IAEA staff at Zaporizhia NPP. (Archive) External power supply has been restored at Zaporozhye NPP Peace and Security
Zaporozhye Nuclear Power Plant (ZNPP) was successfully connected to the Ukrainian power grid today. The station was without external power supply for a month. The repair work was carried out under the conditions of a local truce agreed by the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) and monitored by its specialists on site, said the agency’s Director General Rafael Mariano Grossi.
He described the restoration of external power supply to Europe’s largest nuclear power plant as a “major positive step.”
“Today is a rare, good day for nuclear safety in Ukraine and beyond, although the overall situation, of course, remains extremely unstable. Exactly one month later… The Zaporozhye nuclear power plant again receives the external power supply needed to cool the six reactors and spent fuel,” Grossi said.
“Since the plant was disconnected from the last external power line on September 23, we have been actively cooperating with the Russian Federation and Ukraine to create the necessary safety conditions for repair work on both sides of the front line. Despite the war, both sides agreed on the need to restore external power supply and cooperated constructively with us in this direction,” he said. However, the last case was “the most serious.”
“I would like to give special thanks to the technicians on both sides of the front line who have worked diligently in recent days to restore power in extremely difficult conditions,” Grossi said. He noted that the process of connecting the station was monitored by IAEA teams.
Work on repairing the Dneprovskaya and Ferrosplavnaya-1 transmission lines began last weekend – after temporary ceasefire zones were established. Prior to this, extensive demining work had been carried out.
The IAEA continues to coordinate with both sides to pave the way for further repairs to the Ferrosplavnaya-1 line, where additional damage was discovered this week outside the termination zone fire.
The plant’s six reactors have been in cold shutdown mode and have not generated electricity for more than three years, but they still require power to run cooling pumps and other nuclear safety equipment. The plant has been using emergency diesel generators for the past month.
“Much remains to be done to further reduce the risks of a nuclear accident. The next step is to complete repairs to the Ferrosplavnaya-1 transmission line and prevent potential future power outages,” Grossi said.
He called for every effort to ensure the safety of external power supply Zaporozhye NPP.
“The IAEA will continue its irreplaceable work at the Zaporozhye NPP and other nuclear facilities in Ukraine until this destructive war ends,” he emphasized.