Update 322 – IAEA Director General Statement on Situation in Ukraine

Technical work began today to restore off-site power to Ukraine’s Zaporizhzhya Nuclear Power Plant (ZNPP), nearly a month after its complete loss of external electricity supplies sharply deepened concerns about the precarious nuclear safety situation at the site, IAEA Director General Rafael Mariano Grossi said.

Following weeks of complex negotiations, the Russian Federation and Ukraine have both agreed to an IAEA proposal to establish temporary ceasefire zones around two specific locations on opposite sides of the frontline, to enable their respective expert teams to conduct repairs on two power lines that were recently damaged during the military conflict.

This morning, following de-mining activities, work started to repair two cables of the 330 kilovolt (kV) Ferosplavna-1 line, which was disconnected from the ZNPP on 7 May. 

Later this weekend, also after completion of the necessary de-mining of the specified area on the other side, repairs are due to begin on the damaged section of the 750 kV Dniprovska line, which was disconnected on 23 September, causing the ZNPP’s complete loss of off-site power. 

IAEA teams will monitor and report on the progress of the repair work at the two locations, both situated several kilometres from the ZNPP, whose six reactors have been shut down since 2022 but still require electricity to power water pumps for the cooling of the site’s nuclear fuel.

“Today’s start of the repairs marks a significant step forward in our determined efforts to restore off-site power to Europe’s largest nuclear power plant, which for the past several weeks has been forced to rely on emergency diesel generators for electricity, which is clearly not sustainable,” Director General Grossi. 

“While it will still take some time before the plant is once again reconnected to the electricity grid – the repairs are expected to last about a week – there is now finally some light at the end of the tunnel. Both sides have engaged constructively with us to make this happen. There is a general understanding that the current situation benefits absolutely no one. It has been a challenging process as the power lines are in an active war zone and we first needed to create the necessary security conditions on the ground before repairs could proceed,” he said.

Pending the restoration of off-site power, seven emergency diesel generators (EDGs) are currently operating to provide the plant with the required electricity for essential nuclear safety and security functions. Another 13 EDGs remain in standby mode. 

The current loss of off-site power at the ZNPP is the tenth during the conflict and by far the longest-lasting. 

“Depending on emergency diesel generators is the last line of defence for nuclear power plants. Virtually unimaginable before the war, it has now become an all too common occurrence. As long as this devastating conflict goes on, nuclear safety and security remains under severe threat. Today, we had some rare positive news to report, but we are far from being out of the woods yet,” Director General Grossi said.