Water levels in Turkey’s dams continue to fall
▻http://www.todayszaman.com/news-351530-water-levels-in-turkeys-dams-continue-to-fall.html
Sécheresse, niveau des réservoirs d’eau inquiétant, baisse de la production d’hydro-électricité, dépendance sur les centrales thermiques à gaz, difficile équation à résoudre pour le gouvernement turc cet été mais surtout pour le prochain hiver !
An ongoing drought eating away at Turkey’s hydroelectric production capacity — water levels in the major Fırat reservoir in southeastern Turkey have fallen 43 percent in recent months — will force the country to lean heavily on natural gas through the summer months, which could lead to an electricity crisis later this year, according to a Ministry of Energy source who spoke to Today’s Zaman on condition of anonymity on Thursday.
“It did not rain as expected [this year]. The reservoirs are very low. Natural gas plants are being closely looked at to see if they can meet demand,” the source said.
During the month of May, 49 percent of electricity in Turkey was produced from natural gas, 29 percent from coal, 15 percent from dams and 7 percent from alternative sources such as wind and geothermal, according to statistics from the Turkish Electricity Production Company (TEİAŞ) and the Electricity Generation Holding Company (EÜAŞ).
The Ministry of Energy source predicts rising electricity demand in the summer due to increased usage of air conditioning. “Electricity production from dams has declined, but continues nonetheless. Water levels are rapidly falling. For this reason it will be necessary to focus on natural gas. Nearly half of our electricity comes from such sources. We will survive through the summer months, but things will be difficult in the winter; as it will not rain during the summer, water reservoirs will be emptied and natural gas plants will be working at capacity. However, if there is a shortage of natural gas during the winter months, we may face a serious problem,” the source said.
Turkey has been suffering a drought since late last year. The drought has not only impacted water reservoirs, but resulted in major losses for agricultural producers nationwide, drastically driving up the costs of a variety of agricultural products.