This year, the utility subsidy will remain throughout the year, including in winter, and the government is planning a major water utility renovation program.

This year, the utility subsidy will remain throughout the year, including in winter, Minister of Energy Csaba Lantos announced in a Facebook video on Monday.

He added: utility protection is a system with which Hungary can assure its citizens that electricity and gas are the cheapest here, up to average consumption.

Next winter, according to the head of the ministry, there will definitely be enough gas,

since it was a mild winter, the level of natural gas in the storages remained high, while Hungary has a particularly large storage capacity. The supply is also provided by the existing contracts, he said.

All of Europe and Hungary were lucky with the mild winter. "The leadership of a country cannot make a clear bet that this will always happen again," he said, adding that this is why they decided to raise the level of the security stock. Previously, the country stored 10 percent of the annual consumption as a safety stock, this was increased to nearly 2 billion cubic meters, 20 percent of the consumption, while the consumption also decreased.

The minister emphasized that Hungary needs nuclear energy. Paks 1 works reliably and safely, and Paks 2 continues.

Nuclear energy is an energy carrier with zero carbon dioxide emissions. This is how climate policy commitments can be fulfilled.

Csaba Lantos pointed out that

the main driver of growth is currently solar energy. The installed solar power plant capacity is already over 4,500 megawatts. This is two-thirds of the country's average electricity consumption.

There are quarter-hours when, together with Paks, they can supply the grid exclusively with carbon dioxide-free electricity. Few countries can say that.

In addition, there will be - if not many - all the wind wheels again,

because this alternative is also needed. There are already good experiences for what can be taken out of the ground, such as geothermal heat, and utilized, but at the same time, this must be continued, there are still plenty of reserves here.

According to Csaba Lantos

biogas and biomass must be used and waste must also be processed.

Last but not least, the production of existing fossil energy carriers – crude oil, natural gas – can be increased somewhat. "These are all energy carriers, energy production that we can produce at home, and with this we can serve our energy independence," he said.

He acknowledged that there is a problem with the water utility network, which requires resources to renovate the old pipes. "We don't get money for this from the union, it has to be provided from our own resources," he said.

He explained:

the government is planning a major water utility renovation program.

In the ten-year program, a significant amount will be available for the replacement of the most critical network elements. In Hungary, more than 96-97 percent of the residents have access to healthy, potable drinking water 24 hours a day. Many countries would be proud of that, he said.

MTI

Photo: MTI/ZOLTÁN MÁTHÉ