Zaporizhzhia plant's power cut carried risk of nuclear 'accident': Ukraine
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Ukraine's energy ministry said that they have now restored the power lines of the Zaporizhzhia nuclear plant
Ukraine on Saturday (Dec 2) said that the two power lines providing electricity supply to the Russian-occupied Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant were snapped overnight, and placed it at risk of a “nuclear accident”.
The plant remained at the centre of fighting from the time it was captured by Russian forces last year, and the two sides have held each other responsible for compromising its safety.
"Due to the complete blackout, the nuclear power plant switched to powering its own needs from 20 diesel generators," said Kyiv's nuclear operator, further stating that power was restored later.
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It said that the plant was on "the verge of a nuclear and radiation accident" before Kyiv restored the off-site power. "The situation was actually saved by the prompt actions of Ukrainian specialists who restored power supply to the plant from the Ukrainian power grid," it said.
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On Saturday, the energy ministry said that the power lines at the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant have now been restored.
In March 2022, Russia occupied the plant, and since then it has not been generating power but requires electricity to cool one of its four reactors which remains in a state of 'hot conservation', which means that it is not completely shut down.
IAEA monitoring Zaporizhzhia's six-reactor plant
As per a statement published by Ukraine's energy ministry on Telegram, there was disruption in one power line to the plant on Friday, and the last, 750 kW, line was disconnected at 2:31 a.m. (0031 GMT) on Saturday.
"This is the eighth blackout which occurred at the (Zaporizhzhia plant) and could have led to nuclear catastrophe," said the statement.
The ministry stated that 20 backup generators of the plant were turned on, after it lost the grid connection, for supplying its own electricity needs.
It stated that the 750 kW line was repaired by the Ukrainian specialists at 7 a.m. (0500 GMT), which was now providing power to the plant once more.
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On Saturday, the International Atomic Energy Agency confirmed that the off-site power of the plant was temporarily lost overnight, adding that this was the eighth such blackout since the conflict began.
The safety of the plant, which requires constant maintenance to stop overheating is being monitored by the IAEA officials.
Zaporizhzhia, a six-reactor plant has been rocked due to repeated shelling and drone attacks across the 21-month conflict. It has not been supplying electricity to the grid of Ukraine since September 2022.
(With inputs from agencies)
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