A senior official has said a particularly black week in Phnom Penh's long
history of power problems should end today with the completion of repair work on
a power station.
Chea Sin Hel of Electricite du Cambodge said that the
power had been reduced by half in the capital's chronically overloaded
generating system since Sunday while the work was carried out on the Power
Station Number Two.
He said that large areas have been blacked out because
the stations lines of distribution are widespread. The government warned the
city's population in advance over television and radio.
Lowered river
levels and channel silting have reduced the water available to Power Plant No.
2's steam generators, which are some of the largest in the city, producing 10
mega watts 24 hours a day.
Phnom Penh's three other power stations
produce total mega-wattage that varies from as low as 3.7 MW during the day, to
as much as 10.7 MW at night. Day-time highs are 5.8 MW and night-time lows are
6.3 MW. All figures represent average total output of Phnom Penh's Power Station
Numbers One, Three and Four, according to Chea Sin Hel, Chief of Distribution at
EDC.
Water was pumped from the river at Power Station Number Two in order
to blast silt from the intake channel, Chea said. The silt has reduced the
efficiency of the generator and helped contribute to the city's power supply
problems
