The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) has initiated a process to help restore external electricity to Ukraine’s Zaporizhzhya Nuclear Power Plant (ZNPP), following weeks of diplomatic engagement with both Ukraine and Russia after the facility again lost all access to the national grid.
IAEA Director General Rafael Mariano Grossi announced that work has begun to re-establish off-site power through repairs to the damaged 750 kV Dniprovska and 330 kV Ferosplavna-1 transmission lines. These lines, located on opposite sides of the front line, are essential for supplying the electricity needed to cool the plant’s six shutdown reactors and spent fuel.
The ZNPP, Europe’s largest nuclear facility, lost its connection to the grid on September 23 – the tenth such outage since the start of the Russia-Ukraine conflict. Since then, the plant has been relying on emergency diesel generators to power its cooling systems, a situation the IAEA has repeatedly warned is unsustainable. Currently, seven diesel generators are active and 13 are on standby.
IAEA monitors on site report that reactor and spent fuel cooling systems remain stable, with no rise in coolant temperatures and radiation levels holding normal. However, the agency continues to observe nearby military activity, including recent explosions that shook the facility and drone sightings near other Ukrainian nuclear sites, underscoring the persistent risks to nuclear safety amid the ongoing war.
Meanwhile, the IAEA continues to deliver safety and monitoring equipment to Ukrainian nuclear facilities. The latest shipment – radiation survey meters funded by the Czech Republic and Japan – marks the 159th delivery under the agency’s €20 million assistance program since the conflict began.
By Charles Kennedy for Oilprice.com
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