IAEA comments on damage caused to ZNPP backup power line

Director General Rafael Mariano Grossi of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) has said it is too often that the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant (ZNPP) is forced to rely on only one external source of electricity to maintain its essential nuclear safety and security functions.

He said this in a statement published on the IAEA website, Ukrinform reports.

Grossi noted that ZNPP lost connection to its only remaining off-site back-up power line on August 22, leaving it once again precariously reliant on a single power source.

The IAEA Support and Assistance Mission to ZNPP was informed that the plant’s 330 kilovolt (kV) Ferosplavna 1 back-up power line was disconnected on August 22 due to a short-circuit at approximately 16:00. The ZNPP confirmed that the Ukraine dispatcher had put the line under maintenance and that it was re-connected at 15:30 on August 23.

The mission was informed by the ZNPP that the cause of the short-circuit or the possible damage to the line is unknown.

The latest outage follows reports of military activity in the region and beyond. The IAEA team have reported hearing explosions near the ZNPP over the past 24 hours

“This all too often occurrence whereby Europe’s largest nuclear power plant is once again forced to rely on only one external source of electricity to maintain its essential nuclear safety and security functions underlines the vulnerability of this major facility. This is not sustainable and it is essential that strengthened efforts be taken now to uphold the five concrete principles for protecting the facility,” said Grossi.

As reported by Ukrinform, the shelling damaged one of the two power lines supplying electricity to the temporarily occupied Zaporizhzhia NPP.

During the outage, the ZNPP was connected to its only remaining 750 kV Dniprovska line. Before the conflict, the ZNPP had four 750 kV and six 330 kV power lines available.