Romania shuts down Cernavodă Nuclear Power Plant

Romania began a controlled shutdown of Unit 2 of the Cernavodă Nuclear Power Plant on Thursday due to the low level of the Danube, which is used to cool the plant's turbines, local media reported.

The national company Nuclearelectrica, which operates the nuclear power plant, said in a statement submitted to the Bucharest Stock Exchange that the shutdown procedure began at 7 a.m. and was expected to be completed by around 11 a.m., CE Report quotes BTA.

Unit 1 of the Cernavodă plant was shut down in late July for the same reason. The two reactors, each with a capacity of 700 MW, normally account for around 20% of Romania's electricity production.

According to a forecast by the National Institute of Hydrology and Water Management (INHGA) for August 12-19, the Danube's flow as it enters Romania is expected to be around 1,350-1,400 cu m/s, well below the multiannual August average of 3,900 cu m/s.

Photo: Chat GPT