Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Plant Power Restored Amid Ongoing Conflict

Kyiv, Oct 23 (AP) — After a monthlong outage, off-site power to Ukraine's Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant is being restored, officials announced on Thursday. The plant has been under Russian occupation for nearly four years.

Energy Minister Svitlana Grynchuk reported that the 750-kilovolt Dniprovska transmission line, which connects the Russian-controlled plant to Ukraine's power grid, has been repaired. Work is ongoing on the Ferosplavna 330-kilovolt backup line, which traverses areas held by Russian forces.

Repairs to Europe's largest nuclear power station were conducted during a local ceasefire, as noted by the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA). The agency highlighted that the return of off-site power represents "a key step for nuclear safety." Establishing special ceasefire zones allowed Russian and Ukrainian forces to safely perform the repairs, marking a rare instance of cooperation between the two sides.

IAEA Director General Rafael Grossi stated, “Both sides engaged constructively with the IAEA to enable the complex repair plan to proceed.”

Grynchuk mentioned that since Russia's full-scale invasion in 2022, Ukrainian energy workers have repaired the plant's power lines 42 times. Throughout that period, the facility has relied on emergency diesel generators on 10 occasions after losing external power.

Since September 23, following the severance of its last external power line amid accusations from both Russia and Ukraine against each other, the Zaporizhzhia plant has been operating on diesel backup generators. The plant, although not operational, requires stable power to cool its six shutdown reactors and spent fuel to prevent any catastrophic nuclear incidents.

Grossi emphasized the frequency with which emergency diesel generators, intended as the "last line of defence," have been used to cool reactors. He stated, “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.”

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