Romanian nuclear producer Nuclearelectrica has received shareholder approval to auction up to 400 MW of future baseload electricity for delivery between 2027 and 2046, creating a potential long-term revenue hedge linked to the planned refurbishment of Cernavodă Unit 1.
The proposed sale consists of three 100 MW blocks and two 50 MW blocks. Full subscription would represent approximately 3.5 TWh of electricity annually and nearly 70 TWh over the 20-year period. The minimum aggregate contract value is estimated at around €5.6 billion, implying a floor price of approximately €80/MWh before indexation and detailed delivery adjustments.
The contracts will be auctioned through the Romanian Commodities Exchange under EFET documentation. Pricing mechanisms may include inflation-linked floors and caps or references to the day-ahead market, while counterparties will be required to meet financial qualification criteria. Delivery reductions will be permitted during specified outages, an important provision given that Unit 1 is scheduled to undergo major refurbishment between 2027 and 2030.
The structure sits between a conventional corporate PPA and a project-finance offtake agreement. Nuclearelectrica would gain long-term revenue visibility to support debt service and capital planning, while industrial buyers would secure access to low-carbon baseload generation without taking full exposure to the extreme volatility of Romania’s spot market, where prices on 24 July ranged from approximately €13/MWh to more than €200/MWh.
The implied €80/MWh price floor is significantly below Romania’s current baseload price but nearly six times the 24 July afternoon minimum. Buyers are therefore paying for long-term supply security, predictable volume and baseload availability, rather than attempting to capture the cheapest spot-market intervals.
The central commercial question will be whether creditworthy industrial consumers are willing to commit to contracts lasting up to 20 years while electricity regulation, industrial demand and renewable generation capacity continue to evolve. For Nuclearelectrica, however, the auction could provide a valuable mechanism for converting future nuclear production into long-term revenue certainty ahead of one of Romania’s largest power-sector investment programmes.
