Romania May Shut Cernavoda Nuclear Unit 2 as Danube Water Levels Fall
Jerusalem, 11 August, 2026 (TPS-IL) -- Bucharest (AGERPRES) – Unit 2 of Romania’s Cernavoda nuclear power plant cannot be kept operational throughout August due to the unfavourable forecast for the next ten days, Energy Ministry Secretary of State Cristian Busoi said on Tuesday.
“At present, and we have to be fair and transparent about this, we have no data leading us to conclude that we will be able to keep the plant operating throughout August. The longer we postpone shutting down the plant towards the middle of the month, the lower the financial burden of imports will be,” the secretary of state explained before an extraordinary meeting of the electricity working group.
He added that, in difficult situations, European emergency assistance mechanisms for cross-border reallocation are available.
The minimum water level in the Cernavoda area which can ensure the plant’s operation is -230 cm, while the water level in the area currently stands at -227 cm, the National Administration ‘Romanian Waters’ (ANAR) announced on Monday evening.
“Of course, there are physical limitations here as well. Romania cannot receive more than, say, 3,200 megawatts from the interconnections it has with Western Europe. There are certain limitations between Austria and Hungary, which we know very well. So, taking these physical limitations into account, there are procedures for reallocating certain amounts [of electricity – editor’s note] to a country facing difficulties. (…) We will not activate this mechanism today because we are not in that situation, but we are explaining Romania’s situation, outlining the measures we have taken, and informing them that once Reactor 2 at Cernavoda is shut down, we will enter another phase in which the volume of imports will be significantly higher and, of course, we will reiterate the issue with DG REFORM,” Busoi added.
He said that, together with other Energy Ministry officials, he would explain the situation in Romania in order to outline the measures that will be implemented. “Obviously, if the regional situation were to deteriorate and we could no longer find electricity available on the markets and exchanges, we would activate the European-level emergency mechanisms to receive assistance through the network of transmission and electricity network operators across the European Union,” the Energy Ministry official explained.
Busoi stressed that the difficulties facing the energy system are not specific to Romania, although the situation is more complicated in countries along the Danube.
“I expect our colleagues in Hungary to make a similar presentation. There are difficulties, increased consumption and production problems in almost all European countries. But, of course, the most difficult situation is in the Danube countries, particularly those with nuclear power plants whose reactor cooling depends on Danube water, primarily Hungary and Romania,” the secretary of state said.
According to him, dredging and desilting works on the Danube are continuing.
“We have certain expectations from these works. They have to continue anyway, even if Unit 2 were to be shut down, because all these works will help us restart it more quickly once the Danube flow returns to normal,” the Energy Ministry official said.
He stressed that safety procedures provide for a phased shutdown of Unit 2 at Cernavoda over a period of 48 hours, if necessary.
“The decision to initiate this procedure will be made by the specialists and engineers there, who are responsible for the safety of the equipment. Although I have insisted that solutions be found, although it is obvious to everyone that the unit needs to operate for as long as possible, the equipment cannot be put at risk,” Busoi said.
