By Wan Zhihong (China Daily)
Updated: 2008-05-20 07:24

Power supply was not restored to three worst-hit counties in Sichuan as of yesterday, the country's electricity regulator said yesterday.

"The three counties - Beichuan, Maoxian and Wolong - are still suffering blackouts. Power has been fully or partially restored in other regions of Sichuan," Gu Junyuan, chief engineer of the State Electricity Regulatory Commission (SERC) told reporters yesterday in Beijing. Power supply has also been restored in Gansu and Shaanxi, he said.

"At present, all hydropower stations near the epicenter of the earthquake are stable," Gu said.

The dam of the major Zipingpu hydropower station between Wenchuan and Dujiangyan has been found to be safe, he said, in response to rumors of a possible burst in the dam.

Even if the five reservoirs upstream break their banks, the Zipingpu dam will be able to cope, he said.

The five reservoirs have a combined capacity of 1.5 million cu m, but the Zipingpu reservoir's capacity is some 1.1 billion cu m, he said.

The country's two power grid companies, State Grid Corp of China and China Southern Power Grid have moved more than 1,100 diesel generating units - with a total capacity of 33,000 kiloWatts - from other provinces to Sichuan.

After the quake, the Sichuan power grid saw its maximum load drop to 62 percent of the normal level, representing a loss of 4.44 gigaWatts.

Power supply in 54 counties in Sichuan was severely disrupted by the 8.0 magnitude earthquake. A total of 26 power generation plants halted operation and dozens of power transmission lines stopped working.

(China Daily 05/20/2008 page4)