Romania's main hydropower plant operates at 60 of capacity

The Iron Gates hydropower plants on the Danube, which produce the cheapest hydropower in Romania, delivered almost 400 MWH less power on July 8 than in a regular period, G4Media announced, quoting industry experts. They operate at 60% of capacity.

Energy experts say, however, that the situation is not critical and that Romania can supplement the consumption of energy produced from other sources - which can sometimes be more expensive

"[The flow] should be somewhere between 5,000 and 5,500 cubic meters per second. Currently, on July 8, there are 2,900 cubic meters per second, and the trend for the next 5 days is somewhere between 2,700 and 2,800. Currently, 630-640 MWh of energy are produced while in a day with a normal flow, the production should be somewhere around 1,000 MHW," said Cristinel Popescu, President of the Iron Gates Union.

The Danube's flow is 3,100 m3/s, well below the annual average of this month of 5,350 m3/s.

Hydropower production has declined in other parts of the country as well.