After a three-day blackout: Zaporizhzhya NPP reconnected to the grid
14 June 02:11
The Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant (ZNPP) in the occupied city of Energodar, Zaporizhzhia Oblast, was reconnected to the grid on Saturday, June 13, following repairs to the “Ferosplavna” backup power line, which were carried out under a local ceasefire, according to the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), as reported by "Komersant Ukrainian".
“After the 19th power outage at ZNPP, the plant lost connection to the 330 kV line late on Wednesday due to damagerelated to military operations, forcing it to rely on emergency diesel generators to provide the electricity needed to cool the six shut-down reactors. This lasted nearly three days and was one of the longest such power outages at the facility, highlighting the extreme fragility of the power grid. “An IAEA team monitored the repair work near the Zaporizhzhia NPP,” the agency reported on social media platform X.
According to IAEA Director General Rafael Grossi, repairs to both the power lines and the distribution unit are necessary to ensure off-site power supply to the ZNPP and to prevent a nuclear accident.
Grossi also reported on the recent increase in military activity around the ZNPP and emphasized that this jeopardizes key principles of nuclear safety, reiterating the need for maximum military restraint near all nuclear facilities.
The IAEA reports that a ceasefire to repair the backup power line was brokered through its mediation. The Agency continues to monitor repair work at the distribution unit of the Zaporizhzhia Thermal Power Plant (ZTEP), as well as demining operations in another frontline area near the Zaporizhzhia NPP, to also facilitate repairs to the main power line at the facility, the Dnipro 750 kV line, which has been offline since March of this year.
It should be noted that on June 10 at around 9:00 p.m. local time, the ZNPP lost its external power supply completely for the 19th time since the start of the military conflict due to shelling of an electrical substation located on the opposite bank of the Dnipro River, the IAEA reported on X on Thursday. “This latest loss of the 330 kV ‘Ferosplavna-1’ backup line occurred as the plant prepares to repair the 750 kV ‘Dniprovska’ main power transmission line,” the agency noted.
The 750 kV “Dniprovska” power line has been disconnected since March 24 of this year as part of the sixth local ceasefire agreed upon by both sides to facilitate the restoration of the second external power supply source.
As the IAEA emphasized once again, operating the plant with only one remaining power line makes it extremely vulnerable to conflict-related power grid disruptions, as occurred again on June 10. Currently, the Zaporizhzhia NPP relies on emergency diesel generators to provide cooling for the six shut-down reactors and to support other vital nuclear safety functions.
Prior to that, external power to the ZNPP had been restored on the morning of Saturday, June 6, following a 15-hour outage during which the plant was forced to use emergency diesel generators to provide power to the six shut-down reactors for cooling purposes. The day before, the IAEA reported that a local ceasefire had gone into effect near the ZNPP to allow for repairs to the power transmission line.
According to the agency, the 750 kV line had not been functioning for over two months, as a result of which the Zaporizhzhia NPP was completely dependent on a single 330 kV line to provide the electricity needed to cool the six shut-down reactors. Over the past few weeks, the plant has also repeatedly lost access to this line, forcing it to switch to emergency diesel generators as a last resort. Preparations for repair work were complicated by the location of the damaged section—on high towers across the demarcation line in the Dnipro area.
