04 / 10
Romania shuts plant supplying 20% of electricity
Low Danube water has taken Romania’s only nuclear power plant offline.
What happened
Romania began a controlled shutdown of Cernavodă’s second reactor on Thursday after drought and heat left the Danube too low to supply cooling water. The first reactor had closed in late July, leaving the country’s only nuclear plant offline. The energy ministry expects other generation and imports to cover demand.
Numbers
- 20%Share of Romania’s electricity supply — When both reactors operate
- 706 MWCapacity of each reactor
- 10 daysEarliest stated restart outlook — From the shutdown date
Questions
- Will households lose electricity?
- The energy ministry expects alternative domestic generation and imports to cover supply, though officials discussed limits for large industrial users in worst-case conditions.
- Why did earlier river work fail?
- Authorities redirected river flow and placed rock-filled barges, but the resulting water-level rise only extended operation briefly.
- Why does drought affect supply twice?
- The same low water levels have cut hydropower, reducing another domestic source that normally helps meet electricity demand.
- Which neighbour faces similar pressure?
- Hungary’s Paks nuclear plant has avoided full closure, but it is operating at levels far below capacity.
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The catch
Coverage does not confirm when Danube levels will recover or when either reactor can resume operation.