Ilie Bolojan, call to Romanians to reduce energy consumption during peak hours after the shutdown of the reactors at Cernavodă

Prime Minister Ilie Bolojan made a call to the population and to large industrial consumers to voluntarily reduce electricity consumption during peak hours, especially in the evening, after the shutdown of the two reactors of the Cernavodă Nuclear Power Plant due to the very low flow of the Danube.

He stated that the shutdown of the second unit of the Cernavodă Power Plant will significantly affect the national energy system, forcing Romania to compensate for the deficit by increasing production from gas plants and through imports, especially during peak hours.

The interim prime minister emphasized that the two reactors provided almost 20% of the country's energy consumption, and their shutdown will lead to losses of approximately 1,200 MW. He also mentioned that the drought is affecting other countries in the region, including Hungary. The shutdown of the reactors could last between one and three weeks, depending on weather conditions, according to Ilie Bolojan.

The shutdown of the reactors was caused by the low flows of the Danube, which reached 1,600 cubic meters per second, below the level necessary for the operation of the plants.