Paks nuclear plant to restart reactor 3 ahead of schedule

Hungary's Paks nuclear plant is set to bring reactor 3 back online on Saturday evening, ahead of the previously expected Sunday restart, Prime Minister Peter Magyar announced.

The early resumption follows a combination of rising water levels on the Danube and construction work carried out on the riverbed near the facility. Magyar credited the engineering efforts and improved river conditions for the accelerated timeline.

The plant, which supplies nearly half of Hungary's electricity, had been operating at just 25% of capacity with only two of its eight turbines running. The reduction was caused by a historic drought that pushed Danube water levels to record lows.

To address the immediate crisis, the government sank two barges near Paks to maintain sufficient water depth for the two working turbines. A more permanent solution, a riverbed sill designed to regulate water flow, is currently under construction.

Magyar said late Wednesday that the engineering work had helped the plant avoid a complete shutdown. He also indicated that the facility should return to full capacity by Thursday or Friday of next week.