A professional conference entitled Electricity Supply in Hungary in the 21st Century was held at the Hungarian Academy of Sciences on 18 February, 2014, in the framework of which invited speakers elaborated on their views on the issue. In his lecture, Minister of State for Energy Affairs Pál Kovács recalled a statement made by EU Energy Commissioner Günther Oettinger last May according to which the European Commission acknowledged and respected the decisions of national governments on energy mixes applied in order to reduce carbon-dioxide emissions.

In his lecture, the Minister of State for Energy Affairs emphasised that Hungary had to think in terms of an energy mix, in relation to which he recalled a study made for the Directorate General for Energy of the European Commission that analysed the expected costs of electricity production per energy mix by 2050. Considering the criteria examined, it was the diversified energy mix that involved the most favourable costs, it was pointed out in the study, which included both nuclear energy and renewable energy sources.  

As an optimisation task, the National Energy Strategy must create a balance between supply security, sustainability and competitiveness.  In the implementation of this task, nuclear energy is a means that is able to serve all the three goals simultaneously, Pál Kovács said. The Minister of State warned against relying on a single energy source as long as energy storage was an unsolved issue. 

The Hungarian Government had to take action in order to guarantee the sovereignty and energy security of the country and acted as a mindful housekeeper when embarking upon the implementation of capacity maintenance. The path embarked upon is the most favourable choice considering the reduction of CO2 emission, the price of electricity and sustainability as well, Pál Kovács pointed out.

(Ministry of National Development)