A dam will be built on the Danube, near the Kozloduy Nuclear Power Plant (NPP), Bulgarian Energy Minister Iva Petrova said in an interview with public television, BTA reports.

The dam is expected to be between 250 and 300 meters long, with the exact length to be decided during the design process, Petrova said. Construction work is expected to take between 10 and 15 days.

Design work for the selected variant is underway, although alternative options are still being evaluated, including transferring water from internal reservoirs to the plant. Preliminary studies of the options have been completed, Petrova said, according to Agerpres.

On Monday, a slight rise in the Danube water level allowed the Kozloduy nuclear power plant to keep Unit 5 operating at a reduced level of 91.4% of capacity, Petrova said.

“The situation remains dynamic and difficult, as the Danube is at extremely low levels,” Petrova said. The Kozloduy plant has never operated under similar conditions before, but its teams are managing the situation, the Bulgarian official added. The plant’s pumps and hydraulic installations are being maintained.

“We have not postponed taking measures. Inter-institutional coordination has been in place for several weeks,” Petrova said. “Bulgaria consumes about 90,000 megawatt-hours of electricity per day, produces about 130,000 and exports about 31,000,” the energy minister said.

On Friday, the output of Kozloduy Unit 5 was reduced by about 120 MW, out of an installed capacity of just over 1,000 MW. It was the first time in the plant’s 52-year history that output was reduced due to extreme weather and hydrological conditions.