The Zaporizhia NPP (ZNPP) has restored its connection to a 150 kilovolt (kV) power line that could be used as a back-up option for the plant, although the supplies of electricity needed for reactor cooling and other essential functions remain fragile, International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) Director General Rafael Mariano said in his latest update.
The 150 kV line was reportedly damaged in shelling late last month, further limiting the potential availability of power supplies for the ZNPP. The line connects the site to the switchyard of the nearby Zaporizhia Thermal Power Plant. However, the IAEA team stationed at ZNPP was informed this week that the repairs had been completed and the line was once again available, if needed.
During the military conflict, ZNPP has been relying on two power lines – one 750 kV and one 330 kV – for off-site electricity. Both have suffered repeated disconnections as a result of the fighting, underlining the potential importance of any additional source of electricity, IAEA noted. Before the conflict, the ZNPP had 10 power lines available.
During the previous week, the IAEA team had continued to hear explosions, including some blasts close to ZNPP, although no damage to the plant was reported. The team conducted regular walkdowns across the site, including by the sprinkler ponds and in the turbine halls of two units. Team members observed ongoing maintenance activities of one main transformer as well as testing of one emergency diesel generator pertaining to part of the safety system.
Meanwhile, ZNPP Director Yuri Chernichuk in an interview with TASS said that former employees who left Energodar and went to Ukraine, may have been helping with plans to attack the facility. “I can’t say who exactly, I can’t name names, but it is quite likely that there are such people – for sure someone is helping [the Ukrainian Armed Forces]. There are quite competent specialists there, people who know what it is. And many of them have worked at this station and know as much as we do.”
