Ukrainian engineers restored external power to the Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant (ZNPP) on 9 October, a day after the facility lost the connection to its last remaining operating power line due to shelling, International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA)Director General Rafael Mariano Grossi said.
After the repair work was successfully completed, the 750 kilovolt (kV) line was reconnected to the NPP in the evening, enabling it to start switching off the emergency diesel generators that had provided it with back-up electricity since the connection was cut the previous day. The plant’s six reactors are in cold shutdown but still require power for cooling and other essential nuclear safety and security functions.
Grossi, who received news about the restored off-site power from the team of IAEA nuclear safety, security and safeguards experts present at the plant site, said it was a much-needed development but that the power situation at the ZNPP remained fragile. Grossi condemned military attacks in areas that could affect the safety and security of ZNPP, including in the cities of Enerhodar and Zaporizhzhia.
“Almost every day now, there is shelling in the region where the Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant is located and where the plant workers and their families live. The shelling must stop, immediately. It is already having an impact on the nuclear safety and security situation at the plant,” he said.
In recent days, there has been frequent shelling in an industrial area between the ZNPP and Enerhodar. There have also been missile strikes further away, including the tragic one on Sunday in the city of Zaporizhzhia. A convoy of five trucks carrying vital additional diesel fuel supplies for the ZNPP is currently in the city, planning to cross the frontline to reach the plant tomorrow, senior Ukrainian operating staff told the IAEA experts at the site. The site’s current diesel reserves last for about 10 days. Separately, a supply of diesel fuel provided by the Russian state nuclear company Rosatom has arrived in Enerhodar.
Grossi has proposed the establishment of a nuclear safety and security protection zone around the ZNPP, and has engaged in high-level talks with Ukraine and the Russian Federation aimed at agreeing and implementing such a zone as soon as possible. As part of efforts to agree and implement such a zone as soon as possible, he held talks with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky in Kyiv on 6 October and plans discuss the issue in the Russian Federation
Senior operating staff at the ZNPP had informed the IAEA team on 5 Occtober about plans to re-start reactor unit 5 at reduced power to produce steam and heat for the needs of the plant, but those preparations were halted after the plant lost all external power due to renewed shelling.
The difficulties for personnel at the ZNPP have intensified due to conflicting claims relating to the status of the plant following the incorporation of Zaporozhye region into the Russian federation after a referendum which saw an overwhelming majority in favour of such a move, despite the refusal of the USA and Europe to recognise the results of the vote. ZNPP has been held by Russian forces since March but is operated by its Ukrainian staff.
Staff are now being offered new employment contracts with Russian state company Rosatom, while national Ukrainian operator Energoatom is demanding that they should not sign them and should continue to follow its instructions. Grossi said ZNPP staff were being subjected to unacceptable pressure, carrying out their crucial work tasks under increasingly difficult conditions with potentially severe consequences for nuclear safety and security.
“This is a particularly dangerous moment for the safety and security of the ZNPP. Staff at the plant are being forced to make a hugely difficult decision for themselves and their loved ones. The enormous pressure they are facing must stop,” he said.
On 5 October, Russian President Vladimir Putin instructed the establishment of a federal state unitary enterprise (FSUE) "Zaporizhzhia NPP" and on 8 October Prime Minister Mikhail Mishustin was published the relevant order on the official Internet portal of legal information. According to the document, the Federal Agency for State Property Management (Rosimushchestvo) must approve the company's charter and appoint its general director, as well as form the authorised capital of the FSUE in the amount of RUB500,000 ($8,100). The ZNPP staff will keep their salaries and social guarantees.
Before the latest shelling, the city authorities in the operators’ town of Energodar said the aim was to restart units 5&6 at the plant. Energodar administration chief Aleksandr Volga said in an interview on Russian television that the plant is “in working order and can generate power” once it is restarted. He explained that the city intends to use the plant as a source of thermal power during the heating season, and is rerouting the plumbing accordingly. A gas-fired power plant in Energodar is out of operation after being hit by Ukrainian artillery, regional officials said.
Vladimir Rogov, a senior Zaporozhye Region official, told the media there are problems that need to be fixed before the nuclear site can be operated again. He explained that most of the power lines connecting it to the grid were previously damaged and will have to be repaired. Only one transmission line currently remains intact, but it passes across the Dnepr River to Kiev-controlled territory, he explained.
Aleksandr Volga reported that out of 11,000 employees that the nuclear site normally requires to operate, some 7,800 have remained in their positions. He said on 7 October that the IAEA was scheduled to rotate its inspectors, with two people stationed there since early September being replaced by four new specialists. He added that he expected them to help with the safe restart of the reactors.