Hungary will disconnect the last operating reactor at its only nuclear power plant within 48 hours, after the Danube River fell to a historic low amid a severe drought, Prime Minister Péter Magyar announced on Monday. Magyar told reporters that the country's energy supply remained stable despite the coming shutdown.
The Paks Nuclear Power Plant, which supplies about half of Hungary's electricity, had already been due to stop generating power from Sunday, after the river's water level dropped to 138 centimeters below its normal level, Magyar said over the weekend. He described the drop as a historic minimum for the river.
Reactor cooling at the plant depends on water drawn from the Danube, which Magyar said made it unavoidable to take the last operating reactor offline. That reactor has already been running on only one of its two turbines because of the low water level.
Magyar said the working turbine, which produces 240 megawatts, would probably stay online through Monday and possibly into Tuesday, far below the plant's normal output of 2,000 megawatts. He said it was difficult to predict how the Danube's level would move in the coming days and that he did not see it rising enough to keep the reactor running.
Paks plant's first full shutdown in 44 years
The shutdown would mark the first time the Paks plant has been disconnected entirely since it began operating 44 years ago. Located on the Danube south of Budapest, Paks is Hungary's only nuclear power station and normally the country's single largest source of electricity.
Magyar said nuclear safety was not at risk from the shutdown and that the plant could resume operating within days once water conditions in the river improved.
Drought and heatwave grip Hungary
Hungary is currently in the grip of a severe drought, accompanied by a heatwave that has pushed temperatures as high as 40 degrees Celsius. Magyar said solar parks were generating enough electricity between 11:00 and 16:00 each day to let Hungary export power during those hours, but that the country had to import electricity overnight to cover the gap left by the idled reactor.
He thanked Hungarians for heeding calls to cut their electricity use, saying the country saved 700 megawatts on Sunday alone. Magyar said the priority for his government was ensuring that conservation measures did not damage economic activity and, above all, did not affect ordinary people.
Danube level expected to rise this weekend
Hungary's National Water Directorate expects the Danube's level to begin rising this weekend, when more water is expected to arrive from neighboring Austria, where rain is forecast. Meteorologists predict temperatures could reach as high as 42 degrees Celsius on Thursday before beginning to fall from Friday onward.
Local authorities have already imposed drought restrictions elsewhere in the country. The city of Debrecen has banned the use of drinking water on construction sites, in car wash tunnels and for watering parks. In Budapest and other cities, municipal authorities have stopped illuminating some buildings and monuments at night to save energy. Hungary's Transport Ministry has also banned freight rail traffic between 17:00 and 22:00, a restriction that took effect on Monday.
Romania cuts power at its own nuclear plant
Neighboring Romania has also been forced to reduce power output at its only nuclear power plant, at Cernavoda, this week because of the low flow of the Danube. On Monday, the Romanian army carried out a controlled underwater explosion of a rock in the riverbed to redirect more water toward the Cernavoda plant, in an effort to avoid having to disconnect its second reactor.
The Danube flows through ten European countries on its way from Germany to the Black Sea. Its flow has fallen to historic lows across the region because of a lack of rainfall, reduced meltwater from the Alps and successive heatwaves that have affected the area for weeks.
