Huge Lao hydropower plant begins commercial export of electricity to Thailand

Four turbines on Monday began supplying the Electricity Generating Authority of Thailand with Nam Theun 2 hydropower facility 1,000 megawatts of power, Nam Theun 2 Power Company (NTPC) said in a statement.

Sales of electricity to the Laotian state utility, Electricite du Laos, have also begun, it said.

The plant is located in in central Laos on the Nam Theun river, a tributary of the Mekong.

The communist country will earn royalties, dividends and taxes, estimated at more than two billion dollars over the 25 years, from the World Bank-backed project, which it vowed to spend on poverty reduction.

Thailand will purchase about 95 percent of power produced at the plant.