IAEA: All Ukraine’s NPPs have access to national grid again

All Ukraine’s four operational nuclear power plants, including the Russian-occupied ZNPP, have been reconnected to the national grid.

“Ukraine’s four operational nuclear power plant sites all have access to the national grid again following a complete loss of off-site power earlier this week, Director General Rafael Mariano Grossi of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) said today,” reads the IAEA’s statement, released on Friday.

The IAEA team of experts present at Ukraine’s Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant reported already yesterday that the facility’s external power connection had been re-established, a day after it was disconnected. The ZNPP, Europe’s largest nuclear power plant, is in shutdown mode but still needs electricity to maintain essential safety and security functions.

As noted, Ukraine also confirmed to the IAEA that the three other nuclear power plants – Rivne, South Ukraine and Khmelnytskyy – had been re-connected to the grid and were operating to generate electricity for the country’s needs. Power had also been restored to the Chornobyl site, it said.

“Separately today, Director General Grossi said the IAEA had completed a week-long nuclear safety and security expert mission to Chornobyl, including the Exclusion Zone set up around the plant following the 1986 accident. The mission will help pave the way for upgrades and improvements of the plant’s nuclear security systems. The IAEA experts also gained a better understanding of the plant’s safety and security needs and provided advice and guidance on radiation monitoring,” reads the statement.

The IAEA announced earlier this month that it would soon send such missions to Chornobyl as well as to the Rivne, South Ukraine and Khmelnytskyy sites, at Ukraine’s request. The mission to South Ukraine will take place next week, Director General Grossi said. The IAEA established a continued presence at the ZNPP on 1 September.

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