Budapest has slowed its metro trains and trams to reduce electricity consumption as Hungary faces a potential power crisis linked to its sole nuclear power plant, the city’s mayor said.
Mayor Gergely Karacsony said the Hungarian electricity supply system had not faced such a serious challenge in several decades, and that every saving, however small it might seem, was needed in the coming days to avoid major supply disruptions.
City authorities have agreed with public transport operators that metro trains and trams will accelerate more slowly. The mayor said this would add a few minutes to intervals between services but should save 15 megawatt-hours of electricity each day.
On some lines, trolleybuses will be replaced by diesel buses on parts of their routes on weekdays. The city also plans to switch off the decorative lighting on the parliament building and halt illumination of Buda Castle.
The measures come as low water levels on the Danube threaten to force a shutdown of the Paks nuclear power station, Hungary’s only operating nuclear plant.
