In brief

  • The Government approved, through the National Committee for Emergency Situations, urgent technical works on the Danube (1-4 August 2026) meant to raise the water level by 7-10 cm at Cernavodă.
  • The measure comes after the level in the basin that feeds Unit 2’s cooling pumps dropped close to the absolute shutdown threshold, amid drought and an extreme heatwave.
  • The works include the controlled removal of part of the Pârjoaia rock and the raising of a temporary barrier made of stone-loaded barges, with river traffic restricted in the area.
Act: CNSU Decision no. 16/2026
Published: Official Gazette of Romania no. 638 of 2 August 2026
Adopted: 1 August 2026, Bucharest

The Government approved, through the National Committee for Emergency Situations, a series of urgent technical works on the Danube, meant to prevent the unplanned shutdown of Unit 2 at the Cernavodă Nuclear Power Plant, which is close to its critical operating threshold because of drought and an extreme heatwave. Decision no. 16/2026, signed by Prime Minister Ilie-Gavril Bolojan on 1 August 2026 and published in the Official Gazette of Romania (Monitorul Oficial) the next day, comes amid the state of alert declared a day earlier to manage the electricity crisis, the same crisis that prompted the Ministry of Energy to activate CONSE, the command structure for crisis situations on the energy market.

According to the decision, the level in the basin that feeds Unit 2’s cooling pumps dropped, in a single day, from 2.04 metres to 2.02 metres, while the attention limit is 1.95 metres and absolute shutdown is triggered at 1.9 metres. Unit 1 of the plant was already offline at the time the decision was adopted. Forecasts from the National Institute of Hydrology and Water Management showed, for the period 1-7 August 2026, a further drop in the Danube’s flow at Baziaș, from around 1,550 to 1,450 cubic metres per second, while at Cernavodă the level was expected to fall from about -208 to -222 centimetres.

What it changes in practice

For the period 1-4 August 2026, the Ministry of Energy, the Ministry of Environment, Waters and Forests, the Ministry of Transport and Infrastructure, and the Ministry of National Defence ordered two technical interventions on the Danube: shaping, through controlled removal, of the active ridge of the Pârjoaia rock, and raising a temporary submerged barrier made of up to four metal barges, loaded with stone and placed successively from the bank towards the riverbed. The aim is to redirect part of the river’s flow towards the Old Danube, with a net estimated water level increase of 7-10 centimetres at Cernavodă, enough, according to authorities, to avoid the forced shutdown of Unit 2.

The effect felt directly by river users is the restriction of access for people and river traffic in the intervention areas, a measure enforced by structures of the Ministry of Internal Affairs and the Romanian Naval Authority, for the safety of the works. For the general public, the real stake is avoiding an additional crisis on the electricity market, at a time when peak consumption, driven by the heatwave, was estimated at nearly 8,000 MW, and imports had become unreliable due to reduced output at some regional plants, such as Paks in Hungary. Pressure on water resources and energy security remains a recurring theme in recent legislation: the Constitutional Court validated, in the same period, the law that eases the removal of old hydropower plants from protected natural areas, also in the name of energy security.

What has changed compared with the previous situation

  • Direct intervention on the Danube’s riverbed: authorities approve emergency hydrotechnical works (controlled rock removal and partial barging) specifically to protect the operation of a nuclear plant, a measure without recent precedent in this context.
  • Navigation restrictions: river traffic and access for people are temporarily limited in the work areas, a situation that did not exist before this decision.
  • Legal framework activated in stages: the decision implements the state of alert declared a day earlier (CNSU Decision no. 15/2026) and relies on technical notes from Transelectrica and ANAR, showing direct coordination between the energy sector and water management.

Advantages and disadvantages

What it improves

  • Reduces the risk of an unplanned shutdown of Unit 2 at Cernavodă, which would have worsened an already announced energy crisis.
  • The measures are limited in duration (1-4 August 2026) and technically targeted, without general restrictions for the population.
  • Shows a rapid response capacity by the institutions involved, from technical approval to actual works, in under a week.

What remains a problem

  • The solution is an emergency one, not a structural one: the estimated 7-10 centimetre gain does not solve the underlying cause, the drought and reduced Danube flow, which may recur in future summers.
  • The works involve an intervention on the riverbed of an international river, with possible effects on the local ecosystem not publicly assessed in the decision.
  • The river traffic restrictions affect, even if temporarily, transport operators and fishermen in the area, with no compensation mentioned in the act.

Practical advice

  1. If you transport goods or travel on the Danube near Cernavodă: check in advance for any active navigation restrictions, directly with the Romanian Naval Authority or the local port administration.
  2. If you are a household or business consumer: no electricity supply restrictions have been announced; the decision is a preventive measure, not a signal of a confirmed crisis.
  3. If you work in energy or water management: follow subsequent CNSU decisions, since the current decision implements the state of alert declared a day earlier, and further measures may follow if the drought persists.
  4. If you want to understand the wider context of the energy crisis: read also the explanations about the activation of CONSE, the structure that coordinates the response on the electricity market.

Frequently asked questions

Why did the Government intervene on the Danube?
Because the water level in the basin that feeds Unit 2’s cooling pumps at Cernavodă dropped close to the absolute shutdown threshold, due to drought and the river’s reduced flow.
What works were approved?
The controlled removal of part of the active ridge of the Pârjoaia rock and the raising of a temporary submerged barrier made of up to four metal barges loaded with stone, for the period 1-4 August 2026.
Is the electricity supply being cut off?
The decision does not announce power outages. It is a preventive measure specifically meant to avoid the shutdown of Unit 2 and additional pressure on the national energy system.
Who is affected by the river traffic restrictions?
Vessels and people transiting the intervention areas on the Danube, where access is temporarily restricted by the Ministry of Internal Affairs and the Romanian Naval Authority, for the safety of the works.
What happens after 4 August 2026?
The decision does not explicitly state what follows once the works are completed. Developments depend on the Danube’s flow and any subsequent CNSU decisions, within the state of alert still in force.

Original text of the legal act

The text below is reproduced in Romanian, the official published form.

The full text, as published in the Official Gazette of Romania

Official Gazette of Romania no. 638 of 2 August 2026 8 pages PDF, 86 KB the act starts on page 7

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This article is for informational purposes only and does not constitute legal advice. For specific situations, consult a licensed attorney or tax advisor.