Romania to shut down second nuclear power plant unit due to the low Danube water level

According to information from Romanian media, the Danube's water level near the NPP has dropped to approximately minus 230 centimeters. Experts call this a historic low. Sorin Rîndașu, director of the National Administration "Romanian Waters," stated that the country had not previously encountered such a low water level and such small river flows.

The Danube's water flow at its entry into Romania has already dropped below 1.4 thousand cubic meters per second. In the area of the NPP's water intake, it could fall to approximately 280 cubic meters per second.

In such a situation, the second reactor of the Cernavodă NPP could be controllably shut down on the morning of August 13. Nuclearelectrica, the company operating the plant, has already announced this possibility on the stock exchange. However, according to other data, the final decision on shutting down the unit could be made as early as August 12 if forecasts regarding a further drop in water levels are confirmed.

The reason for the possible shutdown is not a malfunction of the reactor itself, but a lack of water for its normal cooling. If the Danube's level and flow continue to decrease, the operation of the unit may become impossible from a safety requirements perspective.

The reactor shutdown is expected to last for at least two weeks. According to Sorin Rîndașu, the low-water situation is unlikely to significantly improve in the coming week. Even after the river level begins to recover, additional time will be needed to address the consequences of the extremely low water flow and return the plant to normal operation.

The situation is complicated by the lack of significant rainfall. In the coming days, no rain is expected not only in Romania but also upstream of the Danube, including in Austria. Therefore, experts do not currently predict a rapid natural increase in water levels.

The low water level of the Danube is a result of prolonged heat and drought that has gripped Southeastern Europe. The summer of 2026 in Romania and neighboring countries has been one of the hottest and driest in decades. In some areas, air temperatures exceeded 40 degrees Celsius.

The extreme heat has led not only to a sharp reduction in water resources but also to other problems. The number of forest fires in the country has increased, the situation in agriculture has worsened, and yields have decreased. Simultaneously, the demand for electricity has sharply risen as people and businesses actively use air conditioners.

As a result, the Romanian energy system could face two problems at once: increased electricity consumption and a possible reduction in its own generation due to the shutdown of the second Cernavodă reactor.

The Ministry of Energy of Romania has already prepared measures to compensate for the lost capacities. These include increasing electricity imports, utilizing additional capabilities of Hidroelectrica's hydropower plants, and bringing the fourth unit of the Rovinari power plant back from reserve.

If the situation becomes even more strained, authorities do not rule out the possibility of temporarily limiting electricity consumption by large industrial enterprises during evening hours, when the load on the energy system is highest.

The public and businesses have also been urged to voluntarily conserve electricity to reduce the load on the grid during periods of extreme heat and potential loss of some generation capacities.

Problems could also affect the gas market. If the second Cernavodă reactor is shut down, some of the insufficient electricity generation will have to be compensated for by thermal power plants. These will require additional natural gas.

According to Romanian media, this could also impact the country's preparation for the upcoming heating season. Some of the gas originally planned for later use might be redirected to electricity production. As a result, the start of the heating season could theoretically occur later than usual.

Meanwhile, experts are trying to increase the available water volume near the NPP. Work is underway to clear and deepen the riverbed in problematic sections of the Danube. However, these measures are no longer capable of completely preventing the possible reactor shutdown if water levels continue to fall.

On the other hand, the work carried out could help restore the unit's operation more quickly after water levels rise. According to Sorin Rîndașu, deepening the riverbed will reduce the downtime period by approximately two to three days once the Danube's water flow begins to recover.

Over the past seven days, about 100 thousand cubic meters of soil have already been removed from problematic sections of the riverbed. Work is continuing.

• 1
• 0
• 0
• 0
• 0
• 1
• 0
• 0