Sources from relevant authorities in the Three Gorges say the new plan for the electricity transmission depends on the current overhaul of the No. 2 unit and test operation conditions. So, the date is pretty variable, which may possibly fall on the 18th or be postponed to next week.

The No. 2 unit, built by a consortium comprised of Hewitt, Siemens and General Electric (GE), planned to transmit electricity to east China with a capacity of 210,000 kwh after a 7-day test run. Shanghai was to have 100,000 kwh of the total. But, it is unfortunate that something went wrong on the sixth day of the test run and the original plan stopped.

If everything goes smoothly with the test operation on the 17th, the electricity will be transmitted to east China the next day on the 18th, while it is also possible for the No. 2 unit to be put in test operation for anther seven days so that the electricity transmission will be postponed to next week, according sources from the Three Gorges Project.

A total of 540,000 kwh will be generated by both the second and the fifth generators in the Three Gorges to meet the power demand in east China. The No. 2 unit was planned to firstly generate 210,000 kwh in July this year to the east and the No. 5 unit to generate 330,000 kwh in August. Out of the total volume, Shanghai will get a total of 211,400 kwh.

Launched in 1993 and expected to be completed by 2009, the Three Gorges Project will be installed with 26 generators, each with a generating capacity of 700,000 kw. Out of the total, 14 will be built on the northern bank of the Yangtze River.

The project will begin to pay off later this year, playing an important role in flood control, power generation, navigation, water diversion and environmental protection, said an official from the China Yangtze River Three Gorges Project Development Corporation.

(China.org.cn by Zhang Tingting, July 17, 2003)