Zaporizhzhya NPP restores backup power supply for the first time in six months – IAEA

Following a localized ceasefire , Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant has resumed access to backup power from the grid for the first time in six months after the repair of the second power line was completed. This was reported by IAEA Director General Rafael Grossi .

The 330-kilovolt line Ferrosplavna-1 was connected to the station on November 8 at 19:43.

Grossi called it "another important step in efforts to prevent a nuclear accident." Two weeks ago, it was possible to restore the 750 kV Dniprovska line, ending a month-long outage of external power supply at the facility.

"Immediately after Zaporizhzhya NPP lost all external power on September 23, we began working closely with both the Russian Federation and Ukraine to ensure that both power lines were repaired, which is essential to maintaining nuclear safety at the site during this devastating war," said Grossi .

Repairs to the damaged section of Ferroalloy No. 1 power unit began on the morning of November 8 after the area was demined. The line, which had been cut since May 7, 2025, has been repaired.

However, Grossi emphasized that the overall situation remains "very unstable" and the IAEA mission in Ukraine is "far from complete." Over the course of more than three and a half years of full-scale war, the facility lost any access to external power supply 10 times.

All six ZNPP reactors have been shut down and have not produced electricity for more than three years, but the nuclear power plant still needs electricity to power the pumps used for cooling.

At the same time, the IAEA Director General emphasized that events in other parts of Ukraine have highlighted the "extremely volatile situation with nuclear safety during the conflict.".

Two operating nuclear power plants – Khmelnytsky and Rivne – were forced to reduce electricity production after an attack on the night of November 8 on an electrical substation critical to nuclear safety. Last week, Rivne NPP also temporarily reduced production after another substation was damaged.

• on November 6, Russia said that Kyiv and the West were allegedly preparing for a possible accident at the Zaporizhzhia NPP, which "they are preparing to blame on the Kremlin." The CPA responded that such accusations have nothing to do with reality.