Cyclone Aila a blessing for Bhutan

Cyclone Aila may have brought destruction in countries like India, Bangladesh and Bhutan but the hydropower sector in the Himalayan nation got a major boost due to the heavy rains triggered by the high-velocity storm.

Bhutan’s hydropower sector is generating around 1,500 Mw of power, which is double what is generated around this time in usual weather conditions.

Many of the projects are generating beyond their capacity, with the 1020 Mw Tala generating 1094 Mw, the 336 Mw Chukha generating 355 Mw, the 60 Mw Kurichu generating 67 Mw and Basochu at full capacity (64 Mw), the state-run daily Kuensel reported.

“As of May 28 morning, we have gone to full generation in all the projects and we are making about Nu 2.7 million an hour,” Chewang Rinzin,Druk Green Power Corporation managing director said.

“In normal years, we usually generate 700-800 Mw, but this surge was made possible by the excess water due to the rains,” Rinzin added.

However, the hydropower projects also had to face some problems because of debris like logs and silt carried by the rivers, causing clogging.