The Zaporizhia NPP (ZNPP) has completed transition to an organisational structure typical for Russian NPPs, the ZNPP press service announced on its Telegram channel. “Zaporizhia NPP has completed an important stage of integration, completely switching to the standard organisational structure typical for NPPs of the Russian Federation.”
The message noted that this is a logical and planned step within the framework of a wider and consistent process of integration of the ZNPP into the legal, economic and technological fields of Russia. The transition to unified standards of the Russian nuclear industry guarantees the stable, safe and accident-free operation of the plant, which is of key importance for the energy supply of the region, it said.
The press service noted that all employees of the plant have passed the necessary certification and are fully carrying out their professional activities in accordance with the norms, standards, and requirements of the legislation of the Russian Federation. Work in this diection will continue to ensure the long-term and stable operation of the plant.
The governor of the Zaporozhye region, Yevgeny Balitsky, said the regional authorities intend to organise large-scale deliveries of electricity from ZNPP to neighbouring Russian regions after a settlement is reached in Ukraine. He added that the key task is to provide employment for the station’s 11,500 employees. He emphasised that the infrastructure must be ready to handle significant amounts of energy.
“We must provide all the necessary transmission opportunities that will allow us to supply energy to Crimea, the Krasnodar Territory, Zaporozhye, Donetsk, Lugansk, Kherson, and all the surrounding regions, because we will generate a huge amount of energy,” he said.
He also noted that, in the future, ZNPP will operate in the interests of the entire Russian Federation. However, he did not rule out the possibility of supplying electricity to Ukrainian territory on a commercial basis or under special agreements. “If our management decides to supply some of the energy to Ukraine for a fee, or if it is part of some agreement, we will naturally follow the instructions from the owner, Rosatom, and the government of the Russian Federation,” he explained.
Meanwhile, the ZNPP press service reported that the 32nd scheduled rotation of IAEA inspectors to the plant had been completed. The new mission included four people. “The previous 31st team did a lot of work to monitor the station’s safe operation during its complete external power outage, which lasted for 30 days. Thanks to their efforts and constant presence, the repair work on the external power lines was successfully completed,” the station’s Telegram channel reported.
However, two days later, on 6 December, the two power lines serving the ZNPP were again shut down by the automatic system, leaving the plant without external power for half an hour, according the ZNPP Telegram channel. The 330 kV Ferrosplavnaya-1 line was put back into operation first, followed by the 750 kV Dneprovskaya line a few hours later. During the outage, back-up diesel generators were again used to supply power to the plant.
ZNPP said monitoring showed that the radiation background corresponds to the levels of normal operation and does not exceed natural values. It added that specialists continue to monitor the equipment and the state of the power system. The reasons for the outage are being investigated.
International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) Director General Rafael Grossi posted on X: “ZNPP temporarily lost all off-site power overnight, 11th time during military conflict. ZNPP reconnected to 330 kV power line after half hour outage.”
Rosatom Director General Alexey Likhachev stated on 8 December that the number of shellings near ZNPP was increasing. “Over the past night alone, there have been about 10 shelling incidents, including artillery, mortars, and drone attacks, he said. He added that, despite the difficult conditions, the station’s personnel “continues to demonstrate high resilience”.
