Nam Theun 2 dam's dividend depends on rain
Nam Theun 2 dam's dividend depends on rain
State-owned energy corporation Lao Holding State Enterprise (LHSE) is unsure that it will receive the projected dividend for the last six months of operation from the Nam Theun 2 (NT2) hydropower plant.
General Manager of the enterprise Dr Somboune Manolom reported at the enterprise's six monthly meeting recently in Vientiane that LHSE had hoped to receive a dividend amounting to about 61 billion kip (US$7.45 million) in November this year.
“However, this figure may change. It may be higher or lower,” Dr Somboune said on Friday. “We have to wait and see how much energy is generated and supplied by the dam.”
“We have to see how much electricity it will be able to generate, which depends on the weather and how much rain we get. We will know the exact figure by the end of October.”
LHSE received a dividend of about 57.4 billion kip (US$7 million) fr om NT2 in the first six months of this year, equal to 55.5 percent of the projected amount.
This figure included the more than US$1.88 million that the LHSE had contributed to national revenue, comprising dividend taxes of about US$700,000 and profit tax of more than US$1 million.
Since 2011 the enterprise has received dividends totalling more than 862.75 billion kip (US$105.21 million) from NT2.
Another LHSE official said on Friday that the NT2 Power Company Limited (NTPC) plans to generate more than 5,930GWh of electricity this year. It will provide about 300GWh to Electricite du Laos (EDL) and sell the rest to the Electricity Generating Authority of Thailand (EGAT).
NTPC generated 2,883 GWh of electricity in the first six months of this year which it sold to EGAT, equating to 51.15 percent of the plan, earning more than 1 trillion kip (US$124.97 million).
It also generated 153GWh for supply to Electricite du Laos (EDL), which was 51 percent of the plan and worth over 52.12 billion kip (US$6.35 million).
NT2, located in Khammuan province, is the largest hydro plant in Laos. It has an installed capacity of 1,070 megawatts (MW) with investment amounting to US$1.297 billion.
The shareholders are Electricité de France with a 40 percent stake, LHSE with 25 percent and Thailand's Electricity Generating Public Company Limited with 35 percent.
LHSE is now a shareholder in four power plants with a total installed capacity of 3,658 megawatts (MW) and an investment cost of about 55.97 trillion kip (US$6,996 billion), including US$539.86 million invested by LHSE.
It holds a 25 percent stake in NT2, 24 percent in the Xe Pian-Xe Nam Noi hydropower plant, 25 percent in the Nam Ngiep 1 plant, and 20 percent in the Hongsa Mine-Mouth Power Project.
The government is promoting the rapid development of power plants for local supply in a bid to cut electricity imports.
Twenty-seven power plants are currently operational in Laos with a combined installed capacity of 3,304MW.
Laos is aiming for a total installed capacity of about 12,000M W by 2025, a report from the Ministry of Energy and Mines states.
The abundant resources of the Mekong River and its tributaries give Laos the potential to produce more than 25,000MW o f electricity.
