Serbia drought cuts hydropower as Danube hits record low

Serbia is cutting back hydroelectric power generation after drought pushed the Danube river to record-low levels, Energy Minister Dubravka Djedovic Handanovic said Sunday.

Djedovic Handanovic told RTS television that the country's two biggest hydroelectric plants, Djerdap I and Djerdap II, had been reduced to 20 percent and 30 percent of their respective capacities.

The two facilities provide about 18 percent of Serbia's electricity generation. Hydroelectric power accounts for nearly a third of the country's energy mix, with thermal plants making up the rest.

Serbian meteorologists said there had been no significant rainfall to feed the Danube for the past five or six weeks, during a period of extreme hot weather across Europe since May.

Neighbouring Hungary is facing similar energy-production problems linked to the Danube. Its prime minister announced Sunday the shutdown of the country's sole nuclear power plant, which also depends on the river for cooling.