Danube low levels trigger emergency steps for nuclear plants

Record-low water levels on the Danube River have forced drastic emergency measures in Romania and Hungary to prevent the total shutdown of critical nuclear power facilities, threatening energy supplies across Central and Eastern Europe amid a prolonged heatwave and drought. Authorities in both countries have enacted voluntary electricity conservation measures and warned of potential mandatory restrictions as they grapple with an unprecedented hydrological crisis.

In Romania, military engineers used nearly 400 pounds of explosives on Monday, August 3, to blast a rock formation in the Bala Canal, an effort to redirect more water into the main channel toward the Cernavoda nuclear power plant. One of the plant's two reactors was shut down last week due to low river levels, and officials feared the second would follow. Romanian Deputy Energy Minister Cristian Busoi confirmed the intervention was essential to keep the remaining reactor online. Work to sink loaded barges as a further measure was scheduled for Wednesday, August 5, with the entire operation expected to conclude that day. "Any day past Wednesday or Thursday that the nuclear power plant functions is a gain," said Defence...