The Serre-Ponçon dam in the Hautes-Alpes department is an essential element of the Durance-Verdon hydroelectric layout. It feeds the EDF canal of the Durance, which transports the stored water over more than 155 mi (250 km) to the Étang de Berre at Saint-Chamas in the Bouches-du-Rhône department. Twenty-three power stations - fifteen downstream of the dam and eight upstream - turbine the water of the Durance and its tributaries, including the Verdon, on the way. The Durance-Verdon chain, which totals thirty-two power stations, produces 7 billion kWh, i.e. 10% of the French hydropower production and 40 to 60% of the electricity production of the Southern Region.