Could Hungary’s gas supply hold? Here is the worst case scenario!

Despite the ongoing war in its neighbourhood, Hungary’s energy supply is stable. Both natural gas and electricity demand are fully covered by domestic systems. Still, competent authorities are prepared for every scenario.

In mid-March, the Moldovan and Ukrainian energy systems were successfully connected to the continental European system to help supply energy to the regions. Ukraine was disconnected from the Russian and Belarusian networks for a long-planned test run on the very day the war broke out (24th February), but the reconnection could not take place.

Ukraine’s original plan was to be connected to the European synchronous system in 2024, until then it would have been tested to see if it can independently maintain the 50 Hz, a prerequisite for European connectivity. However, the war changed the scenario and the two-year preparation period was reduced to two weeks – reported by Magyar Nemzet.

The European system operators and regulators have been working hard to find a solution to the technical and regulatory issues of interconnection and to meet the two countries’ emergency synchronisation requests.

• Read also: Hungarian agriculture on the brink of collapse due to fuel shortage?

Finally, on 16th March, the trial synchronisation of the European system and the Ukrainian and Moldovan systems could start, which will greatly support the stability of the Ukrainian-Moldovan electricity system and the security of the population’s supply. As the Hungarian news portal Blikk reports, further hard work is needed to maintain the power balance of the electricity system, and the costs of emergency synchronisation will have to be shared between the European Member States.

Hungary

In Hungary, the gas demand is met by the combination of domestic production and imports. The latter is constantly monitored and the contracted quantities of gas are currently being delivered through six interconnectors.

In addition, there are also 1.25 billion cubic metres of gas in storage.

This level is more than sufficient for the season. Out of this, 900 million is the strategic stock that might remain untouched this year, based on the foreseen scenarios. „Considering the principle of solidarity, we should help our neighbours if their population is in trouble with the natural gas supply, but only if the help does not cause any disadvantage to the Hungarian population.