Drought Halts Power Plants in Region, Krško Nuclear Operates with Cooling Towers

Hungary's Paks nuclear power plant is operating at just 10% capacity due to critically low water levels and high temperatures on the Danube River. The situation has prompted the Hungarian government to establish a crisis task force to manage the escalating energy crisis. The Danube's water level has fallen below the threshold required for safe operation of the 2,000-megawatt plant, forcing it to scale back production significantly.

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The plant is currently operating at full capacity, but with the help of cooling towers, which allow for additional cooling and compliance with environmental limits.

In Slovenia, the Krško Nuclear Power Plant (NEK) is currently operating at full capacity, but relies on cooling towers for additional cooling. This measure is necessary because the Sava River, which it uses for cooling, is experiencing low flow and rising temperatures due to the ongoing heatwave. NEK must ensure the river's temperature does not exceed 28 degrees Celsius downstream, a limit that becomes harder to meet with reduced river flow and higher ambient temperatures.

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We must ensure that the average daily temperature of the Sava River in the area of complete mixing below the Brežice hydroelectric power plant does not exceed 28 degrees Celsius.

The use of cooling towers increases the plant's internal electricity consumption and reduces its overall efficiency, meaning less power is fed into the grid. Slovenia's grid operator, Eles, has proposed temporarily waiving environmental regulations to prevent potential instability in the national power grid if NEK were forced to shut down. The Ministry of the Environment is currently reviewing this proposal.

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The use of cooling towers allows for continued operation, but increases the plant's own electricity consumption and reduces the plant's efficiency, thus it delivers less electricity to the grid.

Serbia is also facing serious energy challenges, with authorities labeling the situation as severe. They are urging residents to use air conditioning and other major electricity consumers moderately. Despite the low river flows, hydroelectric power plants in the region are not currently considered at risk, as water levels in their reservoirs remain at normal levels for this time of year. Energy companies are ensuring grid stability by adjusting production across various power plants and purchasing electricity from regional markets when necessary.

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The possibility of temporary deviation from environmental limits has been proposed, as a complete shutdown of NEK could cause problems with the stability of the Slovenian transmission power grid.