External power has been restored to Ukraine’s Zaporizhzhya Nuclear Power Plant (ZNPP), a few hours after its connection to the grid was cut for a second time in less than a week, Director General Rafael Mariano Grossi of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) said today.
The IAEA team of experts present at the ZNPP said the plant’s connection to its last remaining operating 750 kilovolt (kV) power line was re-established around 1:40pm local time, enabling the plant to switch off the diesel generators that had been providing the reactors with electricity after the off-site power was lost in the morning.
Director General Grossi welcomed the restoration of external power but stressed that the power situation at the ZNPP, Europe’s largest nuclear power plant, remained very fragile.
Ukraine’s national nuclear operator Energoatom earlier said shelling had caused the off-site power loss by damaging a sub-station – part of the grid’s electrical transmission and distribution system – located far from the plant itself. Last Saturday, the ZNPP’s external power connection was cut due to renewed shelling near the plant. It was repaired the following day. The plant’s diesel generators have fuel for about 10 days.
The plant’s six reactors are in cold shutdown but still require power for cooling and other essential nuclear safety and security functions.
A secure off-site power supply from the grid is essential for ensuring nuclear safety. This requirement is among the seven indispensable nuclear safety and security pillars that the Director General outlined at the beginning of the conflict.