Romania blasts rocks to reroute Danube water to reactor, Hungary gets reprieve

BUDAPEST/BUCHAREST, Aug 3 - Romania blew up a rock outcrop on Monday to help redirect vital cooling water from the drought-hit Danube to its last working nuclear reactor, as neighbouring Hungary said it might be able to eke out two more days of power from its only atomic plant.

The controlled blast set off by Romania's navy sent a tower of water into the air — an extraordinary measure underlining the scale of the crisis in Europe, where heat and drought have lowered river levels and raised concerns about water supplies, river transport and power generation.

With both reactors at reduced capacity, Hungary and Romania are increasingly relying on expensive power imports as heatwave conditions boost demand for electricity. Both countries use water from the Danube as coolant.

Authorities in Hungary, who had earlier said they might have to shut down their Paks nuclear plant as early as Sunday, said it could operate at its current reduced capacity until Monday or Tuesday, offering a small reprieve for the power supply.

The 2-gigawatt Paks plant, which normally generates about half of the country's electricity, was running at just over 10% of its capacity on Monday after the Danube fell to a record low.

"Today, and maybe tomorrow the last turbine producing 240 megawatts can keep working," Hungary's Prime Minister Peter Magyar said.

"This is very good news, as the complete shutdown of the plant can be avoided on one of the days with the highest consumption," he added.

Further downstream, Romanian state-owned nuclear power producer Nuclearelectrica, which normally generates a fifth of the country's electricity needs, had to shut down one of its two reactors early last week.

Experts said the controlled explosion would clear the way for authorities to build a temporary dam which would send more water to the river channel where the remaining Cernavoda reactor sits.

The work to redirect more water to the reactor would finish on Wednesday, the navy said.

"Any day past Wednesday or Thursday that the nuclear power plant functions is a gain," Romanian Defence Minister Radu Miruta said on Monday. "A day of it functioning is three times more efficient than the costs of this operation."

Romanian car-making plants run by Renault-owned Dacia and Ford have temporarily halted production until August 19, Prime Minister Ilie Bolojan said on Monday, voluntarily reducing power consumption by some 200 MW.

Hungary's Magyar earlier said voluntary cuts in power usage by households and companies, made after a government appeal, had reduced demand by 700 MW on Sunday, significantly easing pressure on the grid.

Adding to voluntary cuts by other companies, pharma company Richter said on Monday that it would reduce its electricity consumption by more than 50% in the next three weeks, and offered a daily 4 MW of electricity produced by its solar energy park. REUTERS