Unit 2 of Romania's Cernavodă Nuclear Power Plant Restarts and Reconnects to the Grid

Recently, Unit 2 of Romania's Cernavodă Nuclear Power Plant officially initiated the procedure to resume operation and reconnect to the national power system after the water intake level successfully met the restart requirements. The restart plan formulated by Nuclearelectrica, Romania's state nuclear power company, is divided into two key milestones: first, completing the synchronization of the unit with the national grid, and then gradually raising output until rated power is reached.

Previously, due to low Danube River flow, the Cernavodă Nuclear Power Plant was forced to shut down two units successively. Among them, Unit 1 was restored and reconnected to the grid first, while Unit 2 continued to wait for a comprehensive improvement in water intake conditions. Since Unit 1 requires continuous intake of cooling water after resuming operation, the sustained recovery of the Danube River water level has become the core consideration for the plant in scientifically scheduling the restart of Unit 2. During the previous shutdown and maintenance period, the plant's professional team consistently maintained the unit strictly in a safe shutdown state, and all subsequent operations were carried out in strict compliance with applicable nuclear safety regulations.

From the initiation of the restart procedure to ultimately reaching rated power, Unit 2 must strictly follow the plant's applicable technical procedures to sequentially complete restart, grid connection, and prudent power escalation operations. Nuclearelectrica expects that with both units fully restored to operation, they will be able to stably meet approximately 20% of Romania's national energy demand. The actual grid connection time of Unit 2 and the subsequent power escalation schedule remain to be further disclosed by the operator.