Zaporizhzhia nuclear plant loses power line – IAEA

ZURICH (Reuters) -Ukraine’s Zaporizhzhia nuclear plant once more misplaced connection to the final remaining fundamental exterior energy line, however continues to provide electrical energy to the grid by means of a reserve line, the Worldwide Atomic Power Company (IAEA) mentioned on Saturday.

The company additionally mentioned, in an announcement https://www.iaea.org/newscenter/pressreleases/update-97-iaea-director-general-statement-on-situation-in-ukraine posted on its web site, that solely one of many station’s six reactors remained in operation.

Zaporizhzhia, with six reactors, is Europe’s largest nuclear energy station. The station has been managed by Russian troops since quickly after their invasion of Ukraine in late February and has develop into one of many focal factors of the battle, with either side blaming the opposite for shelling across the plant.

The U.N. nuclear watchdog’s specialists now stationed on the plant have been advised by Ukrainian workers that the positioning’s fourth operational 750 kilovolt energy line was down after three others have been misplaced earlier, the IAEA mentioned.

However IAEA specialists additionally realized {that a} reserve line linking the power to a close-by thermal energy plant was delivering electrical energy to the exterior grid. This reserve line may present backup energy to the ZNPP if wanted, it mentioned.

“One reactor continues to be working and producing electrical energy each for cooling and different important security features on the website and for households, factories and others by means of the grid,” the IAEA mentioned.

An IAEA mission, led by the company’s director common Rafael Grossi, toured the plant on Thursday and a few specialists have remained there pending the discharge of a report on its operations.

Transmission strains to the plant have been minimize final week and the power was minimize off from the nationwide grid for the primary time in its historical past, prompting energy cuts in numerous areas of Ukraine. However emergency turbines kicked in to offer energy wanted for important cooling processes.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy blamed Russian shelling for the cutoff and mentioned a radiation leak had narrowly been averted.

Russia’s defence ministry mentioned on Saturday that Ukrainian forces had tried to seize the Zaporizhzhia plant in an assault on the power on Friday night time — the second such allegation in as many days.

Reuters couldn’t affirm any particulars of the Russian accusations.

(Reporting by Michael Shields and Ron Popeski;Enhancing by Andrew Cawthorne and Diane Craft)