Acting Prime Minister Ilie Bolojan declared on Wednesday that the shutdown of the Cernavoda power plant affects us, noting that Romania will be put in the position of starting gas-powered production, using photovoltaics, wind power and storage, as well as resorting to imports.

Bolojan estimated that the situation could last 'one to two weeks' and appealed to consumers to voluntarily reduce consumption in the evening, between 8:00 p.m. and 11:00 p.m.

'It affects us, and the Cernavoda power plant is closing due to the low flow rates of the Danube. Imagine that during this period in previous years we had flows of 3,900 - 4,500 cubic meters per second, and now the flows are 1,600 and are decreasing in the following days, so they are less than half of the Danube's flow rate in a normal period. In order to function, the Cernavoda power plant needs quantities of water that are absorbed from the basin that collects water from the Danube through some pumps, and if the water level drops below a certain level, so below 2 meters, those pumps need to be stopped,' Bolojan said on Digi 24, when asked how much the shutdown of the Cernavoda power plant affects.

Bolojan said that on Monday evening, at the energy command centre, the technical decision of the Cernavoda team to stop the first group of the plant was taken into account, meaning that Romania lost approximately 550 MW, or less than 10% of energy production, while daily consumption is approximately 7,000 MW.

'It was estimated that we could still operate safely with group 2 for a few more days, but today the technical team made this decision and, basically, starting tomorrow we will lose approximately 600 - 650 MW in production. So, cumulatively, the two groups produced around 1,300 MW, which represents almost 20% of our consumption in one day, during this period. As such, we will be put in a situation where, on the one hand, we will have to start everything that can be started in terms of gas production, photovoltaic, storage, wind power and also resort to imports. The critical import zone is in the evening, between 8:00 p.m. and 11:00 p.m., and during this period Romania still imports, to give you an idea, approximately 7,000 MW, about 1,700 MW in the evening. This means that we will have to import a slightly larger quantity,' explained Ilie Bolojan.

According to Bolojan, at the moment there are no problems related to imports, but in the coming period there may be such problems because the drought is also affecting other power plants and at least one group in Hungary, from Pacs, has also been disconnected.

'I am using this opportunity to appeal to the citizens of Romania, to the large industrial consumers, to consider the possibility of a voluntary reduction, simply to take care of how much they consume in the evening hours, as I said, from 8:00 p.m. to 11:00 p.m., when we have an energy deficit. Otherwise, there are no problems during the day, because we have an important production component in photovoltaics, wind power and, gradually, storage has also been developed. Now we see what it means not to have made investments in this energy area over the years that would create capacity reserves for us, so that we can overcome such periods,' Bolojan added.

He also said that such a drought has not occurred for many years and is strongly affecting the level of the Danube.

Bolojan estimated that 'this period could last a week or two, because, according to weather forecasts, there is no forecast of an increase in precipitation in the lower Danube basin, which would increase the level of the Danube', noting that, after that, 'normally the flow level should improve, increase, so that at least one of the two groups can be restarted'.

After Unit 1, Unit 2 at Cernavoda will also be shut down in a controlled manner and disconnected from the National Energy System, either on Wednesday evening or Thursday morning, due to the unprecedentedly low level of the Danube, Nuclearelectrica announced. AGERPRES(RO - writing by: Alina Novaceanu; EN - writing by: Bogdan Gabaroi)