Romania began a controlled shutdown of the second reactor at its Cernavoda nuclear power plant on August 13, 2026, after severe drought left the Danube River at record lows. The facility, which provides a fifth of the country’s electricity, joins neighbouring Hungary’s Paks plant in facing unprecedented cooling water shortages.
Romania’s state-owned nuclear power producer Nuclearelectrica initiated the controlled shutdown of Unit 2 at the Cernavoda Nuclear Power Plant on the morning of Thursday, August 13, 2026. The plant’s first reactor had already been taken offline in late July as prolonged hot weather and meager rainfall drained the Danube River, which supplies the cooling water required to operate the reactors safely.
When fully operational, the two reactors at Cernavoda account for roughly 20 percent of Romania’s total electricity generation. The facility has faced a complete halt just once before in its history, during a severe drought in 2003.
Desperate Engineering Measures Fail to Stop Danube’s Receding Waters
Before surrendering to the inevitable shutdown, Romanian authorities exhausted conventional and unconventional options to keep the reactors wet. The company budgeted more than two million euros ($2.3 million) on river-engineering efforts designed to force the dwindling current toward the plant’s intake valves.
Military engineers used explosives to blast a large rock obstruction near the Bala Canal, then sank four rock-filled barges into the riverbed to build an underwater barrier that would redirect water toward the facility. Authorities also dredged the river channel. Ultimately, the Danube receded below the threshold necessary to sustain plant operations, forcing the final shutdown.
“Nuclearelectrica SA announces that, on the morning of 13 August 2026, it began the procedures for the controlled shutdown of Unit 2 at the Cernavoda Nuclear Power Plant.”
Nuclearelectrica, Company Statement
Plant director Romeo Urjan told Agence France-Presse that he did not expect the plant to restart operations within the next 10 days.
Cross-Border Shockwaves Hit Moldova and Regional Power Grids
The loss of domestic nuclear capacity immediately reverberates beyond Romania’s borders. Eastern neighbour Moldova relies heavily on Romanian power imports to cover up to 60 percent of its electricity shortages.
Inside Romania, the government declared a nationwide state of energy emergency for August. Ilie Bolojan announced a nationwide state of alert in the energy sector on Jul. 31 for August, and households and businesses were asked to voluntarily reduce consumption during peak evening hours, while heavy industrial users like carmakers Dacia and Ford temporarily paused production to relieve grid pressure.
To make up for the shortfall, the Energy Ministry activated a 330-megawatt lignite-fired power plant, tapped hydropower reservoirs, and boosted wind generation. Officials insisted that alternative power sources and cross-border imports would keep domestic lights on.
“The national power grid has a cross-border capacity of roughly 4,000 megawatts to enable electricity imports. All European operators know the regional energy crisis situations and are coordinating to ensure safety in supplying all the grids hurt by weather conditions.”
Energy Ministry, Official Statement
Hungary Races Against Time to Save Paks Nuclear Plant
Romania’s crisis mirrors a broader continental squeeze along Europe’s second-longest river. Nearly two-thirds of the Danube have experienced July flow rates that are the lowest in 34 years, according to an analysis by the European climate change observatory Copernicus.
Neighbouring Hungary has narrowly avoided a total shutdown of its own nuclear facility, the Paks plant, whose four reactors are likewise cooled by the Danube.
Hungarian Prime Minister Peter Magyar announced that soldiers have been working around the clock to construct a submerged weir and position two 80-metre barges that can be sunk to raise the local water level by 1.2 metres in front of the plant’s cooling intake system.
Widespread Heatwave Strains Nuclear Fleets Across Europe
The pressures facing nuclear operators extend far beyond the Danube basin. In France, where atomic energy generates roughly 70 percent of the nation’s electricity, state-owned utility Electricite de France recorded a generation shortfall exceeding 20 percent this week. Heatwaves, drought, and an unusual jellyfish invasion forced output reductions across 13 of the country’s 57 reactors.
Scientific analyses from the World Weather Attribution group indicate that human-induced climate change has intensified the continent-wide heat and drought conditions, leaving river transport, agricultural irrigation, and power generation increasingly vulnerable to compounding resource shortages.
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