CET Vest power plant fire leaves around 2,300 Bucharest buildings without hot water

Around 2,300 apartment buildings in western Bucharest were left without hot water after a fire broke out at the CET București Vest power plant late Monday night, April 20. The incident forced the shutdown of the facility, affecting large parts of the capital.

According to Termoenergetica București, the outage impacts Districts 5 and 6 entirely, as well as parts of Districts 1 and 2, including areas such as Banu Manta Boulevard, Calea Griviței, and Șoseaua Ștefan cel Mare.

The fire, which damaged electrical transformers and internal systems, was caused by a fault in the plant’s electrical installation, operator Electrocentrale București said. Emergency crews intervened overnight and managed to extinguish the blaze, with no casualties reported.

Authorities stressed that electricity supply across Bucharest was not affected, but the damage made it impossible for the plant to continue delivering thermal energy.

To restore services, technical teams began redirecting supply to CET Grozăvești, which is gradually taking over the affected areas. Officials said hot water delivery is expected to resume progressively as the system stabilizes.

General mayor Ciprian Ciucu said the situation is being closely monitored, adding that efforts are underway to bring the network back to normal operation.

“As the thermal load at Grozăvești increases, the hot water supply will return to normal parameters, likely around midnight, and we will be able to deliver it to all affected areas,” the mayor announced in a post on social media.

The CET Vest facility, which is over 50 years old, will remain offline while damage is assessed and repair works are carried out.

(Photo source: Facebook/C.M. Termoenergetica București)