Hungary leans on EU grid after nuclear plant shutdown

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Hungary has urged households to curb electricity use after its only nuclear power plant was forced offline by low water levels on the Danube, leaving the country increasingly reliant on imports from neighbouring EU states.

The Paks nuclear plant, which normally supplies around half of Hungary’s electricity, halted operations on Sunday for the first time in its 44-year history after river levels fell too low.

“The electricity market is stable, and supply is problem-free,” the government said, while urging households to avoid using washing machines and tumble dryers between 5 p.m. and 10 p.m. to ease pressure on the grid. To offset the loss of generation, Hungary has roughly doubled electricity imports from neighbouring countries since last week, with most additional power flowing from Czechia, according to grid data reviewed by Euractiv.

Hungary’s electricity network is among Europe’s most interconnected, allowing cross-border imports to replace much of the lost output from Paks.

The pressure on the system is expected to intensify as another heatwave pushes up electricity demand. “We are facing the ​most critical five days ahead,” Péter Magyar, the Hungarian prime minister, said, according to Reuters.

Source: Wikipedia