The Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant (ZNPP) is again on the verge of a blackout — Russian shelling knocked out power on February 11th, one of the two power lines connecting the plant to the Ukrainian power system.
This was reported by the Ministry of Energy of Ukraine.
Power engineers will be able to begin restoring power to this line as soon as the security situation allows.
“Energoatom” previously explained that before the Russians occupied the Zaporizhzhia NPP, the plant consumed electricity from its own four transmission lines and three reserve lines. And during the occupation, the joint efforts of “Rosatom specialists" and the Russian military contingent brought the Zaporizhzhia NPP to the last stage of degradation.
If the only working line fails, it will mean that Zaporizhzhia NPP will lose external power supply to the station with the launch of emergency diesel generators. After all, their resources are limited both in terms of operating time and the availability of diesel fuel. Thus, the launch of diesel generators means the beginning of the countdown to the start of nuclear fuel melting.
- The Russians occupied ZNPP in early March 2022, and it has been operating under their control ever since. During this time, ZNPP has experienced eight complete blackouts and one partial one.
- An IAEA mission has been stationed at the station since September 2022. Ukraine insists on the withdrawal of Russian occupiers from the station. President Volodymyr Zelensky emphasizes that as long as Russian soldiers are at ZNPP, “the world remains on the brink of nuclear catastrophe”. Russia refuses to create a demilitarized zone at ZNPP.
- On February 4, Volodymyr Zelensky reported that Russia had taken hostage two Ukrainian energy workers who worked at the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant. They were thrown behind bars because they allegedly had some Ukrainian content. The president stressed that it was important for Ukraine to return them, and discussed this issue with the IAEA delegation during their visit to Kyiv.
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