site.btaLow Danube Water Level Does Not Affect Operation of Kozloduy NPP, Management Says

The recent drop in the water level of the Danube River has not affected the normal operation or production schedule of Bulgaria’s Kozloduy Nuclear Power Plant (NPP), the facility reported Friday.

As of July 4, 2025, the river level at the site measured 21.5 meters – 53 centimeters higher than the 20.97 meters recorded at the end of summer 2003, the plant noted. The highest level ever recorded at the site was 30.20 meters, measured on April 23, 2006.

For the reliable operation of its reactors, the Kozloduy NPP design includes an on-site pumping station equipped with 34 high-capacity pumps. The facility is built to ensure water supply even under historically low water conditions, taking into account 100 years of hydrological data on the Danube River, the management added.

Water from the Danube is used to condense steam in the turbines, which are located in the plant's conventional (non-nuclear) section.

By contrast, on July 1, Swiss energy company Axpo shut down one of the reactors at the Beznau NPP due to high river water temperatures, Reuters reported. The second reactor at the over-50-year-old Beznau plant, located near the German border, was also shut down Thursday due to similar conditions, according to DPA.

High water temperatures are also expected to affect power generation along France’s Rhone River in the coming days.