Overview
- Hungary began bringing a Paks turbine back online on Monday after a modest rise in the Danube, but the plant remains at well below normal output and a full recovery is not assured.
- Paks uses Danube water for cooling and had been reduced to about ten percent of capacity, a severe hit for a plant that usually supplies nearly half of Hungary’s electricity.
- Romania declared an energy emergency and used emergency engineering—blasting rocks, dredging and sinking barges—to raise water around Cernavodă by about four centimetres, a measure expected to buy only days of operation.
- Experts say Europe is unlikely to face a continent-wide blackout because cross‑border imports, large midday solar output and storage can cover shortfalls, though evening peak shortages and local stresses could still produce price spikes and outages.
- Governments are using short-term fixes and appeals for evening savings while Hungary plans a permanent weir to raise Danube levels at Paks and companies warn the supply squeeze could weigh on households and businesses.