Bolojan: We have declared a nationwide alert for the month of August

Romania has declared a nationwide state of alert for August due to declining electricity production caused by severe drought and exceptionally low water levels in rivers, particularly the Danube, interim Prime Minister and Energy Minister Ilie Bolojan announced on Friday.speaking after an extraordinary government meeting, Bolojan said the Danube's flow had fallen to less than half its normal level for this time of year, reducing water levels at the intake system of the Cernavoda nuclear power plant."As a result, we were forced to shut down one reactor (Unit 1) in recent days. Hungary is facing the same situation, so both countries have reduced their nuclear electricity generation capacity by half," he said.Bolojan warned that, if the Danube's flow continues to decline, there is a significant risk that Unit 2 at Cernavoda could also be shut down."That would mean losing around 20% of Romania's electricity production. Nuclear generation is particularly important because it provides baseload power, including during evening peak demand. At the same time, reduced river flows are limiting hydroelectric generation to just over 1,000 MW per day. With normal consumption exceeding 7,000 MW, Romania is already importing around 1,700 MW during evening hours. If the second reactor were also shut down, we would lose another 650 MW of generation and electricity imports would have to exceed 2,500 MW to keep the power system balanced," he said.According to the interim prime minister, neighbouring countries are facing similar challenges."Over the past few days, we have been discussing the measures we can take to ensure the normal operation of the national power system. At the external level, cross-border interconnections and electricity imports from countries that still have surplus generation capacity are extremely important. Today I spoke with Ukraine's Deputy Prime Minister and Energy Minister, Mr shmyhal, about supporting Romania in the coming period with electricity generated by one of Ukraine's nuclear power plants. In this regard, Transelectrica and Nuclearelectrica will hold talks in the coming days on securing emergency electricity supplies from Ukraine during evening peak hours. We are also in discussions with Bulgaria and Greece to ensure the maximum possible electricity supply during the evening," Bolojan said.The government has instructed all available domestic generating facilities to operate at maximum capacity, including gas-fired cogeneration plants and coal-fired power stations, while hydroelectric plants will prioritise production during evening peak demand. Authorities have also accelerated the authorisation of new solar, wind and energy storage projects, with more than 400 MW of new capacity approved in recent days, about one-third of it storage.To help maintain the operation of Cernavoda Unit 2, the government approved emergency funding of 7 million lei for works to maintain adequate water levels at the plant's cooling water intake despite the exceptionally low Danube flows.Bolojan also appealed to households, companies and public institutions to voluntarily reduce electricity consumption during evening peak hours, warning that continued drought and high temperatures could push evening demand to 8,000 MW in the coming weeks.