On October 3, 2025, the Electricity Generating Company of Laos (EDL-Gen) announced that: There will be increased water discharge to maintain safety for all parties according to technical procedures due to the approaching Tropical Cyclone “Madmo” which will bring heavy to very heavy rainfall, causing the water level in the Nam Ngum 1 Hydropower Plant reservoir to increase.
Increased Water Discharge: The total water flow from Nam Ngum 1 Hydropower Plant will increase from 894.40 cubic meters per second to 974.40 cubic meters per second.
This increased water discharge will increase the water level at the end of the dam by approximately 15-20 cm.
The increase in water levels will put many areas downstream of the dam at risk of flooding, such as:
• Ban Chum measurement point: Near the highest warning level, only 0.10 meters remaining.
• Slope measurement point: 1.30 meters remaining before the flood point (13.60 meters).
• Ban Pak Ka Yang measurement point: 1.72 meters remaining before the flood point (12 meters).
The opening of the spillway gate of the Nam Ngum 1 hydroelectric dam will begin on October 4, 2025 at 10:00. Therefore, residents along the Ngum River are advised to be vigilant and move their belongings to higher ground immediately because the water level will rise by 15-20 cm after the spillway adjustment. Please continue to monitor the weather forecast from the Department of Meteorology and Hydrology.
