Record-low water levels on the Danube River have forced Hungary to shut down its only nuclear power plant and Romania to take both reactors at its Cernavoda facility offline, removing a significant chunk of electricity generation capacity from central Europe’s grid.Hungary’s Paks nuclear power plant, a Soviet-era facility that provides roughly half of the country’s electricity, was forced to shut down entirely after the Danube fell so low that the plant’s cooling water suction nozzles could no longer reach the river. Prime Minister Peter Magyar confirmed the shutdown, marking the first time the facility has been taken completely offline due to water levels.
Unprecedented Conditions Across Central Europe
The Danube has dropped to levels not seen in 30 years across several countries, with the river flowing at just 1,600 cubic meters per second at Romania’s entry point, compared to a July average of 4,700 cubic meters per second. In Romania, Nuclearelectrica shut down both 706-megawatt reactors at Cernavoda, removing roughly 20 percent of the country’s power generation capacity. The simultaneous shutdown is the first in 23 years due to low water flows.The drought has also severely impacted hydropower generation, with Serbia cutting output at its Djerdap 1 hydropower plant to just one-third of capacity. Bulgaria’s Kozloduy nuclear plant could face similar restrictions if water levels continue to deteriorate.
Climate Change and Riverbed Changes Blamed
Hungarian operator MVM attributes the crisis to a combination of climate change and the deepening of the riverbed from previous years’ high-water peaks. The Paks plant sits at stage 3 of a four-stage low-water alert system. Romania’s acting Prime Minister Ilie Bolojan said the country would cover the energy shortfall by increasing production at gas-fired power plants and through imports, particularly during peak evening consumption hours.The crisis highlights the vulnerability of Europe’s river-dependent energy infrastructure to extreme weather events. Unlike nuclear plants in Slovakia and Czech Republic that use lakes for cooling, the Cernavoda, Kozloduy, and Paks facilities all depend on the Danube, leaving them exposed to drought-related restrictions.
Sources: BBC; World Nuclear News; Reuters; DW; Romania Insider
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