The Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant (ZNPP) lost connection with its only backup power line for 36 hours this week, highlighting the instability of the electricity supply necessary for cooling six reactors and other critical nuclear safety functions.
This was stated by Rafael Grossi, the Director General of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), as reported by Ukrinform.
These partial or complete power outages represent “one of the most difficult challenges for maintaining nuclear safety and security,” the statement reads.
Since the beginning of the full-scale war, the plant has lost external power supply eight times, forcing it to temporarily rely on emergency diesel generators for electricity.
On Tuesday, the ZNPP was disconnected from the 330 kV power line and remained completely dependent on a sole 750 kV line. Before the war, it had four 750 kV lines and six 330 kV lines, highlighting how nuclear safety and security has been severely degraded since since February 2022.
“The off-site power situation remains a deep source of concern. This week’s loss of the 330kV power line shows that the situation is not improving in this regard, on the contrary,” Director General Grossi said.
A day before the line disconnection, the IAEA team stationed at the ZNPP visited the Raduga electrical substation in Enerhodar, where most of the plant’s personnel reside, following reports of a possible artillery strike on Sunday. The team confirmed that one of the two transformers at the substation was destroyed by the shelling, and the other transformer had been unavailable since June due to damage to one of the power lines. The substation had been used to provide backup electricity to the city of Enerhodar and the industrial area near the ZNPP.
Additionally, the ZNPP informed the IAEA team that the same shelling had damaged another power line nearby, connecting the plant to the 150 kV open switchyard of the Zaporizhzhya Thermal Power Plant. The damage limits the availability of potential backup power supplies to the ZNPP. Repair work on the line is ongoing.
Currently, there have been 24 rotations of IAEA specialists at the ZNPP. Last week, the IAEA team continued to hear explosions, including several near the site, although no damage to the plant was reported.
As reported by Ukrinform, on October 1, one of the two power lines supplying the temporarily occupied ZNPP was cut off due to a Russian attack on a main substation. By the evening, Ukrenergo had restored the power supply.
Source: IAEA Chief calls power supply disruptions at ZNPP serious safety challenge
