Rising electricity prices may make Paks 2 profitable
November 7th, 2018A business analyst who has been sceptical until now of the government’s maths on the financial viability of the new nuclear blocks to be built at Paks, now believes that the project might become profitable as a result of the unexpected but steady rise in international electricity prices. Construction is due to begin this year.
On Index, Gergely Brückner believes that the current trend of ever higher prices in the international electric energy market is a lasting phenomenon which is due to three basic factors – global warming (which reduces the output of hydroelectric power stations), the restrictions on coal mining and the growing uncertainty in international relations. As a result, the European market price of one MWh of electric energy has increased from €41 to €61 over the past year. Brückner didn’t buy the official calculations according to which the two new blocks of the Paks nuclear power station would be profitable with electric energy prices around €40, but if the price reaches the threshold of €70, he writes, the project may become financially viable.