{
  "id": 1727373,
  "title": "Romania Restarts Coal Plant as Danube Drought Forces Nuclear Shutdown",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/08/18/romania-restarts-coal-plant-as-danube-drought-forces-nuclear-shutdown",
  "topic": "business",
  "section": "Business",
  "published": "2026-08-18T14:30:00.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "OilPrice",
    "slug": "oilprice",
    "url": "https://oilprice.com/Latest-Energy-News/World-News/Romania-Restarts-Coal-Plant-as-Danube-Drought-Forces-Nuclear-Shutdown.html"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": "Romania has restarted a 300-megawatt coal-fired power plant in response to the closure of its sole nuclear power plant due to low water levels on the Danube river. This move aims to partially compensate for the 20% reduction in power generation caused by the shutdown of both reactors at the Cernavoda nuclear power plant. Cristian Buoi, State Secretary at Romania’s Ministry of Energy, confirmed that the additional coal-fired generation has added nearly 300 megawatts to the National Energy System. The two reactors at Cernavoda, each with a capacity of 680 MW, typically contribute about 20% of Romania's power output. The shutdown of the nuclear plant was prompted by the lowest water levels on the Danube in 90 years, causing insufficient water supply to cool the reactors. Nuclearelectrica, the Romanian state-owned nuclear power plant operator, initiated the process to disconnect the remaining operating reactor on August 13. The other reactor was shut down at the end of July due to the ongoing drought and record-low water levels on the Danube, which have affected nuclear power plants in central and eastern Europe recently. The Cernavoda plant's director, Romeo Urjan, stated that a restart is not expected within the next ten days. The Danube's low water levels have also impacted Hungary's sole nuclear power plant, the Paks nuclear power plant, which generates a third of the country's electricity. Hungary is using barges in the Danube to maintain the operation of Paks, which is a significant contributor to the nation's electricity supply.",
  "summary": "Romania has this week restarted a 300-megawatt coal-fired power plant to partially offset the generation lost by the closure of nuclear electricity output after the low water level on the Danube river forced a shutdown of the country’s only nuclear power plant. Romania, which lost 20% of its power generation with the closure of both rectors at its Cernavoda nuclear power plant, has restarted the…",
  "key_points": [],
  "editors_take": null,
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 1,
    "also_reported_by": []
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}