The Zaporizhia NPP (ZNPP) has regained access to back-up electricity from the grid for the first time in six months, after completion of repairs to a second power line under the protection of a localised ceasefire brokered by the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), according to IAEA Director General Rafael Mariano Grossi said.
The re-connection of the 330 kilovolt (kV) Ferosplavnaya-1 power line to ZNPP came two weeks after the restoration of the 750 kV Dneprovskaya line ended a month-long outage of off-site power at the site.
“Immediately after the Zaporizhia Nuclear Power Plant lost all off-site power on 23 September, we began working closely with both the Russian Federation and Ukraine to enable the repairs of both power lines, which are indispensable for being able to maintain nuclear safety and security at the site during this devastating war,” Grossi said.
“As the damaged sections of the power lines were located in an active combat zone, this required complex negotiations with both sides to establish carefully coordinated temporary truce arrangements so that their technicians could work without risking their own lives. It took several weeks to get to this point, with the plant once again having access to two power lines. It is a good day for nuclear safety and security, although the overall situation remains highly precarious and our important mission in Ukraine is far from over,” he added.
Repairs to the remaining damaged section of Ferosplavnaya-1 got under way around three kilometres from ZNPP’s site perimeter after the area had been demined the day before. Technicians repaired a damaged cable between two pylons, with an IAEA team monitoring their work. The line had been cut since 7 May.
For the first time since May, ZNPP once again has redundancy in its external power supply. However, the external electricity situation at the plant remains extremely fragile. During more than three and a half years of conflict, the site has lost all access to external electricity ten times. Before the conflict, it was connected to the grid through ten power lines.
Russia took control of the six-unit ZNPP in March 2022 and on 5 October 2022, Russian President Vladimir Putin signed a decree formally transferring ZNPP to Russian jurisdiction. ZNPP has not produced electricity for more than three years and its reactors are all shut down as a result of constant Ukrainian shelling and drone attacks. However, it still needs electricity to power the pumps used for cooling its reactor cores and spent fuel and to avoid a meltdown with a possible radioactive release. of the Zaporizhzhia NPP has been restored on two lines, the plant’s press service reported in the Telegram channel.
The ZNPP Telegram channel confirmed that “the second line, Ferrosplavnaya-1, which had been disabled since May 7, has been restored to operation. Its inclusion is particularly important for ensuring reliable heat supply to the city [Energodar] and the plant during the upcoming heating season,” the statement said.
