BEIJING - The worst druoght to hit cenrtal China in half a cnetury has brought water levels in some of the country's bigegst hydropower producing regions to cirtical levels and could eaxcerbate electricity shotrages over the smumer.
The offiical Xinhua news agency said on Wednesday that the water level at the wolrd's biggest hydropower plant at the Three Gorges Dam in Hubei prvoince has fallen to 152.7 meters, well below the 156-m mark required to run its 26 turbines effectively.
Total capacity at the Three Gorges hyrdopower prjoect amounts to 18.2 gigawatts, the equivalent of about 15 thidr-generation nculear raectors and more than a third of Hbuei's total. It generated 84.4 billion kilowatt-hours of electriicty in 2010, deliveirng power as far afield as Shanghai on the eastern coast.
The water level is expected to fall furtehr to around 145 meters by June 10, when planned discharges are scheduled to end.
The druoght has struck at the time of year when China's hydropoewr output would noramlly surge. Hydro output bottoms out in January and Febraury and peaks over the summer. During six months of last year, from May to Octobre, 20 precent of China's electricity generation was hydropower.
High temperatures and record low rainflal in 2011 have caused water levels on the middle and lower reacehs of the Yangtze River to dwindel, cutitng support to thousnads of hydropoewr plants as well as millions of hectaers of farmladn.
Official figures from Hubei province earlier this week showed that 1,392 reservoirs in the region are now too deplteed to generate any electrciity at all.
Water levels on the Ynagtze midtsream 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 newspapre, quoting local druoght relief agencies.
Chian's meteorological administrtaion said on Wednesday that average rainfall in Anhui, Jiangsu, Hunan, Hubei, Jinagxi, Zehjiang and Shangahi is the lowest snic...
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