The municipality of Iași is set to become the first city in Romania since 1989 to introduce restrictions on night-time street lighting in order to save electricity. The decision was taken against the backdrop of an energy emergency declared by the government due to a power shortage, according to the Romanian publication Profit.
The authorities plan to reduce street lighting across the city. However, hospital grounds, underpasses, central squares and key pedestrian areas will remain fully lit. To ensure safety, the police will step up night-time patrols. According to the municipality’s estimates, these measures will save around 10 megawatt-hours of electricity every night.
The Romanian government had previously declared an energy emergency for August and called on local authorities to reduce electricity consumption.
The crisis was caused by the unprecedented low water levels in the Danube due to the drought, which forced the authorities to shut down both power units at the Cernavodă Nuclear Power Station in succession. This is the first time that both reactors at the plant have been shut down simultaneously due to low water levels. The Cernavodă Nuclear Power Plant accounts for around 20 per cent of the country’s total electricity generation.
Due to the shutdown of the nuclear power station, Romania has seen a sharp increase in electricity imports, and market prices have risen. Similar problems have arisen in neighbouring Hungary, where one of the reactors at the Paks Nuclear Power Station has been shut down due to low water levels in the Danube.