Grossi said: “It is deeply concerning that … Europe’s largest nuclear power plant has once again been cut off from all external power. The site, which is located on the front line, continues to be endangered. Each loss of power poses a real risk to nuclear safety and increases the likelihood of a nuclear accident.”
The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) experts stationed at the plant said that the last remaining external power line was disconnected at 16:56 local time on Tuesday. They observed, and it was confirmed by the plant operators, that emergency diesel generators started operating to supply power, which is required for essential safety functions.
This is the tenth time since the start of the war that the plant, which is on the frontline of Russian and Ukrainian forces, has lost access to all external power. The most recent was on 4 July, when it had to rely on diesel generators for four hours.
The IAEA said that after July’s loss of power, it was told that there was enough fuel stored on the site to keep the diesel generators operating for 20 days. A power supply is needed to cool the cores of the reactors, which are all currently shut down, and the used fuel pools.
Before the war, the six-unit nuclear power plant, which has been under Russian military control since March 2022, had 10 external power lines, but most of those lines are no longer operational, and since 7 May, it has had to rely on a single 750 kV power line.
The operators of the plant say that safety systems are all operating within safety limits and conditions, and background radiation remains normal. A spokesperson quoted by Russia’s Tass news agency on Wednesday morning said a repair timeline was not yet clear.
