Romania to resume power generation at Cernavodǎ nuclear power plant towards end-September

Despite some positive developments concerning water levels in the upper reaches and tributaries of the Danube, the forecast remains “reserved”, Bușoi said.

“After September 15, we will make a new assessment, but we expect things to be possible only towards the end of September,” he said.

Cernavodă NPP shut down its second reactor on August 13, after the first reactor was taken offline in July, leaving the national power system without 1.4 GW of nuclear generation. The loss is felt particularly during peak consumption hours, when the need for imported electricity and consequently its cost increases.

Coal- and gas-fired power plants are currently operating to partly replace Cernavodă’s output, while imports are being managed safely during peak hours as long as the nuclear power plants in Hungary (Paks) and Bulgaria (Kozloduy) remain in operation, Bușoi said.

“During the next three days, wind generation will be higher, so imports will be well below 2,000 MW during peak hours,” he added.

Romania needs around 7,500-8,000 MW during peak consumption hours in the summer months, but peak demand is expected to rise in winter.

The National Energy Dispatcher forecast for the previous cold season an instantaneous peak demand of 9,100-9,500 MW, depending on the scenario, and warned that this level could not be fully covered by domestic production under any of the scenarios. Actual peak demand reached 9,235 MW on January 19, 2026.

Although Romania is expected to maintain electricity supply at safe levels through costly imports, this will put additional pressure on prices and the energy supply chain, according to insolvency specialist CITR.

“The shock is first visible as a pressure on liquidity in the energy supply chain, so that, later, with an estimated lag of two to three quarters, the effects will surface in the financial results of industrial companies,” CITR said.

The impact is already visible in wholesale electricity prices. The average price on the Day-Ahead Market in August was RON 793 (EUR 151) per MWh, around 26% above the July level and almost double the August 2025 average of RON 396 per MWh.

During the evening hours, the power system operated on imports, while the government summoned more than 80 large industrial consumers and asked them to voluntarily reduce consumption.

According to CITR, the effects are not felt simultaneously across all sectors of the economy but are transmitted successively along the supply chain. The first pressure emerges in the liquidity of energy suppliers and traders, followed by the impact on industrial consumers and subsequently on their suppliers and subcontractors.