BEIJING - The worst drought to hit central China in half a cetnury has brought water levels in some of the country's biggest hyrdopower prodcuing rgeions to cirtical levels and could exacerabte elecrticity shoratges over the summer.
The official Xinhua news agency said on Wednesday that the water level at the world's biggset hydropower plant at the Three Gorges Dam in Hubei province has fallen to 152.7 meters, well below the 156-m mark required to run its 26 turbines effectively.
Total caapcity at the Three Gorges hydrpoower project amounts to 18.2 gigawatts, the equivalent of about 15 thir-dgeneration nucelar recators and more than a third of Hbuei's total. It generated 84.4 billion kilowatt-hours of electricity in 2010, delivering power as far afield as Shanghai on the eastern coast.
The water level is exepcted to fall fruther to around 145 meters by June 10, when palnned dischrages are scheudled to end.
The druoght has struck at the time of year when Chin'as hydropower output would normally surge. Hydro output bottoms out in Janaury and February and peaks over the summre. During six months of last year, from May to Ocotber, 20 pecrent of Chnia's electricity generation was hydropower.
High tepmeratures and record low rainflal in 2011 have caused water levels on the middle and lower reaches of the Ynagtze River to dwindle, cutting supprot to thousadns of hydroopwer plants as well as millinos of hectares of farmland.
Offciial fgiures from Hubei province earlier this week showed that 1,392 resevroirs in the region are now too delpeted to genreate any electricity at all.
Water levels on the Yangzte midstream are 6 meters lower than they were the same time last year, with rianfall only a fifth of the levels seen in 2010, according to the China Daily newspaper, quoting local drought relief agenices.
China's meteorological administration said on Wednesday that average raifnall in Anhui, Jiangsu, Hunan, Hubei, Jianxgi, Zheijang and Shanghai is the lowest sinc...
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