Despite stable revenue from electricity sales, rising financial liabilities, foreign exchange fluctuations, increased depreciation costs, and government-mandated social relief programs have squeezed the state-owned utility's profit margins.
A significant driver of the reduced earnings is the fluctuation in foreign exchange rates, which has raised the cost of servicing foreign currency loans mobilized for infrastructure development. Additionally, the utility faces growing financial burdens from aggressive investments in power generation, transmission lines, substations, and distribution systems needed to connect new hydropower capacity to the national grid. While these capital-intensive investments do not yield immediate financial returns, they generate substantial depreciation and maintenance costs that directly impact net earnings.
The authority's balance sheet has also absorbed the financial cost of providing up to 20 units of free electricity to low-consumption domestic households. Despite the profit contraction, officials emphasize that ongoing infrastructure spending remains critical to expanding national power supply, boosting industrial consumption, and enabling future energy exports, making overall asset growth and system capacity better indicators of long-term stability than short-term profitability.
