China's electricity output at the world's biggest hydropower project rose about 25 percent this year after new generators were installed.

The Three Gorges station generated 60.86 million megawatt-hours of electricity so far this year with output until the end of the year expected to touch 61.6 million, the State-owned Assets Supervision and Administration Commission said in a statement on its Website yesterday, according to Bloomberg News.

China Three Gorges Project Corp, the parent of Shanghai-listed China Yangtze Power Co, is developing the Three Gorges Dam on the Yangtze River, Asia's longest. Located in central Hubei Province, the project is slated by 2009 to generate 84.7 million megawatt-hours of power a year and is part of the government's plan to end electricity shortages in the world's fastest-growing major economy.

China added 5,000 megawatts of new capacity at Three Gorges this year, bringing the total capacity to 14,800 megawatts, the commission said. Water flow at the power station increased 36.4 percent by Sunday, compared with last year, it said.

Power demand and supply will generally be balanced this year in China, the world's second-biggest energy consumer, Wang Yeping, vice-chairman of the State Electricity Regulatory Commission, said in April of this year.

(Shanghai Daily December 26, 2007)