July 6 (SeeNews) - Romania's environment minister Barna Tanczos said on Wednesday that the country's hydropower and nuclear electricity production are not threatened by low water flow caused by a severe drought affecting over 70% of the country's territory but called for responsible consumption.
"The Danube's water levels are decreasing compared to the annual average. We have about 3,000 litres per second at the entry point into the country, below the annual average of 5,806 litres per second, but we have no problems with the operation of installations that use water to produce electricity or with the production of electricity from nuclear sources," Tanczos told a news conference.
In 2003, Romania's Cernavoda nuclear power plant had to disconnect from the grid one of its reactors due to low water levels in the Danube. The Cernavoda NPP, located in southeastern Romania, has two reactors of 700 megawatts each which cover around a fifth of the country's electricity needs.
On Tuesday, the National Administration of Romanian Waters, ANAR, called on people to not water their gardens or fill their pools as no significant rainfall is forecast for the upcoming period and water reserves are expected to decrease significantly. ANAR estimates that by the end of July, water levels in the country's 40 main reservoirs will drop to 68% from 82% currently.
Also on Tuesday, the Ilfov county water utility announced upcoming interruptions in water supply in several sites due to excessive consumption.
According to latest data available on website of national energy regulator ANRE, the installed capacity of hydropower plants represents some 30% of Romania's total electricity consumption.
Romania's electricity output and imports totalled 22.1 TWh in January-April, down 4.8% on the year, latest data from the statistical office, INS, showed.
In the first four months of the year, the output of hydroelectric power stations fell 23.8% to 6.98 TWh, while the production of the country's sole nuclear power plant rose 3.5% on the year to some 4.026 TWh.