POLAND-ROMANIA/HEAT WAVE Heat wave cuts power in Poland, disrupts traffic on Danube

Record ID: 144258

  • Title: POLAND-ROMANIA/HEAT WAVE Heat wave cuts power in Poland, disrupts traffic on Danube
  • Date: 11th August 2015
  • Summary: ZIMNICEA, ROMANIA (AUGUST 10, 2015) (REUTERS) SHIPS ANCHORED IN PORT WATER LEVEL INDICATOR VARIOUS OF SHIPS WAITING TO PASS THROUGH SECTION OF DANUDE WITH LOW WATER LEVELS VARIOUS OF SHIP DONARIS 3 CAPTAIN, ALEXANDRU VOICU, AND NAVIGATOR, MIRCEA MITRAN MEASURING WATER LEVEL DEPTH METRE SCREEN SHOWING DEPTH OF 2.1 AND 2.2 METRES VARIOUS OF BARGE "GRIZLLY" PASSING THROUGH SH
  • Embargoed: 26th August 2015 13:00
  • Keywords:
  • Location: Romania
  • Country: Romania
  • Topics: General
  • Reuters ID: LVA3UOQO7KVG86QXULQLVR61EA9L
  • Aspect Ratio: 16:9
  • Story Text: Ships faced slow progress along the Danube river in Romania on Monday (August 10) after days of hot weather have left water levels low.
    Navigation was particular difficult especially at the Zimnicea - Turnu Magurele sector, 125km south-east from capital Bucharest.
    Tens of ships queued up to pass the point at Zimnicea port, where the convoys have to be disassembled as the ships can only pass one at a time.
    Maximum draft -- the distance permitted between the waterline and the bottom of the hull -- is 2.10 meters, meaning that many ships cannot be loaded at maximum.
    With temperatures set to continue in the high 30 degrees Celsius for the rest of the week, shipping companies will have to keep up the waiting game at narrow passages in the river.
    A heat wave has also forced Poland to sharply cut electricity supply to industry for the first time in over a decade, pushing some companies to limit production.
    Prime Minister Ewa Kopacz on Monday (August 10) called the situation "very serious" as weather forecasts for the coming days showed high temperatures will persist.
    The heat wave and lack of rain cut the amount of water needed to cool coal-fired power plants, from which Poland generates about 90 percent of its electricity. The country has virtually no solar energy generating capacity.
    PSE said it had expected consumption in the coming days at 22,000-22,200 MW, one of the highest ever recorded in the summer peak.
    At the same time potential power generation stood at about 25,100 with actual production shortages at over 4,000 MW.
    The operator said it limited the export of electricity and had been buying power from neighbouring grids.
    Temperatures in Poland topped 30 degrees Celsius last week and may reach 39 degrees this week, according to Poland's meteorology institute.
  • Copyright Holder: REUTERS
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