Restarting Unit 2 of Romania’s Cernavoda Nuclear Power Plant (NPP) is unlikely over the next ten days, Secretary of State at the Ministry of Energy Cristian Busoi said in an interview with Digi24. He warned that drought and the low flow of the Danube River mean the facility must remain offline, adding that the Energy Ministry needs to carefully manage available reserves.
Unit 4 of Romania’s Rovinari thermal power plant will be brought online to reduce electricity imports amid high temperatures and increased consumption, Busoi said. He added that nearly 300 megawatts would be fed into the national power grid and that available coal stocks were sufficient for this week.
Busoi described the energy situation in recent days as stable, noting that weekend consumption peaks remained below 6,000 megawatts, while import levels were relatively low. According to Busoi, wind power generation was significant, whereas solar power could not sufficiently meet demand during peak consumption hours.
Regarding coal reserves, the secretary of state said that, according to information from the Oltenia Energy Complex, available stocks were sufficient for the near future.
Due to a decline in electricity generation caused by drought and low river levels, Romania declared a state of heightened readiness in the energy sector for the entire month of August. Authorities introduced a series of measures to ensure the continued operation of the Cernavoda nuclear power plant, but without success. To increase the river flow reaching the plant, a rock formation was blasted and four barges loaded with rocks were sunk to create an artificial weir in the river and increase the flow into the old Danube branch near the plant. The government also approved a scheme to curb electricity consumption by large industrial users.
(BTA, August 18, 2026)
