Romania restarted the Rovinari Group 4 coal-fired power unit on August 17, adding nearly 300 MW to the National Energy System as the country manages the shutdown of both reactors at the Cernavodă nuclear power plant, according to State Secretary at the Ministry of Energy Cristian Bușoi.

The unit was brought back into operation to strengthen supply during peak consumption and reduce reliance on electricity imports. Bușoi said peak demand was expected to reach nearly 7,000 MW on August 17 amid high temperatures and the resumption of some industrial activity.

Romania's two Cernavodă reactors, each with an installed capacity of 680 MW, have been taken offline because the low flow of the Danube has limited the availability of cooling water. Bușoi said hydrological forecasts indicated that neither Unit 1 nor Unit 2 was likely to return to operation within the next 10 days.

"Starting today, as we are talking about a week that is still expected to have high temperatures, and therefore electricity consumption ... higher consumption, almost 7,000 megawatts, we estimate the peak for this evening, in order to reduce the amount of imported electricity and thus the impact on future prices, it was decided to put Reserve Group 4 from Rovinari into operation," Bușoi said on Digi TV, as reported by Economedia.ro.

He said electricity demand during peak hours had recently been 200-300 MW below Transelectrica's forecasts, partly because households and industrial consumers had shifted consumption away from peak periods. Large industrial consumers have also been rescheduling maintenance and inspections during the final two weeks of August.

Wind and solar generation supported the system over the weekend, while electricity imports remained relatively low. Bușoi noted, however, that Romania has limited storage capacity and therefore cannot rely significantly on photovoltaic generation during evening peaks.

Coal stocks at the Oltenia Energy Complex are sufficient for the current week, with additional supplies available if required. Bușoi said experienced personnel, including some recently retired specialists, had been brought back to support operations at Rovinari.

"The Danube flow remains low, and we will remain with Units 1 and 2 closed for the coming period," Bușoi said, adding that authorities would need to manage available reserves carefully.

iulian@romania-insider.com

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