Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico offered Hungary immediate assistance with electricity supplies after the Hungarian nuclear power plant “Paks“ was disconnected from the power grid due to the critically low water level in the Danube River and a shortage of cooling water, APA reported, BTA reported.
In a post on “Facebook“ (Facebook), Fico said that Slovakia's nuclear power plants are not affected by a similar situation and the country is ready to support Hungary in overcoming the energy crisis.
The offer was made after Hungarian Prime Minister Peter Magyar announced, also via a post on “Facebook“, that the Paks NPP will be completely shut down on Sunday after 44 years operation.
According to him, the loss of about 2,000 megawatts of production capacity will be compensated by all available reserve power plants in the country and by importing electricity.
Magyar pointed out that the Hungarian authorities are in constant contact with the water resources management institutions in Austria and Slovakia. He rejected claims circulating on the Internet that the two neighboring countries have introduced water management restrictions to reduce the flow of the Danube into Hungary.
He said the low river level was mainly due to the prolonged lack of rainfall in the Danube catchment area, and the water level is expected to continue to fall in the coming days.
The Hungarian authorities have ordered the immediate introduction of third-level restrictions on water use in order to guarantee the supply of drinking water. In practice, this means limiting all non-essential activities, including washing cars and watering gardens.
Meanwhile, a government decree has come into force in the country, allowing for a temporary interruption of the power supply of large industrial enterprises if they fail to comply with the prescribed consumption restrictions.
According to Magyar, the power supply to households will be limited only if all other options for reducing consumption have been exhausted.
Restrictions will also be introduced for rail freight transport between 5:00 p.m. and 10:00 p.m. from Monday, in order to reduce evening electricity consumption and free up additional reserves in the system.
The government has ordered state administration employees to work remotely for the first three days of next week, as long as this allows the normal functioning of the institutions. The cabinet has also called on private sector employers to implement the same practice where possible.
As part of the measures to save electricity, decorative lighting has also been turned off of state buildings, and municipalities have been advised to take maximum measures to limit consumption.
Interim head of state Agnes Forsthofer has requested a meeting with the prime minister on Monday to be informed about the actions taken in connection with the extreme heat wave and the energy crisis. The leaders of the parliamentary opposition parties have also been invited to the meeting, after the planned plenary session of parliament was canceled.