Hungary’s prime minister Peter Magyar ‌said on Monday that ​Danube water level predictions for the next ​few days have ⁠become “slightly more optimistic” and that ‌water levels at the Paks ⁠nuclear plant and ​in Budapest have stagnated ‌since Monday morning.The ​nuclear plant was expected to be completely powered ‌down ⁠later this week as water levels on ‌the Danube river ​were projected ​to fall further. Romania blew up ‌a rock outcrop on Monday to help redirect vital cooling water from the drought-hit Danube to its last working nuclear reactor.The controlled blast set off by Romania’s navy sent a tower of water into the air – an extraordinary measure underlining the scale of the crisis in Europe, where heat and drought have lowered river levels and raised concerns about water ​supplies, river transport and power generation.With both reactors at reduced capacity, Hungary and Romania are increasingly relying on expensive power imports as heatwave conditions boost electricity demand. Both countries use water from the Danube as coolant.Authorities in Hungary, who had earlier said they might have to ‌shut ‌down ​their Paks nuclear plant as early as Sunday, said it could operate at its current reduced capacity until Monday or Tuesday, offering a small reprieve for the power supply.The 2-gigawatt Paks ⁠plant, which normally generates about half of the country’s ​electricity, was running at just over 10 per cent of its capacity on ​Monday after the Danube fell to a record low.“Today, and maybe tomorrow, the last turbine producing 240 megawatts can keep working,” Magyar said.“This is very ​good news, as the complete shutdown of the plant can be avoided on one of the days with the highest consumption.” Further downstream, Romanian state-owned nuclear power producer Nuclearelectrica, ⁠which normally generates a ​fifth of the country’s electricity needs, had to shut down one of its two reactors early last week.Experts said the controlled explosion would clear the way for authorities to build a temporary dam which would send more water to the river channel where the remaining Cernavoda reactor sits.The work to redirect more water to the reactor would finish on Wednesday.“Any day past Wednesday or Thursday that the nuclear power plant functions is a gain,” Romanian defence minister Radu Miruta said on Monday. “A day of it functioning is three times more efficient than the costs ‌of this operation.”Romanian car-making plants ⁠run by Renault-owned Dacia and Ford have temporarily halted production until August 19th, prime minister Ilie Bolojan said on Monday, voluntarily reducing power consumption by some 200 megawatts.Hungary’s Magyar earlier said voluntary cuts in power usage by ‌households and companies, made after a government appeal, had reduced demand by 700 megawatts on Sunday, significantly easing pressure on the grid.Adding to voluntary cuts by ​other companies, pharma company Richter said on Monday that it would reduce its electricity consumption ​by more than 50 per cent in the next three weeks, and offered a daily 4 megawatts of electricity produced by its solar energy park. (Reuters)