Hungary’s nuclear plant avoids shutdown as water level expected to stay high enough

BUDAPEST, Aug 19 (Reuters) – Hungary’s Paks nuclear plant averted a complete shutdown as water levels on the Danube river, its main coolant source, are expected to stay high enough near the ​plant due to engineering work on the river, Prime Minister ‌Peter Magyar said on Thursday.

The plant could begin restarting its six idle turbines on Sunday and could be operating at full capacity by Thursday or Friday of next week, Magyar added.

The plant, which generates nearly half of Hungary’s electricity, has been running ‌at just ​25% of its capacity, with only two ⁠of its eight turbines operational, ⁠amid a historic drought and record-low water levels on the Danube.

Neighbouring Romania shut down its last working reactor last week as drought this summer has wreaked havoc in European power production, shipping and public ​health systems. The drought also raised questions in Hungary and Romania about how to adapt atomic energy to an increasingly extreme climate.

“Now we ⁠can safely say that we will not ⁠have to switch off either of the two currently ​running turbines as we will be able to stay above the level where ​they would be needed to be shut down,” Prime Minister ‌Peter Magyar said in a Facebook video.

He also said that engineering work done near the plant has already managed to raise the water level by 10-15 centimetres.

“As a result of this the six idle turbines can begin ⁠to be gradually restarted Sunday at midnight at the latest,” Magyar said, adding that experts expect the plant to be running at full capacity by ⁠Thursday or Friday next ‌week.

Hungary last week began to construct a riverbed sill, ⁠a crosswise dam-like structure at the river bottom, ​to regulate ‌water flow, which was expected to raise water ​levels by up ⁠to one meter. However, the project is expected to take weeks to complete.

As a short-term solution, the government sank two barges near Paks to raise the water levels enough so that the plant’s two turbines could be kept working while the riverbed sill was under construction.

(Reporting by Anita Komuves; Editing ​by Alistair Bell)