Zaporizhzhia Plant Loses External Power Again and Runs on Emergency Diesel Generators

Overview

• Enerhoatom and the IAEA reported that the occupied Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant lost all external power and switched to reserve diesel generators to keep cooling and safety systems running.
• The outage followed the disconnection of the overhead line ZaTES–Ferrosplavna No.1, which the IAEA linked to an attack on a substation on the opposite bank of the Dnipro River.
• Enerhoatom says this is the 19th blackout at the plant since its 2022 occupation and the seventh so far this year, a pattern the company says raises nuclear safety risks.
• The IAEA warned that relying on a single transmission route makes the plant extremely vulnerable and that diesel generators must sustain cooling for six reactors that remain in cold shutdown.
• Enerhoatom reiterated its call to return the plant to full Ukrainian control and work is underway to repair the main 750 kV Dnipro line, but repeated strikes on grid infrastructure continue to threaten local power supplies and safety efforts.