Balkan Energy Crisis: Romania Blocks Danube Branch Due to Cerna Voda NPP, Serbia in Critical Situation
Drought Threatens Nuclear Power in Region; Bucharest Declares State of Emergency in Two Counties to Save Plant's Second Reactor
Bucharest / Belgrade, August 2, 2026 – The extreme drought and the historic low water level of the Danube River have caused an unprecedented energy crisis in Central and Eastern Europe. The Romanian government has taken emergency hydrotechnical measures to ensure the cooling of its only nuclear power plant. At the same time, in our western neighbor, the Serbian Prime Minister officially announced that the energy situation in the country is becoming extremely difficult.
Romania closes a branch of the river to save the second unit of “Cherna Voda“
After earlier this week our northern neighbor was Forced to preemptively shut down the First Reactor of the “Black Water“ Nuclear Power Plant (with a capacity of 706.5 MW) due to the drop in flow rate below the critical minimum, the authorities in Bucharest took a radical hydrotechnical decision. A government decree introduced a 30-day state of emergency in the counties of Calarasi and Constanta.
The emergency measures provide for the blocking of the Bala Arm at the point where it separates from the Old Danube. The aim of this engineering operation is to artificially redirect the river's waters and raise their level in the area of the nuclear power plant by 10 to 15 centimeters. This will ensure the operation of Unit Two, the shutdown of which would deprive the national grid of another 20% of the country's total electricity production.
According to data from the National Administration “Romanian Waters“, cited in media publications, the flow rate at the entrance to the country is only 1,590 cubic meters per second — a value more than twice lower than the average for the season. The levels are expected to continue falling at least until August 7. Projects for artificial diversion of the riverbed are the only chance for Unit 2 to survive the next critical days, until the expected water masses from precipitation in Austria arrive.
Serbian Prime Minister: Energy situation is extremely difficult
The low water level of the Danube has also seriously hit Serbia's energy sector. The Serbian Prime Minister made an official address in which he defined the energy situation in the country as “difficult“ precisely because of the drastic drop in the river level, which affects the production of key hydropower at the “Iron Gate“ (Đerdap) hydroelectric power plant complex shared with Romania.
Hydrologists in Belgrade warn that the tributaries Sava and Tisa are also recording record low levels, and the Danube is in a state unseen in decades. This threatens not only the balance of the electricity system, but also fuel supplies, as river transport and cargo barges in the Serbian and Bulgarian sections are completely blocked.
Energy domino in the Balkans and Central Europe
The crisis is quickly becoming regional. Hungary has already been forced to drastically reduce the capacity of its Paks nuclear power plant and is considering its complete shutdown in the coming days, which has forced the Hungarian government to call on businesses to reduce their consumption during peak hours.
In Romania, caretaker Prime Minister Ilie Bolognese also appealed to citizens and large industrial enterprises to voluntarily reduce electricity consumption in the evening peak period between 8:00 p.m. and 11:00 p.m. Since import capacity from neighboring countries is limited due to similar problems with drought across the region, countries in Southeastern Europe are increasingly relying on energy exchanges to stabilize their networks.