Romania gives Transelectrica power to disconnect industrial consumers as Danube drought threatens Cernavoda nuclear plant

Government adopts Risk Preparedness Plan

Romania's interim prime minister Ilie Bolojan announced on 6 August that the government adopted a Risk Preparedness Plan for the electricity sector, a general framework covering earthquakes, war, pandemics and drought. The current crisis is driven by low Danube water levels that could force the shutdown of the Cernavoda nuclear plant's second reactor. Bolojan said works on the Danube aim to maintain adequate flow at Cernavoda so that the reactor can continue operating.

The plan defines which categories of consumers can be affected, which are exempt, and which institutions coordinate the crisis response. A government session on 7 August was scheduled to approve the specific tranches of industrial consumers subject to potential limitation.

Industrial disconnection mechanism

Under the adopted decision, grid operator Transelectrica will receive a mandate to limit or temporarily disconnect large industrial consumers connected to the National Energy System, but only if voluntary consumption reductions prove insufficient. Affected companies will receive notification at least 24 hours in advance. Bolojan specified that restrictions would apply during peak consumption hours, between 19:00 and 23:00.

Bolojan stressed that residential consumers are exempt from all measures.

“I underline that personal homes, citizens, will not be limited or disconnected, so household consumers are exempt from these measures, as are consumers whose activity cannot be interrupted, such as hospitals, sanatoriums or other activities that cannot be interrupted, stations that supply gas and oil units and so on, will not be included in this norm.”

National Operational Center

Bolojan announced he would sign an order on 6 August to establish a National Operational Center in the energy sector, bringing together approximately 15 representatives of Romania's main energy producers and suppliers. The center will coordinate operations during the crisis and mandate Transelectrica to take necessary measures.

All production groups that were under repair have been returned to service, and maintenance on other groups has been accelerated to increase available capacity. Bolojan said Romania has interconnections allowing imports of up to 4,000 MW and is negotiating with neighboring states to secure evening-hour imports. Exports will be permitted only during hours when a surplus exists.

Voluntary reductions still essential

Bolojan made a second public appeal to citizens, companies, local authorities and industrial consumers to maintain voluntary electricity consumption reductions, particularly during evening hours. He thanked those who had already contributed to reducing consumption in recent days, saying the effect on the national energy system was visible.

“It will be a period of still a few days, maybe it could be a week or two, and maintaining these voluntary reduction measures in the evening hours is a very important thing, because it keeps our consumption at a level that is covered both by domestic production and by imports.”

He warned that problems could arise if the Cernavoda reactor can no longer operate or if evening imports become unavailable due to production capacity shutdowns in neighboring countries. Dacia and Ford plants entered maintenance on 3 August with production stopped until 19 August, saving approximately 200 MW of electricity consumption.