English
After the level of the Danube River rose, Hungary began restarting the second turbine at the Paks nuclear power plant, which produces about half of the country’s electricity.
The low river level, caused by a prolonged heat wave and drought across much of Europe, had previously reduced the plant’s operation to about 10 percent of capacity. Only one of its eight turbines was operating. Hungarian Prime Minister Peter Magyar said on Monday that the second turbine had begun restarting after the Danube rose 19 centimeters from its lowest level last week. The turbine was expected to start generating electricity on Monday evening.
Similar problems with the low Danube water level have been seen in Romania, where an energy emergency was declared in August and part of the river’s flow was diverted to allow the country’s only nuclear power plant to operate smoothly.
High temperatures and drought this summer have also caused serious problems for electricity production, transport and public health in several European countries.