Transmission Line to Ukraine Nuclear Plant Fixed After Disruption

Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant in Ukraine is now reconnected to its transmission system, power plant operators said April 14. The 330 kV transmission line was restored, which permits the power plant to continue safe operations.

In a statement, plant operators said all functions at the plant are nominal, and radiation levels are still at the normal background level. The six-unit Zaporizhzhia NPP, one of the larger nuclear plants in the world, has been under the control of the Russian military since March 2022.

The reactors were shut down a month into its occupation, but the Soviet-era power plant still needs electricity to keep reactors nominal and prevent an accident.

The brief outage happened when a transmission line tripped, causing backup diesel generator sets to maintain operations at the plant, which is located near the Dnipro River near the front lines of the Ukraine-Russia War.

The power plant uses pressurized water reactors and produces about 5700 MW when fully operational. This represents more than a fifth of Ukraine’s electricity needs.

During times of outage, the plant relies on its diesel gensets for backup power, however these units were never intended to function indefinitely. The transmission connection is crucial to the safety of the plant, and the plant has been subjected to about a dozen such blackouts.

The International Atomic Energy Agency said it is still attempting to negotiate another ceasefire to help such repairs as they are needed. Ukraine has said the Russians are failing to perform necessary repairs and maintenance at the plant, creating a dangerous situation.

Officials with Energoatom, the former Ukrainian operator of the plant, have said restarting Zaporizhzhia would be unsafe while it is under Russian control. Russia’s Rosatom said it would like to restart the plant but was not specific as to when it would attempt this.

The U.S. Department of Energy said staffing levels at the power plant are less than one-third of prewar levels, and are inadequate to operate the plant safely.

Even as the power plant is restored to normal, Russian attacks caused fires in the city of Zaporizhzhia, with homes and other structures damaged by drones and missiles.