Hungary’s government will spend 103 billion Hungarian forints (251.4 million euros) on developing and increasing the flexibility of the country’s electricity network. The State Secretary for Energy, Attila Steiner said the government is financing 50 per cent of the upgrades carried out by electricity firms.
The announced support scheme was set to be financed by the European Union’s Recovery and Resilience Facility. However, as the negotiations with Brussels are stalling, the government has decided to pre-finance the program.
Companies that will receive government support include state-owned transmission system operator Mavir and smaller transmission firms, informed the State Secretary. Subsidiaries of state-owned energy company MVM Group will receive a combined 35 billion Hungarian forints (85.7 million euros) in government support to boost the network’s capacity for electricity from renewable sources by 600-700 megawatts (MW).
According to the State Secretary, the current geopolitical situation underlined the importance of domestic energy sources and electricity generation can increase Hungary’s security of supply. However, this requires locally produced electricity and a network that can deliver the electricity from the production sites to the consumers.
He emphasised that the growing interest in solar PV (both on the residential side and the side of SMEs) requires the development of the network due to the high volatility of renewable energy production. The now-announced support scheme aims to increase the flexibility of the network in order to integrate as many renewables as possible.
