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Low Danube Water Levels Impact Nuclear Power Plant Operations in Romania and Hungary

On August 4, amid persistently low Danube River water levels, Romania was rushing to build temporary dikes to divert more river water toward the Cernavodă Nuclear Power Plant to secure cooling water for its remaining operational reactor. Meanwhile, Hungary stated that the only still-operating turbine unit at the Paks Nuclear Power Plant was running in a safe condition. Both Hungary's Paks Nuclear Power Plant and Romania's Cernavodă Nuclear Power Plant rely on Danube River water for cooling. Recently, the Danube's water level dropped to historic lows, leading to a significant decline in nuclear power output in both countries. Budapest and Bucharest have had to increase electricity imports and call on residents and businesses to reduce consumption to ease grid pressure...

2026-08-05

Hungary's Paks Nuclear Power Plant may fully resume operations in about a week

Hungarian authorities stated that if weather forecasts hold true, rainfall in the Danube basin areas of Austria and Germany on Thursday will raise river water levels, and the Paks Nuclear Power Plant may fully resume operations in about a week. Hungarian Prime Minister Péter Magyar said on social media that if meteorological and hydrological calculations are accurate and significant precipitation occurs in the relevant Danube basin regions, water levels are expected to rise to the level required for plant operation. At that point, the turbines and units at the Paks Nuclear Power Plant can be restarted. Located along the Danube River in Hungary, the plant's unit operations are closely linked to river hydrological conditions...

2026-08-05

Danube Water Levels Continue to Drop, Putting Pressure on Romania's Cernavodă Nuclear Power Plant Operations

Romanian official Sorin Lindasu said on August 1 that if the Danube River water level continues to decline, the Cernavodă Nuclear Power Plant in Constanța County, southeastern Romania, may only be able to continue operating for 4 to 5 days. To ensure the water level required for continuous plant operation, relevant parties have begun implementing hydraulic engineering works on the Danube. Lindasu stated that the Danube water level is currently dropping at a rate of about 2 to 3 centimeters per day. A flow rate of 1,590 cubic meters per second has been recorded at the Baziaș inlet where the Danube enters Romanian territory, and this figure is expected to continue declining, potentially falling to about 1,450 cubic meters per second by August 7. Under these conditions, Cernavodă...

2026-08-03

Russia Suspends Payments to Nuclear Agency, Redirects Funds to Rosatom

The Russian government has decided to continue suspending membership fee payments to the Nuclear Energy Agency (NEA) under the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), redirecting the funds to Rosatom, Russia's state atomic energy corporation. According to the latest resolution, approximately 61.3 million rubles (equivalent to nearly $773,500) originally allocated for the 2026 NEA membership fees will be reallocated to Rosatom. This marks the second consecutive year Russia has failed to fulfill its financial obligations to the agency. As early as 2025, Moscow had already ceased paying membership fees, following the suspension of its membership. Russia's membership in the OECD Nuclear Energy Agency was suspended in May 2022, which occurred following the...

2026-08-01

Romanian Army Deploys on the Danube to Protect Nuclear Power Plant Operations

The Romanian Ministry of National Defense announced that the Romanian Army has been mobilized to protect the operation of the Cernavodă Nuclear Power Plant and conduct hydrographic measurements on the Danube River. The Ministry stated that this measure was taken in response to the current critical situation on the Danube to ensure the safe operation of the nuclear power plant. The military action aims to obtain the technical data required for the construction of a mobile weir that will redirect a portion of the Danube's flow into the Old Danube. Naval forces are conducting measurements at kilometers 345 to 346 of the Danube, in the area where the Bala branch converges, to determine the parameters needed for implementing the weir. Military experts are analyzing the riverbed and water depth, and transmitting the collected data to the relevant administrative authorities. The Ministry emphasized that these measures...

2026-08-02