Ukraine’s largest nuclear power plant lost its main connection to the electricity grid again on Saturday amid continued shelling, despite the presence of international inspectors.
The Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant now relies on a backup line to supply electricity to the grid, the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) said.
Inspectors from the UN nuclear watchdog arrived at the site on Thursday despite concerns about continued shelling in the area. Ukraine and Russia have blamed each other for the repeated artillery fire.
IAEA experts at the facility, which is currently held by Russian forces but operated by Ukrainian labor, were told by senior Ukrainian personnel on Saturday that the plant’s fourth operational 750 kv power line was down. Another three had gone missing in the past.
However, a back-up line connects the facility to a nearby thermal power station that supplies electricity to the external grid. It can also provide backup power to the unit if required. The plant had previously been temporarily disconnected from the main power line on August 25.
Separately, the plant management also informed the IAEA team that the plant’s reactor number five was shut down on Saturday afternoon due to grid constraints. The fifth reactor was also decommissioned on Thursday when IAEA Director-General Rafael Grossi visited the site. This was due to an internal electrical fault and was reconnected on Friday. The plant has six reactors, of which only two were operating.
There is still one reactor in operation that generates electricity for cooling, other essential security functions and for households, factories and others on the grid, according to the IAEA statement.
General Manager Grossi called his team’s presence at the facility “a game changer” in a statement Saturday.
“Our team on the ground received immediate, rapid and reliable information about the latest major development affecting the external power status of the plant, as well as the operational status of the reactors,” Grossi said. “We already have a better understanding of the back-up power line functionality in connecting the facility to the grid. This is critical information to assess the overall situation there.”
Grossi said Friday that the nuclear watchdog plans to produce a report “early next week” to examine the condition of the facility.
After the IAEA’s visit on Thursday, six team members stayed behind to continue their work. Of those, two are expected to remain as part of the agency’s plan to establish a permanent presence at the nuclear plant that could help prevent the possibility of a dangerous nuclear accident.
