About 30 percent of Hubei’s electricity capacity comes from hydropower generation, but the drought in southwest China has lowered the water level in the Three Gorges reservoir by six meters against the same period last year.

This caused a shortage of 500 million kilowatt hours of hydropower which could be met by burning 300,000 tonnes of thermal coals, according to the Hubei Electric Power Company. The province’s plan to supply power to the Shanghai Expo was suspended.

Electricity consumption in the first quarter this year in Hubei grew 30% year-on-year. Officials expect the shortage to worsen as consumption increases in the summer.