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CONTENTS
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Chukha Hydro Power Corporation (CHPC)
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Project
Details
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News Articles on CHPC
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Chukha Agreement with
the Government of India
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Photographs:
Dam and Turbine photos
1.
Chukha Hydro Power Corporation (CHPC)
The current
operational -
Chukha Hydropower Corporation (CHPC)
was entirely
funded by the Government of India.
The construction of the Chukha
Hydroelectric plant was started in 1978. It was successfully commissioned in 1988.
India constructed the
336 mega watt
CHPC- Bhutan’s first mega power project on a turnkey basis. On
completion, the project cost was estimated at NU/IRS 2,460
million ( then approximately US $ 200 million). India provided a 60 percent grants and
40 percent loan at 5 percent per annum repayable in 15 years in equated
annual instalments, the first repayment commencing 3 years after
each withdrawal of the loan. (Nu is short form of
Bhutanese currency Ngultrum. IRS is short from for Indian Rupees.
The value of NU is at par with IRS)
The CHPC has a 40 metre (130 ft.) high diversion
dam, located about 1.60 km upstream of the point of confluence of
Ti-Chu ( river) with Wong Chu (river) where the river bed lies at +
1689 metre having maximum pond level of + 1716.20 metre. It has
6560 metre (21517 ft.) long head race tunnel, 71.5 cumecs (250
cusecs) capacity, taking off on the left bank and conveying the
waters to an underground power house,
The project was handed over to Bhutanese management in June
1991. 70% of power generated by this project is
exported to India. It has an installed capacity of 336 MW.
In 1998,
electricity
valued at
Rs1338.8 million
was exported
to
India.
In 2000, It exported electricity worth
Rs
1650 million
to India.
In
2000, according to the government newspaper Kuensel, the Chukha
Hydro Power Corporation alone contributed Nu. 2007.3 million ( US $
40.75 million –Eds) to the national exchequer. Today, the power
sector contributes about 45 percent to the gross revenue generation
in the country and accounts for about 11 percent of the GDP.”
The
Chukha Hydro
Power Corporation (CHPC) manages the project.
During the period between April 2003
to March 2004, a total of 1494.75 MUs of power was exported to
India
2. Project details
Total Energy Output: 1320 MUs
on the basis of average flow.
Cost on completion : Nu. 2460
Million
Generation Tariff : Nu. 1.50
per unit to be raised to
Nu.
2.00 from January 1, 2005
Source: Wangchu River
Net Head: 435 m
Capacity : 4 x 84 MW
Date of Commissioning : 1988
Beneficiaries: India’s Eastern
Region Constituents comprising of: West Bengal, Bihar , Jharkhand,
Orissa, Sikkim and Damodar Valley Corporation (DVC)
3. NEWS ARTICLES
Chukha Power Tariff raised
December 04, 2004:
India has agreed to raise the tariff for the sale of power from the
Chukha Hydropower Project from January 01, 2005. The CHP is now
selling power to India at Nu. 1.50 per unit. This will be raised to
Nu. 2.50 per unit from January 01, 2005. The increased tariff will
provide an additional earning of Nu. 750 million for the project
and, after expenses, an additional revenue of Nu. 734 million for
the government. The new rate was approved by the government of
India on the request of His Majesty the King during the royal visit
to New Delhi from November 24 to 29, 2004. The CHPC will contribute
Nu. 2,460 million to the government in dividends and corporate tax
in the next fiscal year, nearly 40 percent of the government’s
budget. The CHPC was the single largest source of revenue for the
government, accounting for 37 percent of the total revenue in the
last fiscal year.
The Chukha
power tariff was last revised on July 1, 1999, from Nu. 1.00 to Nu.
1.50, after the increase was agreed during His Majesty’s visit to
India from October 5 to 8, 1998. The enhanced revenue would be
able to meet the escalating cost of operation and maintenance of
CHPC which had gone up by more than 12 percent a year over the past
four years.
Source: Kuensel
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Chukhha hydro power corporation
limited (CHPCL) sets record but expenditure rises
Kuensel June 17, 2004
The Chukhha hydro power corporation limited (CHPCL),
Bhutan’s highest revenue earner, achieved a record generation of
power in 2003 and set other records but its expenditure also
increased. The corporation generated 1,956.74 million units of
electricity, surpassing all previous records in its 17 years of
existence. In 1999, the corporation had generated 1,943.74 million
units of electricity.
According to CHPCL’s annual report 2003, the good
water inflow from the Wangchhu river even in the dry seasons of
October to December contributed to the increased generation. The
corporation also brought down losses the report said. The
corporation made use of the available water to a maximum of 101.7
percent, the highest so far, through “efficient running of the
machines” and maintaining the water in the dam at its highest
“optimum” level. Less breakdown of plant equipment and increased
coordination between the CHPCL and the eastern regional load
dispatch centre in Kolkota, through which CHPCL supplied power to
India, also helped. Generation losses from “outages” (breakdown of
machines) and system disturbances in the eastern grid was also
brought down to a record minimum of four million units of
electricity, down from 15 to 20 million units of electricity in the
past.
