Overview
- The Paks plant was taken fully offline on Sunday after Danube gauge readings reached the safety threshold that prevents its cooling intakes from operating.
- Operators had progressively cut output through late July with Unit 3 shut on July 29 and Unit 1 taken offline on August 1 before the final shutdown.
- The Hungarian Atomic Energy Authority said the staged reductions and the full shutdown did not compromise nuclear safety or the environment.
- The government has ordered voluntary demand reductions, readied mandatory industrial curbs for large users, sought extra output from gas-fired plants and arranged electricity imports to cover the shortfall.
- Officials and regional partners are monitoring the drought-driven crisis as leaders warn of multi-week strain on households, public services and the economy with higher import bills expected.