Romania’s Cernavodă nuclear power plant began a controlled shutdown of one of its two reactors on Thursday after a sustained and significant fall in the Danube River’s water level, operator Nuclearelectrica said.
The company said Unit 2 was expected to stop supplying electricity to Romania’s national grid at about 11 a.m. local time.
“The decision for the controlled shutdown of Unit 2 was made due to the continuous and significant decrease in the Danube’s water level,” Nuclearelectrica said in a statement submitted to the Bucharest Stock Exchange.
The shutdown was being conducted in accordance with established procedures and under strict monitoring of safety margins and plant equipment, the company said.
Nuclearelectrica was also monitoring hydrological forecasts issued by Romania’s National Institute of Hydrology and Water Management for the coming days.
The company did not immediately say how long the reactor would remain offline or quantify the expected impact on Romania’s electricity supply.
The Cernavodă plant, located beside the Danube in southeastern Romania, operates two reactors and is the country’s only nuclear power station.