Forecasting drought, Nghe An's largest hydropower plant calls for saving electricity and water

The forecast of the North Central Hydrometeorological Station was informed by the Provincial People's Committee in Document No. 1032/UBND-NN dated February 28, 2020 on the implementation of urgent solutions to prevent and combat drought, water shortage, and saltwater intrusion.

Document No. 1032/UBND-NN dated February 28, 2020 on the implementation of urgent solutions to prevent and combat drought, water shortage, and saltwater intrusion of the Provincial People's Committee. Photo: Nhat Lan

Along with this forecast, Document 1032/UBND-NN also informed that currently the flow on rivers is generally 35 - 45% lower than the same period; the water level of many reservoirs is low, the water storage capacity of irrigation reservoirs in the province only reaches 60 - 90% of the design capacity.

Ban Ve Hydroelectric Reservoir, one of the reservoirs that contributes to supplementing water sources for agricultural production and people's lives, currently has a water storage capacity of only 80% compared to the design capacity.

Ban Ve Hydroelectric Plant. Photo: Linh Chi

To be more specific about the amount of water in Ban Ve Hydropower Reservoir, the representative of Ban Ve Hydropower Company said that due to the recent rainfall being much less than the same period in previous years, the amount of water flowing into the reservoir is much lower than the average of the past 10 years. Currently, Ban Ve Hydropower Reservoir only has 880 million cubic meters of water compared to the design of 1.383 billion cubic meters; the current elevation of the reservoir is 187.8 m.

According to the representative of Ban Ve Hydropower Company,With the weather developments as forecasted by the North Central Hydrometeorological Station, Ban Ve Hydropower Plant will face many difficulties in operating and supplying water for agricultural production and the lives of people in the downstream area.

However, this leader affirmed that Ban Ve Hydropower Company will closely coordinate with the Provincial People's Committee and the Department of Agriculture and Rural Development to implement measures to ensure water supply for downstream areas according to the inter-reservoir operation process and at the same time produce electricity for socio-economic development. Specifically, it will agree on a water discharge plan in accordance with the water use needs for daily life and production in the downstream areas.

The water level at the tail of Ban Ve hydropower reservoir (located in Hoa Ly village, My Ly commune, Ky Son district) on March 25, 2020, has dropped low. Photo: Nhat Lan

However, to ensure the implementation of the above contents, the representative of the leader of Ban Ve Hydropower Company proposed: "Because the amount of water flowing into the lake during May - June 2020 is forecasted to be very low, which is the time to focus on summer-autumn crop production, Ban Ve Hydropower Company hopes that the local government and people will share and use electricity and water economically...".