Reader’s Letter: the energetic future of Hungary

Reader’s letter

“Winter has come. Europe has been hardly dealing with it. Fuel and electricity prices are growing, inflation breaks new records but the wages are the same. We got used to the government advice to heat our apartments less. Now we should get used to living in the cold”, one of our readers, Marek Szymkiewicz, a Polish national wrote us recently. Below you may read his letter unchanged.

“A bathroom full of hot water became a luxury. More than that, not everyone is able to have a special traditional Christmas dish on his table. Such a situation is common for all European countries. Hungary, for instance, has the first place in the EU in terms of annual overall price increase. Also more than 1500 medicines are missing from there. Hungary, as a country which is trying to deal with a devastating fuel and energy crisis, isn’t excited about what’s going on. That’s because all the industry is based on electricity. Giving up from current exporters providing cheap energy resources creates a threat to national security. So the question arises: what to do next?

It seems logical to provide a “diversification” of the energy supplies. For example, in Hungary there is a strategy to procure “as many types of energy sources from as many resources and via as many routes as possible”, said a Minister of Foreign Affairs and Trade Péter Szijjártó. It is offered to import electricity from Azerbaijan, Slovenia and Romania. Fuel suppliers are replaceable too. For example, PKN Orlen is buying 143 petrol stations around the country. This once again confirms the fact that there are no hopeless situations and solutions always exist. But there is always a but in this imperfect world. Cui bono?

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Definitely, not for Hungary. Of course, a short-term problem will be solved. However, without the Hungarian own energy system, own energy sources, own power plants, only then electric security for Hungary will be guaranteed. Until that, technically, the country will be dependent or even addicted. We have already seen what it may lead to this year. In case of global political and military conflict, who knows, supplies from Azerbaijan, Slovenia and Romania will be closed. What shall we do in that case?

In that case Hungarians will have to get used to price rises and so on… Obviously, the government is already worried about providing national security in the energy sphere. Actually, constant purchasing resources from abroad is a half-measure which can’t guarantee state development and prosperity. We need to think about the future. What can the government offer today?

Today Hungary as the EU member follows the strategy of increasing its share of renewable energy. It is necessary to keep installing new wind turbines, solar panels, to keep using hydro and geothermal sources of energy. Nevertheless the most lucrative way is to increase the share of nuclear power. Current 4 nuclear reactors are quite old, they need to be upgraded or replaced.

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If 4 reactors provided more than a half electricity needs in 2019, so 8 such ones can cover all the existing needs. If there are more than 8 reactors, Hungary will turn into an energy supplier state. It will help to strengthen both energetic security of the EU and Hungarian position on the international stage. Such projects need colossal investments, for example, from the EU. But to make this happen, a fair resource allocation is needed. Yes, it may sound like dreams which never come true but we need to strive for it because the future is in nuclear energy. Another question, do political leaders have enough determination?

Unfortunately, 2022 is a severe year for the entire world and for every European citizen. And as it was in COVID days, we need to join our forces for the common future as we want to see a prosperous Europe.”

Author: Marek Szymkiewicz

“I’m a PhD student from Poland. I’m deeply concerned about ongoing energy crisis in Europe. I think that the situation is becoming worse and worse every day. I don’t want to live in the cold. I believe in nuclear energy which is commonly used in your country. Unfortunately, we don’t have any operating nuclear power plants in Poland now. So I wrote a letter to your media to encourage local people to keep using this type of energy.”

Source: Reader’s Letter