Hungary has avoided another shutdown at the Paks nuclear power plant despite the Danube approaching a critical low, Prime Minister Péter Magyar announced on Wednesday evening. The government now expects the plant to begin restoring additional capacity from Sunday and potentially return to full operation by the end of next week.

Speaking in Paks alongside Environment Minister László Gajdos, Magyar said water management experts expect the Danube to reach its lowest point overnight on Wednesday or early Thursday morning.

However, emergency interventions carried out over the past two weeks have raised water levels sufficiently to keep the plant’s two currently operating turbines online.

Magyar said the river is now expected to bottom out at around minus 132–134 centimetres, remaining above the level at which another turbine would have to be disconnected.

“The good news is that we can now say with certainty that none of the operating turbines will have to be switched off,” the prime minister said.

Emergency construction raises water level at Paks nuclear power plant

Hungary has been racing against time to maintain sufficient water levels around the plant, which depends on the Danube for cooling.

The emergency measures include the controlled sinking of two 80-metre barges and the construction of a submerged riverbed sill near Paks. Additional water has also been released through the Ráckeve lock system. The interventions were introduced after an historic drought pushed the Danube to record-low levels and severely reduced electricity generation at Paks.

Magyar said the structure in the bay has already produced a backwater effect of around 10–15 centimetres, while the level at the cold-water channel close to the nuclear plant has risen by more than five centimetres.

Work on the riverbed sill will continue throughout Hungary’s four-day holiday weekend. With some private haulage companies unavailable during the break, the Hungarian Defence Forces will take over part of the transportation work, Index reported.

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Paks could return to full capacity next week

The improved situation could soon allow the plant to begin reversing some of its recent production cuts.

Magyar said the currently offline turbine could begin a gradual restart no later than midnight on Sunday. The government’s current plan is for the Paks nuclear power plant to return to full capacity around Thursday or Friday next week.

The announcement marks a significant turnaround from only days ago, when officials warned that falling water levels could force another operating turbine offline. Earlier in August, the 2-gigawatt plant – which normally generates roughly half of Hungary’s electricity – fell to just over 10% of capacity as the Danube reached record lows.

For foreign readers, the connection between the river and electricity production is crucial. Paks uses Danube water to cool the turbine condensers, requiring approximately 132 cubic metres of river water per second during normal operation. The cooling water is separated from the nuclear reactor’s primary circuit.

Full shutdown would have cost Hungary heavily

Magyar said a complete loss of production at Paks would add around HUF 50 billion (approximately EUR 137 million) per month to costs borne by the state budget and taxpayers, largely because Hungary would have to replace the missing electricity with more expensive imports.

The emergency river works were initially budgeted at HUF 6 billion (around EUR 16.4 million), although Magyar said the final public cost should be lower because companies and other organisations have contributed equipment and services.

The crisis has highlighted the vulnerability of Danube-dependent energy infrastructure during prolonged droughts. Romania was forced to shut down its Cernavodă nuclear facility this month amid similarly extreme conditions, while Hungary has so far managed to keep at least part of Paks operating.

For Hungary, the immediate danger now appears to be easing. If the Danube remains above the critical threshold and the emergency works continue as planned, the country’s most important power plant could be back at full capacity by late next week.

As we wrote earlier about Danube drought, Central European countries urged to act together as energy systems come under pressure – analysis.