BUDAPEST, July 31 (Reuters) – Hungary’s Paks nuclear power plant, which generates nearly half the country’s electricity, could be shut for weeks because water levels on the Danube river are expected to stay too low for it to operate safely, Prime Minister Peter Magyar said on Friday.
The shutdown threatens to increase Hungary’s reliance on power imports during a heatwave that is expected to boost peak evening electricity demand by 20%, prompting the government to ask major industrial users to curb consumption.
Paks’ four Russian-made reactors are operating at less than 50% of their combined 2 gigawatts capacity and are expected to be shut down completely on Monday for the first time in 44 years as Danube water levels are forecast to fall further.
Water from the Danube is used to cool the facility.
The reactors can be restarted once water levels recover sufficiently for safe operation, “but this is not expected to happen in the next weeks,” Magyar said during a briefing at energy company MOL’s Danube refinery in Szazhalombatta.
Magyar said on Thursday that Hungary could meet its energy needs through imports. However, the combination of lower domestic generation and higher demand could create a critical situation for the power system.
MAGYAR ASKS COMPANIES TO CUT ENERGY USE
To ease pressure on the power grid, Magyar reiterated his appeal to major industry companies, including carmakers and battery manufacturers, to reduce electricity and water consumption.
“I turn to the big companies with the message that we are still looking forward to receiving their plans for voluntary shutdowns,” Magyar said.
He also said his party would ask parliament to postpone sessions scheduled for Monday and Tuesday to conserve energy. All state-run institutions will switch off decorative lighting by Monday at the latest.
MOL CEO Zsolt Hernadi said on Friday that the company was shutting down some facilities across the country to save energy. Magyar said that MOL, one of Hungary’s biggest electricity consumers, was cutting its usage by 40%.
Samsung SDI said in an emailed statement that its battery plant in God, north of Budapest, was cutting water consumption by 50% and reducing electricity use by 10% during critical evening hours.
EUROPEAN COMMISSION ‘CLOSELY MONITORING’ THE SITUATION
In neighbouring Romania, low water levels forced nuclear power producer Nuclearelectrica to shut down one of its reactors.
European Commission spokesperson Anna-Kaisa Itkonen told Reuters the Commission was closely monitoring the electricity supply situation in Romania, Hungary and the wider southeast European region.
There is no immediate security-of-supply concern and the Commission is ready to convene an ad hoc meeting of the European Union’s Electricity Coordination Group if needed, she said.
(Reporting by Anita Komuves. Editing by Mark Potter)
Comments