Romania’s nuclear operator Nuclearelectrica expects to reconnect Cernavoda Unit 1 to the grid on 6 November 2026, following an outage of more than three months caused by exceptionally low Danube levels that disrupted cooling-water supplies. The company said minimum safety conditions for resynchronisation have been met and preparations for restarting the reactor are under way.
Unit 1, which has approximately 700 MW of installed capacity, stopped operating on 28 July 2026. Unit 2 was shut down on 13 August 2026, as lower Danube flows also constrained the supply of cooling water. Nuclearelectrica expects Unit 2 to remain offline until river conditions can support both reactors operating at the same time.
Cernavoda’s two 700 MW reactors entered service in 1996 and 2007, respectively, and normally provide approximately 20% of Romania’s electricity production. A restart of Unit 1 would return a source of baseload generation to a domestic market facing tighter supply and greater import requirements.
Financial impact and cooling-water needs
Nuclearelectrica cut its projected 2026 net profit forecast by 42.9% to 220 million euros, reflecting lower electricity output from Cernavoda. Shareholders also approved an 800 million euros loan from the European Investment Bank to help finance Unit 1’s refurbishment and extend its operating life. The longer-term programme is continuing despite the near-term outage.
Operating Unit 1 will itself require substantial withdrawals of Danube water. Its planned reconnection could improve Romania’s electricity balance, but the plant’s full generating capability depends on sufficient and sustained river flows. The availability of cooling water remains a central operational risk.
