Gem Tshering is Bhutan's Minister of Energy and Natural Resources, appointed in January 2024 after a career spanning three decades in the hydropower and power distribution sectors, including senior leadership roles at Bhutan Power Corporation.
Lyonpo Gem Tshering serves as Minister of Energy and Natural Resources in the government formed by the People's Democratic Party following the 2024 elections. He received the Dakyen — the official ministerial scarf — from His Majesty the King on 28 January 2024, assuming responsibility for a portfolio that sits at the heart of Bhutan's economy: the hydropower sector accounts for roughly a third of government revenue and the principal source of export earnings through electricity sales to India. Tshering brings to the role more than three decades of direct operational and leadership experience in Bhutanese power institutions.
Education and Early Career
Tshering graduated from the Asian Institute of Technology (AIT) in Bangkok in 1994, an institution that has trained a significant proportion of Bhutan's engineering and technical leadership. He serves as president of the AIT Alumni Association's Bhutan Chapter, reflecting ongoing engagement with the institution that shaped his professional formation. His academic background in engineering and technology management provided the foundation for a career that began in Bhutan's nascent power infrastructure before the country's hydropower sector had reached its current scale.
His earliest professional role was with the National Agriculture Support and Extension Program and the Ministry of Agriculture between 1989 and 1990, before he transitioned fully into the energy sector.
Career in the Energy Sector
Tshering spent over a decade at the Chhukha Hydro Power Corporation from 1991 to 2002, gaining operational experience at one of Bhutan's foundational hydroelectric facilities. The Chhukha plant, which began generating power in 1986 with Indian financing, established the economic model — hydropower exports to India — that subsequent projects have replicated at increasing scale.
He then moved to Bhutan Power Corporation (BPC), the state-owned entity responsible for electricity transmission and distribution, where he served from 2002 to 2018 and rose through the ranks to the positions of Executive Director and Managing Director. BPC's remit covers the entire downstream electricity infrastructure: the grid, transformers, substations, and last-mile connections that bring power from generation sites to homes, hospitals, and businesses across Bhutan's challenging terrain. His tenure spanned a period of substantial grid expansion as rural electrification programmes brought electricity to previously unconnected communities.
Following his departure from BPC, Tshering led Pyelbar Lokchey Private Limited as Chief Executive Officer from 2018 to 2022, gaining private sector executive experience before entering electoral politics.
As Minister of Energy and Natural Resources
In his ministerial role, Tshering oversees Bhutan's hydropower development pipeline, the bilateral energy relationship with India, natural resource governance, and the country's engagement with international climate and energy frameworks. The portfolio requires balancing commercial imperatives — maximising revenue from electricity exports — with environmental obligations, including the constitutional requirement to maintain at least 60 per cent forest cover and Bhutan's international commitments as a carbon-negative country.
He has actively engaged with Indian counterparts on energy cooperation. In April 2026, the Indian Minister for Power and Housing and Urban Affairs visited Thimphu at Tshering's invitation for discussions on bilateral energy relations, the development framework for major hydropower projects, and climate cooperation — signalling the continued centrality of hydropower to the India–Bhutan economic relationship under the current government.
Policy Priorities and Renewable Energy Diversification
Beyond conventional hydropower, Tshering's portfolio encompasses Bhutan's efforts to diversify its energy mix through solar and other renewable sources — a goal that gained urgency as hydropower's seasonal variability and concentration risk became more apparent. The ADB-financed Distributed Solar for Public Infrastructure Project, which aims to install rooftop solar on 1,500 public buildings generating up to 35 megawatts, falls within his ministry's implementation oversight. Management of Bhutan's mineral and natural resources — including quarrying, forestry products, and any future minerals extraction — is also within the ministry's remit, requiring careful balancing of economic development against environmental protection obligations.
References
See also
Cabinet of Bhutan (Tshering Tobgay government, 2024–present)
The Cabinet (Lhengye Zhungtshog) of Bhutan under Prime Minister Tshering Tobgay was sworn in by the Druk Gyalpo on 28 January 2024 following the People's Democratic Party's victory at the January 2024 National Assembly election. It comprises the Prime Minister and nine ministers, the maximum permitted under the Constitution, and is responsible for executing the 13th Five-Year Plan, advancing the Gelephu Mindfulness City project, managing post-LDC graduation and overseeing the country's next-generation hydropower programme.
politics·5 min readRight to Information in Bhutan
The constitutional right to information guaranteed under Article 7(3) of Bhutan's 2008 Constitution and the unrealised legislative effort to enact a Right to Information Act. A bill passed the National Assembly in February 2014 but stalled in the National Council and has not been enacted, leaving Bhutan the only South Asian country without an RTI statute.
politics·11 min readMinistry of Finance (Bhutan)
The Ministry of Finance is the central economic ministry of the Royal Government of Bhutan, responsible for the national budget, taxation, public debt, customs, and bilateral aid coordination. It traces its origins to the Tsilon (Finance Minister) post created by the 28th National Assembly on 20 May 1968.
politics·4 min readDratshang Lhentshog
The Dratshang Lhentshog (Commission for Monastic Affairs), also known as the Central Monastic Body or Zhung Dratshang, is the official religious institution of Bhutan. Established by Zhabdrung Ngawang Namgyal in the seventeenth century and enshrined in the 2008 Constitution, it oversees all state-supported monasteries, monastic education, and religious ceremonies, and is headed by the Je Khenpo.
politics·5 min readPeople's Democratic Party (Bhutan)
The People's Democratic Party (PDP) is a Bhutanese political party founded in 2007 that has governed Bhutan twice — from 2013 to 2018 under Tshering Tobgay, and again from 2024 onward. It was the first political party to be officially registered in Bhutan's history.
politics·6 min readNational Security Act of Bhutan 1992
The National Security Act of Bhutan 1992 (NSA) is a sixteen-section statute enacted by the National Assembly on 2 November 1992. It criminalises treasonable acts against the Tsa-Wa-Sum (king, country and people) and remains the principal charging instrument used against long-term political prisoners drawn from the Lhotshampa community.
politics·10 min read
Test Your Knowledge
Think you know about this topic? Try a quick quiz!
Help improve this article
Do you have personal knowledge about this topic? Were you there? Your experience matters. BhutanWiki is built by the community, for the community.
Anonymous contributions welcome. No account required.