The Rovinari 4 energy group of the Oltenia Energy Complex will be taken out of reserve and made available to the National Power System, and the additional production capacity of Hidroelectrica will be used within the technical limits and of the available water resources, to compensate for the energy that will no longer be produced by Unit 2 and to maintain the balance of the National Power System, the Ministry of Energy informed on Tuesday, in a press release.

The Ministry of Energy and the National Power Dispatcher have prepared the necessary measures to compensate for the energy that will no longer be produced following the controlled shutdown of Unit 2 from Cernavodă, but also to maintain the balance of the National Power System.

“The need will be covered by using import possibilities from regional and European energy systems, as well as by activating additional production resources at national level. In this regard, the Rovinari 4 energy group of the Oltenia Energy Complex will be taken out of reserve and made available to the National Electroenergetic System. Also, within the technical limits and the available water resources, the additional production capacity of Hidroelectrica will be used,” the press release states.

The Ministry of Energy assures that the National Energy Dispatcher permanently monitors production, consumption, available reserves and cross-border exchange possibilities, so that the measures are activated gradually, depending on the real needs of the system.

“The limitation of consumption in installments for certain large industrial consumers, between 19:00 and 23:00, is the last measure in the order of priority and could be applied only if the evolution of the National Electricity System requires it, and the other available options will not be sufficient. Household consumers are not covered by the consumption limitation mechanism”, the institution reports.

The measures are applied in accordance with Government Decision no. 603/2026 on the adoption of safety measures on the electricity market, as well as with the measures ordered by the Decision of the National Committee for Emergency Situations no. 15/2026 on the declaration of a state of alert at the level of Romania in order to manage the effects generated by the decrease in electricity production, in the context of the current hydrometeorological situation.

At the same time, the provisions of point 4.2.1 of the annex to Government Decision no. 582/2026 for the approval of the Risk Preparedness Plan in the field of electricity, which establishes the sequence of measures that can be applied to protect the operation of the National Power System.

“The Ministry of Energy, together with Transelectrica, Nuclearelectrica, Hidroelectrica and the other operators involved, permanently monitors the situation and evaluates in real time the necessary measures to maintain the safe operation of the National Power System. The Ministry of Energy renews the call to the population, public institutions and economic operators for responsible consumption, especially between 19:00 and 23:00. The voluntary reduction of electricity consumption during this period contributes to reducing the pressure on the National Power System”, the document also states.

The Cernavodă Nuclear Power Plant has initiated the technical procedures preceding the controlled shutdown of Unit 2, amid the very low flow of the Danube and the evolution of the water level in the suction area of ​​the cooling pumps.

These are routine and preventive procedures, specific to the safe preparation of a nuclear unit shutdown. They do not indicate the existence of an incident at the plant level, but are part of the technical measures applied when operating parameters require preparation for a controlled shutdown.

Given that the forecast for the Danube flow remains unfavorable, the controlled shutdown of Unit 2 is expected this week, ME representatives state.