IAEA Director General Rafael Mariano Grossi said today that he expects repairs to start soon to restore off-site power to Ukraine’s Zaporizhzhya Nuclear Power Plant (ZNPP), more than three weeks after the site lost the connection to the grid for the tenth time during the military conflict. 

“Immediately after the plant last month lost all off-site power, the IAEA has been engaging closely with both sides to help create the necessary security conditions on the ground so that their technicians can carry out repair work that is of crucial importance for nuclear safety and security,” Director General Grossi said.

“This region is an active war zone, and we must be very careful in how we approach this complex and sensitive matter. Repairs to the power lines are needed on both sides of the frontline, at locations several kilometres from the site itself. In line with the IAEA’s technical and impartial mission, I’m continuing to consult with the Russian Federation and Ukraine to enable this work to proceed within the next few days. They both tell me that they also want the repairs to go ahead. The current situation – with the plant relying on emergency diesel generators for weeks now – is not sustainable,” he said.

Before the conflict, the ZNPP had access to ten power lines. In recent years, that was reduced to two, of which one 330 kilovolt (kV) line was lost on 7 May while the sole remaining 750 kV line was disconnected on 23 September. It is by far the ZNPP’s longest complete loss of off-site power during the conflict.  

Seven emergency diesel generators (EDGs) are currently producing electricity for the ZNPP site, mainly for the water pumps to cool the fuel in its six shutdown reactors as well as its spent fuel. Another 13 EDGs are in standby mode, with the plant continuing to alternate the ones in use in order to carry out necessary servicing. 

The ZNPP’s safety systems continue to be in operation for all reactor units and spent fuel pools, to maintain nuclear safety.

The IAEA team at the plant has also continued to report that there has been no increase in the temperatures within the coolant in the reactors or the spent fuel pools – indicating that the nuclear fuel continues to be cooled effectively and that nuclear safety is currently maintained.

Over the past week, the team conducted a walkdown of the site and observed the EDGs in operation as well as all essential service sprinkler ponds, which provide cooling for the six shutdown reactors and spent fuel pools, noting that all were full and operating. The team also performed radiation monitoring, confirming that radiation levels were normal for the site.

While the loss of off-site power remains in focus, the IAEA team also monitors other aspects of nuclear safety and security.

Late last week, the team members met with the ZNPP’s Emergency Preparedness and Response (EPR) Department. They were informed that the site’s EPR plan was approved and became effective from last month. The team was also informed that the ZNPP had established a new off-site emergency centre in the nearby town of Enerhodar, as the former off-site centre is inaccessible due to its location on the other side of the frontline. This facility serves as a backup to the temporary on-site emergency centre – the original on-site centre remains unavailable – and receives the same plant data, ensuring continuity in emergency coordination if needed.

Earlier this week, the team visited the six pumping stations located at the ZNPP channel that was recently isolated from the cooling pond and that supplies water for the cooling of several plant systems. The team assessed equipment status and operability. The visit confirmed that key pumps supporting service water, fire protection, and the common EDG cooling were functioning as needed. The height of the water in the channel remains about two metres above the minimum level for the pumps to operate.

The team continues to report military activities at various distances from the site.

Elsewhere, the Chornobyl site remains disconnected from the 330 kV power line, following reports two weeks ago that military strikes had damaged a nearby electrical substation, leading to a partial blackout of the site’s New Safe Confinement (NSC). The site has since successfully tested the EDGs that supply the NSC, confirming their readiness in case of a future loss of power. Fuel reserves are sufficient for over 10 days of EDG operation, with additional diesel fuel ordered to strengthen contingency capacity.