The revenue
earned through sale of electricity to India and within the country
also climbed up the highest with Nu 2,368.12 million from Nu
2,152.65 million in 2002.
“The performance of the corporation
has been outstanding,” said the managing director of CHPCL, Yeshi
Wangdi.
However, the corporation’s expenses
rose reducing its profit. In 2003 the total expense was Nu 537.1
million up from Nu 509.35 million in 2002. The increased
expenditure, according to the report, arose chiefly because the
corporation had to pay about Nu 176 million to the Bhutan power
corporation as “wheeling charge” for use of the transmission lines
for exporting power to India. The corporation also bought more power
from the Basochhu hydro power corporation.
The net profit was also affected by
the decrease in interest earnings from the corporation’s deposits of
about Nu 1,551 million in the Bhutanese banks which recently reduced
its interest rates on deposits to about three percent. CHPCL’s net
profit totalled Nu 1,322.28 million, up by 10 percent from the
previous year.
Despite the setbacks CHPCL
contributed Nu 1,871.47 million, as dividends and taxes, to the
government exchequer, Nu 248 million more than the previous year.
Its financial health also improved from 2002 with its debt equity
ration at 0.16.
Meanwhile CHPCL’s outstanding loan to
the government of India stood at Nu 350.2 million. As of December
31, 2003, a total of Nu 1,424.25 million had been paid.
Chukha’s priority
: The Chukha hydro power corporation limited will start replacing
its aging machines and equipment with modern ones to speed up
efficiency and reduce maintenance expenses, according to its
managing director, Yeshi Wangdi.
Since the power plant’s commissioning
in 1986, there was no major replacements and some of the equipment
and structures had become obsolete, said Yeshi Wangdi.
The replacement will start end of
December and will be implemented in a “phased manner” by the Bharat
heavy electrical limited of India
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Chukha revenue down :
After three consecutive years of record
generation, the Chukha Hydro Power corporation (CHPC) witnessed a
fall in power generation worth Nu 130.5 million in 2002. A low
river in-flow in the dry months and mechanical failures resulted in
a drop of 87 million units compared to the generation in 2001. In
2002, the country’s highest revenue earner generated about 1,802
million units of power, down from 1,889 million units in 2001. The
river in-flow in the lean months, from April to June and October to
December, was much lower in 2002 than in the same months in 2001.
From April to June the average generation was less by 28 million
units and between October and December 2002 generation fell by about
52.62 million units . The gross revenue earned from sale of
electricity within Bhutan and India was Nu 2,152 million in 2002,
down from Nu 2,231 million in the previous year. Revenue from sale
of power to India accounted for about Nu 2,007 million while
the rest came from sales to the department of power, Bhutan power
corporation (BPC), and to local consumers in the CHPC colony. The
increased domestic consumption, by about 5 million units in 2002,
also contributed to the low revenue. The export tariff is five times
higher than the domestic rate. The 336 MW Chukha power plant
supplies power to seven western and southwestern districts with 75
percent of its domestic consumption being in Chukha district alone.
Source:
Kuensel
March 29, 2003.
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Chukha hydropower corporation
generates 1,957 million units of electricity
in 2003, the highest
annual output since its commissioning in 1986.
January 08, 2004:
With a
minimum loss of power generation and good water inflow from the
Wangchu river, the Chukha hydropower corporation (CHPC), generated
about 1,957 million units of electricity in 2003, the highest annual
output since its commissioning in 1986, reports kuenselonline.com.
It further said that country's record generation by Chukha
hydropower corporation in 2003 highest revenue earner generated a
gross revenue of about Nu 2,367 million through the export and
domestic sale of electricity, the highest annual revenue earned so
far.
In 2003,
the corporation lost about four million units of electricity (worth
about Nu 16 million) down from 15 to 20 million units in the
previous years. These losses are classified as ‘unavoidable’ and
occur when machines are shut down for maintenance. The CHPC managing
director explained that in the previous years losses were higher
because of forced outages (unexpected breakdown of machines) and
system disturbances in the eastern grid in India. The optimal usage
of water, particularly during the lean or dry months was another
reason for the increased generation, CHPC officials said. In the
summer months the hydropower station runs to full capacity of 336
megawatts. From November to May when water inflow is minimal the
generation slumps to as low as about 80 megawatts. A single turbine
needs about 25 cubic meters of water to generate about 84 megawatts
of power.
During
summer we have more than 25 cubic meters of water and therefore we
have to spill the excess water from the dam,” said the managing
director of CHPC. During the winter season, water inflow drops to as
low as 10 cubic meters enough to generate only about 40 megawatts.
The low output of power during the lean season is however enough to
meet the domestic power requirement, which is only about 75
megawatts. Maintaining close interaction with the electricity
constituents and load dispatch centers of the eastern grid in India
also resulted in smooth evacuation of power in 2003. In 1999 the
corporation generated 1943.740 million units followed by 1908.32
million units in 2000. In 2002, generation dipped because of poor
water inflow and forced outages.
4.
Chukha Agreement with
the Government of India
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