Danube River Dries Up, Romania’s Nuclear Plant Forced Offline

Severe drought across Europe has developed into a crisis directly threatening Romania’s energy security.

Water levels in the Danube River have fallen to historic lows, forcing the Cernavodă Nuclear Power Plant, which supplies around 20% of Romania’s electricity, to suspend operations.

State-owned nuclear energy company Nuclearelectrica announced that the plant’s only operational 706-megawatt reactor was deliberately disconnected from the national grid due to record-low water levels in the Danube.

Romania had already shut down one reactor at the end of July. The country subsequently declared an energy emergency for August, brought thermal power plants online and urged citizens to reduce their electricity consumption.

Source: Akşam