Hungary restarts Paks turbine as Danube rises 19 cm, while Romania's Cernavodă faces new water decline

Paks restarts second turbine

Hungary began reconnecting a turbine at the Paks nuclear plant on Monday, 10 August, after the Danube rose 19 centimetres above the record low recorded a week earlier. Prime Minister Péter Magyar announced on Facebook that turbine 3 of unit 2 would start producing electricity by Monday evening. The plant, which normally supplies about half of Hungary's electricity, had been reduced to approximately 10% of capacity, with only one of its eight turbines still running. One turbine generates 225 megawatts, compared with the plant's normal output of 2,000 MW when all reactors are operational.

Last week, Hungary shut down three of the plant's four reactors after Danube water levels fell to record lows, leaving only a single turbine from one reactor in operation. The Danube provides the cooling water essential for the plant's reactors.

Record lows and temporary relief

The Danube's lowest point was recorded on the night of Tuesday, 4 August 2026, when the gauge showed minus 140 centimetres. In August 2026, the Danube in Hungary dropped to 23 centimetres, below the previous record low of 33 centimetres set in 2018. The rise observed on Monday followed rains in Austria, but Magyar cautioned that the increase may be temporary, with no significant additional precipitation anticipated afterward.

Magyar described the situation at Paks as remaining "difficult" and said the government is working on solutions in case low water levels become permanent. He had urged companies and citizens to reduce electricity consumption during evening hours and dimmed decorative lighting on historic buildings in Budapest. On Friday, 7 August, he told a press conference that the Hungarian economy cannot function for months without the nuclear plant.

We must find a solution for the operation of the Paks nuclear plant, because the Hungarian economy cannot function without this plant for months.

Romania's Cernavodă plant under pressure

Downstream in Romania, the situation at the Cernavodă nuclear plant has worsened. After interventions last week, including the detonation of the Pârjoaia rock on 3 August and the controlled sinking of four barges loaded with stones to create a dam, the water level around the cooling pumps of Unit 2 rose by 4 centimetres, enough for approximately 9 days of operation. However, by Monday the Danube at Cernavodă had dropped 5 centimetres, with forecasts indicating continued decline.

State Secretary Cristian Bușoi said the improvement from the barge sinkings was not durable and warned that Romania must prepare for a scenario in which Unit 2 does not operate for a short period.

After the first sinkings, we saw an improvement in the Danube level in the Cernavodă area. From the data we have, it seems that this effect was not a lasting one.

Bușoi said the population would not be affected even if Unit 2 shuts down, as Transelectica could temporarily limit consumption for large industrial companies. He recommended reducing consumption during peak hours, particularly between 19:00 and 22:00. Romania declared a state of energy emergency for the entire month of August.

Long-term questions

The crisis has prompted Budapest to revisit the Paks 2 expansion project, built with Russia's Rosatom. The current design relies on Danube water for cooling, and Magyar said this approach must be reevaluated, with cooling towers among the alternatives being considered. The government also plans to auction 700 MW of wind capacity by 31 August and aims to install 4 GW of wind energy by 2030. According to local press, the Danube needs to rise at least another 5 centimetres before all four Paks units can be reactivated, a process that could take more than a week, provided no further drops occur.