【Low Danube Levels Threaten Central and Eastern European Nuclear Power, Deepening Regional Electricity Strain】

Persistent heat and drought have sharply reduced water levels in the Danube, leaving nuclear plants in Romania and Hungary at risk of shutdowns or further output cuts due to insufficient cooling water. On August 3, the Romanian Navy blasted rocks in the Bala channel and prepared to build a temporary dam to redirect more water toward the Cernavoda nuclear plant. One of the plant’s two reactors had already been shut, while the facility normally supplies around one-fifth of Romania’s electricity. Hungary’s 2-GW Paks nuclear plant, which usually generates about half of the country’s power, was operating at just over 10% of capacity, with only around 240 MW still available.

To reduce pressure on the grid, Dacia and Ford suspended production in Romania until August 19, cutting electricity demand by about 200 MW, while voluntary reductions by Hungarian households and businesses lowered demand by around 700 MW. Reduced nuclear output could increase regional reliance on gas-fired, coal-fired and imported electricity, providing potential indirect support to thermal coal prices. However, the report provided no data showing higher coal-fired generation, coal purchases or coal prices, so it is too early to conclude that coal demand or prices have already increased. The event has no direct impact on coking coal.