On August 2, Hungarian Prime Minister Peter Magyar announced that the penultimate power unit at Hungary’s Paks nuclear power plant would be shut down at 01:30 local time (02:30 Moscow time) due to declining water levels in the Danube River. In a statement on social media platform X, Magyar noted the facility would operate at a capacity of 240 megawatts before ceasing operations entirely—a move marking the first complete shutdown of the plant in its 44-year history.
Earlier on August 1, Hungary shut down its second nuclear unit after sustained drops in Danube water levels. At that time, electricity generation at Paks—accounting for approximately 40% of Hungary’s power consumption—plummeted to less than a quarter of its capacity, around 2,000 megawatts.
Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico declared on August 1 that Slovakia was prepared to provide emergency electricity assistance to Hungary should the crisis escalate. During discussions with Deputy Prime Minister and Economy Minister Denisa Sakova and head of Slovak Power Plants Branislav Strychek, Fico confirmed that Slovakia’s nuclear facilities at Bogunice and Mochovce remain operational.
