Romania Declares National State of Emergency for August Amid Decline in Power Generation

Romania's Acting Prime Minister and Energy Minister Ilie Bolojan announced on July 31 after a cabinet meeting that Romania would enter a national state of emergency in August due to a decline in power generation caused by drought.

Bolojan stated that the drought has reduced water levels in rivers, with a notable decrease in the flow of the Danube River. "The flow has dropped from over 4,000 cubic meters per second to 1,600 cubic meters per second." He said that as a result, the water level in the intake basin of the Cernavodă NPP has fallen, and Unit 1 of the plant had to be shut down recently.

He also noted that Unit 2 of the Cernavodă NPP faces a high risk of shutdown. Should Unit 2 go offline, Romania's total power generation could decrease by approximately 20%.

To address the pressure on power supply, Bolojan said he had discussed with Ukraine's First Deputy Prime Minister and Energy Minister Denys Shmyhal the possibility of Ukraine's nuclear power plants providing support to Romania in the coming period. Romania's transmission system operator Transelectrica and nuclear energy company Nuclearelectrica will hold talks on potential emergency assistance from Ukraine.

The Romanian government has also decided to allocate funds for the implementation of a hydraulic engineering project on the Bala branch of the Danube River to increase the water flow reaching the Cernavodă NPP. Bolojan called on businesses and residents to voluntarily reduce electricity consumption, especially during evening peak hours. According to current forecasts, no significant precipitation is expected in Romania over the next two weeks.