Danube drought forces nuclear power reductions in Bulgaria and Romania

nuclear power reduction Danube river drought energy security Kozloduy plant Cernavoda shutdown

A severe drought and record-low water levels in the Danube river have forced several nuclear power plants in Central and Eastern Europe to reduce output or shut down entirely.

In Bulgaria, the state-owned Kozloduy nuclear plant is reducing the capacity of one of its two operating reactors by approximately 120 megawatts. This is the first time in the plant's 52-year history that power has been reduced due to extreme hydrological conditions. The reduction is a preventive measure to ensure safe operation, as the Danube is used to cool steam in the non-nuclear condensers.

In Romania, the Cernavoda nuclear plant has completely shut down both of its reactors due to insufficient water supply. To offset this loss in generation, Romania has restarted the 300-megawatt Rovinari Group 4 coal-fired power unit.

In Hungary, the Paks nuclear plant has also significantly reduced its output. Authorities have implemented technical measures, such as using barges to raise water levels, to maintain operational stability. Experts indicate that while these measures are critical, the current reductions are intended to safeguard national energy security during the ongoing hydrological crisis.

Entities

Bulgarian Ministry of Energy · Cernavodă Nuclear Power Plant · Cernavodă Nuclear Power Plant · Complexul Energetic Oltenia · Cristian Bușoi · Danube · Danube River · Ilie Bolojan · Kozloduy Nuclear Power Plant · Ministry of Energy · Nuclearelectrica · Paks Nuclear Power Plant

Claims

What the coverage asserts, and how many sources carry each claim.

[○ 1 SOURCE] The government is prepared to intervene in energy market transactions to prevent speculative behavior.
[● 3 SOURCES] Electricity prices for consumers are expected to see a slight increase due to the shutdown. www.romania-insider.com
[● 4 SOURCES] Coal-fired generation from Rovinari Group 4 and the Paroșeni reserve group has been brought online to support the grid. www.romania-insider.com · www.gorjeanul.ro
[● 6 SOURCES] Romania has sufficient domestic generation and import capacity to compensate for the shutdown of reactor 2 at the Cernavodă nuclear power plant. www.romania-insider.com · newsweek.ro · informateca.ro
[● 3 SOURCES] Nuclear generation capacity in Romania has been reduced to zero following the unavailability of both reactors at Cernavodă. www.romania-insider.com · jurnaluldearges.ro
[● 2 SOURCES] Low water levels on the Danube affected the cooling system of the Cernavodă plant. www.romania-insider.com
[○ 1 SOURCE] The government has declared an energy emergency for August.
[○ 1 SOURCE] Romania has a one to two year delay in energy storage capacity. newsweek.ro
[DISPUTED] The association Ekologija grada claims an unknown wastewater discharge from the CUPOV plant in Zagreb caused a mass fish kill in the Sava river. www.kurir.rs · n1info.hr · www.index.hr
[● 2 SOURCES] The EU Commissioner for Energy warned that high temperatures and low water levels are straining power production and consumption in Central and Southeast Europe. fakti.bg · petel.bg
[○ 1 SOURCE] Low water levels could limit nuclear and hydroelectric power production in Southeast Europe until October.
[○ 1 SOURCE] The Cernavodă nuclear power plant in Romania shut down both 706-megawatt reactors due to declining Danube water levels.