Romania shuts down nuclear reactor to fix glitch

BUCHAREST - Romania has disconnected its second nuclear reactor at Cernavoda on the river Danube from the national power grid on Monday evening to repair a malfunction at one of its fuelling transformers, the plant's operator Nuclearelectrica said.

State-owned Nuclearelectrica has two 706 megawatt reactors accounting for a fifth of the country's power production.

"All necessary technical measures have been taken to ensure the repair work period will be as short as possible and safe, so that we estimate the shutdown will not be longer than three days," Nuclearelectrica said in a statement.

In September, Nuclearelectrica sold 10 per cent of its shares through an initial public offering on the Bucharest stock exchange for roughly 282 million lei (S$108 million).

The firm, which provides almost 20 per cent of the country's energy output, also sold a 1 per cent stake to investment fund Fondul Proprietatea, a minority shareholder, bringing the listing's value to a total 312.5 million.