Hungary's prime minister seeks political unity as energy crisis deepens

Hungarian Prime Minister Peter Magyar urged political parties, businesses and households to reduce energy consumption to avoid supply disruptions caused by the imminent shutdown of the Paks nuclear power plant, likely within days, saying the most critical days are still ahead, state news agency MTI writes.

Speaking from the control centre of transmission system operator Mavir, Magyar said the electricity system had remained stable despite the sharp loss of nuclear power output.

Experts at Paks had succeeded in raising cooling water levels by several centimetres after another reactor was shut down on the previous day,  allowing the final turbine to continue operating. Updated hydrological forecasts had also become "slightly more optimistic", raising hopes the remaining unit could stay online through August 4, he added.

The crisis has been triggered by the severe drought and scorching temperatures that have pushed the Danube to record-low levels, restricting the cooling water available for Paks. The plant, which normally supplies roughly half of Hungary's domestic electricity generation, was scaled back over the weekend.

As of midnight, only one of the eight turbines remains in operation, currently producing around 230MW, or 11%of its capacity, while authorities continue to monitor river conditions hour by hour. MVM, which operates the plan stressed the shutdown does not increase nuclear safety risks. 

Grid load stood at around 6.3GW on August 3, while electricity consumption was more than 500MW below earlier forecasts thanks to voluntary cut backs by consumers and emergency government measures.

Large industrial users have so far pledged to reduce their output by 630MW, providing an important buffer for the national grid during the daily evening peak between 5pm and 10pm.

Even so, Magyar warned that the next several days remain highly uncertain and critical, with the heat expected to rise to the upper 30s in the coming days.

Temperatures could reach 40 degrees or higher, but the heatwave will likely persist until the weekend, exerting pressure on the country’s electricity system. He again called on voluntary savings by households and businesses, which is crucial to maintaining supply security.

Earlier in the day, Magyar met parliamentary group leaders at Budapest's Sandor Palace alongside acting president Agnes Forsthoffer of the Tisza Party to discuss the crisis and the government's response. The meeting was convened to brief opposition and governing parties on the evolving situation after an extraordinary parliamentary session was suspended due to the ongoing crisis.

Both leaders stressed that the emergency required national unity rather than political confrontation. Magyar said crisis communication must remain based on scientific and technical information, warning that politicians or public figures spreading misinformation or encouraging panic were undermining efforts to protect the electricity system.

He specifically rejected claims circulating online that neighbouring countries were withholding Danube water, saying river levels had reached historic lows across Austria, Germany and Slovakia alike. He also dismissed comparisons with Hungary's 1983 drought, noting that water levels were then more than one metre higher while Paks generated only around 500MW, compared with approximately 2GW before the current crisis.

The meeting also produced broad agreement on the need for a comprehensive long-term water management strategy, while Magyar argued that Hungary should accelerate investments in renewable generation, battery storage and grid infrastructure using available European Union funding to improve resilience against future climate-related shocks.

The government continues to prioritise voluntary demand reductions before introducing compulsory restrictions. Magyar said hundreds of companies had already joined the national energy-saving effort and expressed hope that voluntary reductions could eventually reach around 500MW on a sustained basis.

However, he warned that if industrial savings prove insufficient, the government is prepared to impose mandatory consumption limits or temporarily disconnect selected large consumers to preserve grid stability. He singled out one large industrial company that had yet to respond to requests for voluntary reductions.

Corporate participation has continued to expand rapidly. Drug maker Richter said it would cut electricity consumption at its Hungarian operations by more than 50% during the first three weeks of August while feeding around 4MW of surplus electricity from its solar park into the national grid. Battery manufacturer CATL has already lowered energy use at its Debrecen plan by 20% even as production has not started yet and aims to notch that number up to 30%.  Cement producer Holcim vowed to cut evening electricity consumption by more than 90% and is exporting unused solar power back into the network. MediaMarkt, OTP Bank, several insurers, universities, manufacturers and logistics companies have also introduced energy-saving measures, including expanded remote working, lower cooling levels, reduced lighting and shifting energy-intensive operations to overnight hours.

The emergency measures follow earlier government decisions to curb electricity demand during the evening peak by temporarily suspending rail freight services, postponing electric bus charging until after 10pm and switching off decorative lighting on major public buildings, monuments and bridges.

Authorities have repeatedly stressed that household electricity supplies remain protected, with industrial users expected to bear the burden of any further restrictions should the situation deteriorate.