DGPC holds Technical Workshop on Project Construction and Plant Operation – Challenges & Lessons
Thimphu, July 11: Druk Green Power Corporation Limited successfully conducted a two-day Technical Workshop on “Project Construction and Plant Operation – Challenges and Lessons” from 10-11 July 2026 at the DGPC Corporate Office, bringing together over 150 hydropower engineers and technical professionals to share their experiences, knowledge, expertise and best practices in Bhutan’s hydropower sector.
Bhutan’s hydropower sector has accumulated significant knowledge and expertise in hydropower planning, design and engineering, project construction, contract management, testing and commissioning, and power plant operation and maintenance with over 40-50 years of experience. These experiences span from micro hydropower plants to other renewables like solar, wind and biogas to mega hydropower projects and encompasses technologies that range from the older manually operated systems to the most modern automated power plants. In the construction of these projects and their operation and maintenance, numerous challenges were and are continued to be encountered, and remedial and mitigation measures are carefully considered through scientific and technically sound assessments of the root causes thus ensuring that the generating assets secure Bhutan’s energy requirements and continue to drive its economic growth.
What the sector lacks today is a repository of this vast institutional knowledge with expertise and experience gained and lessons learnt over the years. As the energy sector accelerates the investments and develop many more hydropower and other renewable energy projects to achieve the national energy agenda of 25,000 MW in generation capacity by 2040, it is important that these expertise and experiences are systematically captured, shared, and applied across ongoing and future projects to optimize resource utilization, reduce implementation risks, enhance project delivery, and strengthen operational excellence.
The Technical Workshop was therefore aimed at tapping this immense knowledge base; starting with a collective and sustained effort to put together a compendium of all available documentation and information and making it readily available to present and future generations. The Workshop brought together professionals from projects and power plants across Bhutan to share practical experiences, present Experiences, Insights and Lessons Learnt, strengthen institutional learning, promote knowledge sharing and encourage the application of practical experiences and good international practices to enhance delivery of projects and improve power plants performance. Apart from the technical discourses, the Workshop highlighted on the huge investments that would have to be mobilized, the legal and contractual complexities that had to be contended with, and the huge shortage in human resources that had to be surmounted if energy sector was to deliver on the mandate of 25,000 MW by 2040.
The opening ceremony was graced by Lyonpo Gem Tshering, Minister for Energy and Natural Resources, and attended by senior officials from the Ministry of Energy & Natural Resources, Bhutan Power Corporation, Bhutan Power System Operator, Electricity Regulatory Authority, and DGPC Board members.
In his opening address, Lyonpo Gem Tshering emphasized the importance of continuous learning, institutional knowledge sharing and strengthening Bhutan’s technical capacity to support the sustainable development of the country’s renewable energy sector. He commended DGPC for creating a platform that enables engineers to share practical experiences, innovative solutions and lessons learned from both project construction and plant operations. He emphasized that “problems should not be swept under the carpet … the sector must learn from the mistakes and become more resilient.”
At the closing ceremony, Dasho Chhewang Rinzin, Managing Director of DGPC reflected on the Workshop and expressed that the proceedings had further reinforced his confidence in the very strong technical expertise available within Bhutan’s energy sector and the sector’s commitment to deliver on the 25,000 MW by 2040 mandate. He reiterated the importance of continuously building on the institutional knowledge and adopting the fast evolving engineering technologies and best practices to ensure the sustainable harnessing and reliable operations of Bhutan’s renewable energy infrastructure.
