The prolonged drought seen recently in the Central Highlands region has lead to the severe exhaustion of water reservoirs in Dak Lak province, interrupting the operation of local hydropower plants.
A sharp drop in capacity has been seen in major hydropower plants using water from the Serepok river, including the 280 megawatt Buon Kuop, 86 megawatt Buon Tua Srah and 220 megawatt Serepok 3 which are now operating only 14-16 hours a day.
The three plants generated only 267.5 million kilowatt hours of power in the first quarter of this year, 72 percent of the figure from the same period last year and 10.4 percent of the annual plan.
Fourteen other small- and medium-sized plants in the province are also facing plunging capacity due to the drought; many are only operating 3 hours per day. Ea Drang 2 plant run by the Dak Lak Power Company ceased its operations in February.
However, the plants’ reservoirs have managed to supply water to local farms and ensure agricultural production.
According to the provincial Hydrometeorology Forecast Centre, the drought is expected to last until the end of April, at least. As a result, local hydropower plants are likely to continue cutting their operations or even halting their production, the centre predicted.-VNA
A sharp drop in capacity has been seen in major hydropower plants using water from the Serepok river, including the 280 megawatt Buon Kuop, 86 megawatt Buon Tua Srah and 220 megawatt Serepok 3 which are now operating only 14-16 hours a day.
The three plants generated only 267.5 million kilowatt hours of power in the first quarter of this year, 72 percent of the figure from the same period last year and 10.4 percent of the annual plan.
Fourteen other small- and medium-sized plants in the province are also facing plunging capacity due to the drought; many are only operating 3 hours per day. Ea Drang 2 plant run by the Dak Lak Power Company ceased its operations in February.
However, the plants’ reservoirs have managed to supply water to local farms and ensure agricultural production.
According to the provincial Hydrometeorology Forecast Centre, the drought is expected to last until the end of April, at least. As a result, local hydropower plants are likely to continue cutting their operations or even halting their production, the centre predicted.-VNA
