Bridging Romania’s Energy Flexibility Deficit

Author: Cosmin Cojocaru

Editors: Elisa Della Rossa, Kiana Vašarević & Chiara Caterina Gatti

In July 2026, drought on the Danube forced Romania to shut both reactors at the Cernavodă Nuclear Power Plant within weeks, removing 1,400 megawatts (MW) of baseload at the evening peak. The crisis exposed a grid in which solar growth has outpaced storage capacity, briefly reversing power flows to Moldova, which relies on Romania for up to 71% of its consumption outside Transnistria.

This policy brief examines the inflexibility behind the squeeze, with recommendations to secure Cernavodă’s cooling intake, build cross-border balancing with Moldova, and turn idle household storage into usable grid capacity.

Access the policy brief by clicking here.