NAY PYI TAW: Damage exceeding K20 billion caused by Typhoon Yagi at the Upper Paunglaung Hydropower Plant has been fully repaired, with the facility now operating at full capacity and supplying 454 million kilowatt-hours (kWh) of electricity annually to the national grid.
Located on the Paunglaung River, about 26 miles east of Pyinmana in the Union Territory, the Upper Paunglaung Hydropower Plant is built around a reinforced-concrete dam.
Construction began in the 2004-05 fiscal year and was completed in 2015-16. The plant has an installed capacity of 140 megawatts (MW) and generates 454 million kWh of electricity annually for nationwide distribution through the national grid.
Typhoon Yagi, which struck in September 2024, caused excessive inflows into the Upper Paunglaung Reservoir, forcing large volumes of water to spill over the dam and triggering severe flooding.
Mountain runoff carried large logs, timber, sand, silt and mud into the reservoir and power station, inundating the facility. The flooding also altered the river course downstream, causing significant erosion along both riverbanks and damaging the plant's concrete access road and roads serving staff housing.
The disaster caused more than K20 billion in damage to infrastructure and temporarily reduced the country's electricity generation capacity.
Restoration work included removing sand, silt and debris from the power station, repairing collapsed embankments, stabilising landslide-prone areas, placing rock fill, constructing earth and retaining walls to prevent further landslides and erosion, and restoring the plant's access road.
The work was carried out around the clock using heavy machinery, vehicles and manpower and was completed in March 2026.
The Ministry of Electricity and Energy said ongoing efforts are focused on dredging silt from the Upper Paunglaung Reservoir, preventing further sediment inflows and strengthening disaster mitigation measures to protect the hydropower facility. - Eleven Media/ANN
