Russia deliberately refuses to connect Zaporizhia NPP to power, leaving it on diesel for two days – Energoatom

Despite the absence of technical obstacles on the territory controlled by Ukraine, the occupation administration of the Zaporizhia Nuclear Power Plant (ZNPP) is deliberately not connecting it to the 750 kW power transmission line after the September 23 shutdown, Energoatom reported.

“According to NPC Ukrenergo, this line is operational and there are no technical obstacles to its use in the territory controlled by Ukraine. Nevertheless, the occupiers are deliberately not connecting the plant to the power supply and continuing a gross disinformation campaign against Ukraine,” Energoatom said in a statement on Thursday.

The company emphasizes that in this way, Russian aggressors are deliberately putting millions of people across the continent at risk.

The company announced that the power line supplying the Zaporizhia Nuclear Power Plant (ZNPP) from the Ukrainian power grid was damaged on September 23 due to another provocation by the Russian military. Since then, the ZNPP has been receiving power from diesel generators, which are only intended for emergency power supply and cannot meet the plant’s needs long-term.

As Energoatom points out, shutting them down could lead to a loss of control over the facility’s nuclear safety.

“Returning the ZNPP to the full and legitimate control of Ukraine is the only way to restore nuclear safety in the region. Delay is unacceptable. The safety of Europe’s largest nuclear power plant is the safety of the entire world,” stressed Energy Minister Svitlana Hrynchuk on Facebook.

She said that the international community must finally dare to take decisive action by increasing pressure on Russia for the plant’s earliest possible demilitarization and deoccupation.

On the evening of September 23, the Zaporizhia Nuclear Power Plant experienced its 10th blackout since the plant was occupied. At 16:56, the 750 kW power transmission line through which the plant received power from the Ukrainian power system was disconnected.

Ukrenergo reported at that time that emergency restoration work would begin immediately as soon as the security situation allowed.

The 6 GW Zaporizhia NPP, which is occupied by the Russian Federation, has relied on a single 750 kV power line for almost five months, a record, since May 7, when the last 330 kV backup line was damaged. In May, the IAEA Director General stated that it was unclear when the backup line would be restored, although the external power supply had previously been restored during the day.