KOZLODUY NPP UNIT 5 POWER IS TO BE PREVENTIVELY REDUCED WITH ABOUT 120 MW ON 21 AUGUST
20.08.2026
The decision for the preventive reduction of Unit 5 power with about 120 MW is a part of the measures taken to ensure Kozloduy NPP safe operation. It is based on the continuous unprecedented and critical decline in the Danube River water level. The forecasts for the river levels upstream of the Bulgarian section show a trend for decline.
Such a measure related to unit power reduction due to extreme meteorological and hydrological conditions has been applied for the first time in Kozloduy NPP’s 52-year operating history.
As early as the beginning of July, following the first indications of a sustained decline in the Danube water level and forecasts of prolonged drought conditions in Western and Central Europe, a working group was established at the nuclear power plant to manage the situation. A procedure was put into effect encompassing all necessary measures and actions to ensure the safe and reliable operation of the nuclear units in the event of a continued decline in the river levels.
The Danube River water is used to cool the steam in the condensers located in the conventional part of the plant, it is not used to cool the nuclear reactors. Water is supplied by the plant’s own bank pump station, which was designed and constructed to provide the required quantities of water even when the river level is low. This, along with the proper maintenance of the facilities, has enabled Kozloduy NPP to continue operating normally and to ensure the security of the national and regional energy system under conditions in which a number of nuclear power plants in European countries along the Danube have either been shut down or had their output reduced to the minimum level permitted by the operating conditions.
Against the backdrop of these unprecedented hydrological conditions, the Kozloduy NPP teams continue working round the clock to ensure the safe and reliable operation of the nuclear facilities.
