France has closed down three more nuclear reactors after the initial shutdowns earlier in July, media reports said on Tuesday, adding to concerns over potential electricity supply disruptions as many European nations fight recurring heat waves and drought.
French energy company EDF has shut down three nuclear reactors after drought conditions reduced water flows in the Meuse and Moselle rivers, Anadolu Agency (AA) indicated, citing local media reports.
Two reactors at the Chooz nuclear power plant in the northeastern Ardennes region and one at the Cattenom facility in Moselle remained offline as of Monday afternoon, according to Le Figaro.
EDF shut down Chooz reactor No. 1 late Saturday to comply with a 1998 Franco-Belgian agreement governing the management of the Meuse River. The plant’s second reactor has been offline since July 11 under the same agreement.
The accord allows electricity production to be adjusted to maintain sufficient water flows for users of the Meuse in both France and Belgium, EDF said.
The company also shut down one of the Cattenom plant’s reactors overnight from Friday to Saturday as a precaution because of declining water levels in the Moselle River.
EDF has also reduced or plans to reduce output at four other reactors: Bugey 3, Tricastin 4 and Saint-Alban 1 and 2.
France operates 57 nuclear reactors, which generate approximately 70% of the country’s electricity.
Nuclear power plants are generally located near rivers or the sea because they require large quantities of water for cooling.
France and Spain were among the countries hit the most by rising temperatures and wildfires.
Danube River levels low
Other nations, including those lying on the Danube River, one of the biggest in Europe, have also faced constraints in operating their electricity-generation facilities.
Hungary, which initially announced that the cessation of operations at its only nuclear plant was looming, said on Tuesday it avoided a complete shutdown.
"At around 1:30 a.m. (11.30 p.m. GMT on Monday), we were just a few millimetres away from a complete shutdown," Hungary's Prime Minister Peter Magyar wrote on his Facebook page on Tuesday morning, related to the situation at Paks nuclear power plant.
"But then the drop in the water level of the Danube came to an end, and by morning it had risen by 1.5 centimeters," he added.
Hungary's only nuclear power plant was currently operating its last turbine "under safe conditions," he said.
The Paks plant, which normally accounts for a third of Hungary's electricity consumption, has four reactor units and is located around 100 kilometers (60 miles) south of the capital, Budapest.
It draws its cooling water from the Danube, the level of which in Hungary is currently at historic lows.
In neighboring Serbia, authorities have, meanwhile, urged citizens over the weekend to conserve water as the output at main hydro plants on the border with Romania also decreased.
Much of southern Europe and parts of the Balkans have seen daytime highs consistently soaring above 35 degrees Celsius (95 degrees Fahrenheit) to 40 degrees Celsius in recent days.