“Due to the further drop in the Danube’s water level,” Magyar wrote Saturday, “tomorrow it will be completely shut down for the first time in 44 years.”
The Soviet-built Paks facility remains the backbone of the country’s power system. The loss of output has triggered national energy-saving measures and offers of support from regional neighbors.
A prolonged outage would cripple Hungary’s electricity supply at a time when temperatures are forecast to rise above 40 degrees Celsius in Budapest next week amid an ongoing heatwave and drought across Europe.
Magyar warned the shutdown could trigger an emergency at a time of high summer demand: “An energy crisis situation may arise from Monday. Coordinated steps and self-restraint will be needed to avoid more severe consequences.”
The government has urged households and businesses to reduce electricity consumption during peak hours between 5 p.m. and 10 p.m., calling on people to limit their use of air conditioning and washing machines. Authorities have also prepared an emergency plan to temporarily restrict consumption at industrial facilities on a rotating basis, while increasing output from other power plants.
The European Commission said Friday it was closely monitoring the situation and was prepared to convene an emergency meeting of its Electricity Coordination Group over the Paks shutdown.