Hungarian businesses and households have been asked to sharply reduce electricity consumption this week as an unprecedented drought cripples the national power grid.
The government issued the call to ease pressure on the system, which is struggling to meet demand without its primary baseload source.
The request follows the suspension of operations at the Paks nuclear power plant, Hungary’s only nuclear facility.
Authorities shut down the plant due to critically low water levels in the Danube River, which are required for cooling.
The shutdown marks the first time in the facility’s 44-year history that operations have been halted for environmental reasons, according to previous Handelsavisen reporting.
With Paks offline, the country faces a significant supply gap.