Call for Voluntary Cuts from Large Energy Consumers

Hungarian transmission system operator MAVIR, acting on orders from the government, will call on several dozen large industrial energy consumers to make voluntary cuts in their electricity usage, Prime Minister Péter Magyar announced in a social media post on Thursday.

He said MAVIR will contact cement factories, car and battery manufacturers, chemical plants and other large plants to cut their electricity consumption in the critical hours from 5:00 in the afternoon to 10:00 in the evening.

The prime minister pointed out that the government is preparing legislation so that it can intervene on a mandatory basis if necessary for the scheduled, temporary shutdown of some large consumers.

Péter Magyar said that at the latest from Monday a critical energy supply situation that Hungary has never faced in its history could occur. "An unprecedented situation requires unprecedented solutions," he added.

On a normal summer day in the hours between 5:00 in the afternoon and 10:00 in the evening electricity demand averages 6,000 MW but MAVIR estimates that the peak could now be some 20% higher.

The prime minister noted that growing demand coincides with a 2,400 MW drop in Hungary’s energy output. Hungary's Paks nuclear power plant will be shut down completely as water levels on the Danube, used to cool the NPP, fall, and the gas-fired Dunamenti Power Plant is malfunctioning.

Péter Magyar also called on households to be conscious and self-restrained in the electricity usage and said that despite the cuts in output the situation is manageable.

The prime minister noted a rotational shutdown system is available, applying it is the decision of MAVIR. It will only be used if power plant reserves, imports, self-limitation by large consumers and other technical means are not sufficient to maintain the balance of the national grid.

He added that hospitals, social institutions and the provision of services essential to the functioning of the country enjoy special protection and attention.