BUDAPEST, June 29 (Reuters) – Hungary’s energy minister has granted a temporary exemption for the Paks nuclear power plant from downstream cooling water temperature rules to prevent another steep cut in power output amid a record heatwave, the plant’s operator said on Monday.
• The power plant said its output must still be lowered by an additional 40 megawatts (MW), even with loosened regulation after similar measures over the weekend.
• The Danube’s temperature at the Paks nuclear plant reached 30.2 degrees Celsius on Monday, exceeding a 29.5 C intervention threshold.
• Without the exemption, output would have to be reduced by a further 640 MW at the 2 GW plant, meaning the plant would have run at less than half its capacity.
• Output from the Russian-built reactors had already been cut by a total of 563 MW over the weekend because of the high temperature of the Danube River, water from which is used by the plant as a coolant.
• Power grid operator Mavir recommended the temporary exemption to guarantee security of power supply.
• The exemption is valid for Monday and Tuesday during the forecast heatwave.
• The energy minister has urged Hungarians to curb electricity consumption during evening hours.
(Reporting by Anita Komuves and Gergely SzakacsEditing by David Goodman)
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