 230.94 million exporting surplus power from Basochhu plant for two months. 

The Basochhu hydropower plant began exporting its surplus power to the Indian Energy Exchange (IEX) from October 13, last year until November end.  

The Bashochhu plant successfully exported 40.27 million units (MU) of surplus energy.

The highest rate earned from the sale of Basochhu power in the Indian Power Exchange at Nu 10 per unit. The overall sale was made at the landed tariff of Nu. 5.73 per kWh.

The export will continue until May this year. However, from December 2023 to April 2024, there will be no export from Basochhu as Bhutan will have a deficit and will be importing from the IEX during this period.

The exchange operates similarly to a stock market for electricity, with both buyers and sellers.

The Market Clearing Price (MCP) is determined for the day ahead in 15-minute blocks based on prices bid into the market. As a result, tariffs could defer for every 15-minute block based on real-time supply and demand situations in the energy market. There is a market-clearing price cap of INR 10 a unit.

The country started importing energy from India in December. During the lean season, the country imported 591.96 MU of energy from IEX at a total cost of Nu 2.53 billion from December 1, 2023 to January 31, 2024.

According to the officials from Druk Green Power Corporation, there will be an increase in imports during the 2023-2024 period due to the increasing trend of domestic demand compared to the past.

The official said that for the 2023-2024 lean season, the projected demand is 1,517MU and the projected landed tariff for this season is expected to be in the range of Nu 4.12/kWh to Nu 6.48/kWh.

The total purchase for December 2023 was 254.82GWh.