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The Ukrainian Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant (ZNPP), the largest in Europe and occupied by Russia since March 2022, is reconnected to the external power supply after a one-month outage that required the activation of diesel generators, the IAEA, the UN nuclear agency, reported this Thursday.
The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) confirmed that the repair work on "the 750-kilovolt Dniprovska line" was completed, following a cessation of fighting around the facility, as indicated in a statement published on social media.
"External power supply to Ukraine's ZNPP nuclear power plant has been restored after a month-long power outage, a crucial step for nuclear safety," IAEA Director General Rafael Grossi stated in the note.
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The mission members that the agency has deployed on the ground continue "working with both parties to also enable the restoration of the 330-kilovolt Ferosplavna line," he added.
Although it currently has its six reactors in cold shutdown and does not generate electricity, the ZNPP, located in southeastern Ukraine, requires a constant supply of external energy to cool the fuel and avoid the risk of a nuclear meltdown.
That cooling was provided by diesel generators during the outage of the last external high-voltage line that was in operation and which was damaged on September 23, giving way to the tenth blackout - the longest - that has affected the plant since the beginning of the Russian occupation.
Technical work to restore external supply began on the 18th, as Grossi reported that same day, expressing his concern about the precarious nuclear safety of ZNPP due to the frequent fighting in its vicinity.
Previously, there were arduous negotiations between the two opposing parties regarding a proposal from the IAEA to establish temporary ceasefire zones around specific locations, in order to allow for their demining before commencing repair work.
According to Grossi, that preliminary phase was "a complex process, as the power lines are located in an active war zone and we needed to create the necessary safety conditions on the ground before we could proceed with the repairs".
