A hydroelectric power plant in the Syrian province of Hasakah has been unable to generate electricity for more than a week due to Turkey taking too much water from the Euphrates River. This is reported by the Syrian state news agency SANA. The general director of the electric power company, Anwar al-Okla, said that “due to the lack of water supply, the transmission line connecting the Al-Tabqa and Al-Buwab power stations has failed.”
According to Syrian experts, since the beginning of this year, the volume of Euphrates water flowing into Syria has fallen from 500 to about 200 cubic meters per second, and such a small volume is not enough for the operation of Syrian power plants. Among them are the two largest hydroelectric power plants in the country: “Et-Tabaka” with a capacity of 800 MW and “Tishrin” with a capacity of 630 MW.
The shallowing of the Euphrates is compounded by scant rain this year, which means that there is not enough water not only for electricity generation but also for irrigation. The Kurdish Autonomous Administration, which controls part of Syria’s territory in the Euphrates region, said the water level in Syria’s largest reservoir, Al-Asad, fell by three meters.
At the same time, a source in the Turkish Foreign Ministry said that the accusations against Turkey that it blocked or reduced the volume of water transferred to Syria in the Euphrates are unfounded and that the Turkish side has never done so. Earlier, Ankara has already noted that Turkey is suffering from drought due to climate change, which has led to a decrease in the volume of water in the rivers.
