IAEA: Zaporizhzhia NPP was connected to a backup power line for the first time in 4 months

For the first time in four months, the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant (ZNPP) was connected to the only available backup power line.

This was reported by the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA).

The connection of the ZNPP to the single 330 kilovolt (kV) power transmission line (before the full-scale war there were six such backup lines) disappeared on March 1. It was restored in the evening of July 1.

Now the 330 kV line is energized and kept as a backup. It is ready to power the nuclear power plant if the 750 kV line stops working.

"While the reconnection of the backup power line is positive, the plantʼs external power situation remains highly vulnerable, underscoring the precarious nuclear and safety situation at the site," IAEA Director General Rafael Grossi noted.

• Since March 4, the Zaporizhzhia NPP and the satellite town of Energodar ZNPP have been under the occupation of Russian troops.
• In the course of Russiaʼs full-scale war with Ukraine, the ZNPP already lost power supply seven times outside the site and temporarily used emergency diesel generators to power the plantʼs basic needs.