Cristian Bușoi: Cernavodă Reactors to Remain Offline for at Least Ten Days

Units 1 and 2 at the Cernavodă nuclear power plant will remain offline for at least another ten days due to the low level of the Danube, Secretary of State Cristian Bușoi said. The shutdown of the units could put pressure on electricity prices, but the official estimates that increases will not exceed 20% at this point.

Bușoi explained that the Danube’s level is just three centimeters above the administrative safety limit established by a decision of the National Committee for Emergency Situations. Under these conditions, restarting at least one of the reactors will not be possible over the next ten days.

The secretary of state said that price developments depend both on the duration of the plant’s shutdown and on conditions in the European electricity market. The authorities remain in contact with suppliers and maintain that the priority is to restart the units safely.

Cristian Bușoi dismissed scenarios involving a nuclear incident and said there is no danger to the plant’s safety. Unit 1 was shut down in a controlled manner on July 28, and Unit 2 on August 13, amid the severe drought. Together, the two reactors supplied approximately 20% of Romania’s electricity production.