| Heat left Romania without electricity The Cernavoda nuclear power plant, which produces 10% of Romania's electricity, has been shut down due to a record drop in water levels in the Danube, near which the country's only nuclear power plant is located. Economy Minister Dan Ioan Popescu announced that further operation of the nuclear power plant with a lack of water in the cooling system was dangerous and that the reactors would be restarted no earlier than October.
This means daily losses of about half a million dollars. Tourists holidaying nearby on Romania's Black Sea coast have received assurances from the National Nuclear Control Commission that the situation is under full control and there is no danger to citizens.
The prolonged drought also caused disruptions in the operation of hydroelectric power stations. The water level in reservoirs dropped to 38%, which reduced the power of hydroelectric power plants by almost 40%. The country's main hydroelectric power station, Iron Gate 1, on the Danube operates at only a quarter of its capacity. The National Institute of Meteorology and Hydrology gives a disappointing forecast: in the coming days, the water level in the Danube will continue to decrease by 5-8 cm per day.
Experts are talking about an energy crisis and fear that any uncontrolled fluctuation could lead to an accident in the power supply system, similar to the one that recently hit America. The government suspended the export of electricity and took measures to maximize the capacity of thermal power plants, which will at least double the cost of electricity. Work has resumed at coal mines that were previously closed due to unprofitability.
The execution of the state budget for this year is in question. Minister Popescu announced that the first hundred enterprises on the list of debtors will be disconnected from the energy system if they do not urgently pay off their debts. The tense situation in the energy sector only partially explains the recently adopted decree of the Romanian government to increase the price of electricity by 17.5% from September 1 - both for industrial consumers and for the population. There are other reasons: rising prices for natural gas and the need to adjust the price of electricity depending on the level of inflation. Raising electricity tariffs is also among the conditions recently set by the IMF for continuing lending to Romania. Alexander SHALAEV, Bucharest |
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