Energoatom: Zaporizhzhia nuclear plant was on the brink of a nuclear accident overnight

Ukraine’s Russian-controlled Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant was on the brink of a nuclear accident overnight after its external power supply was interrupted. The Ukrainian state-owned company Energoatom, which operated the plant before Russia’s invasion, announced the news, according to AFP.

„Last night, a total failure occurred at the Zaporizhzhia plant,“ Energoatom announced on Telegram.

It added that power supplies were restored after several hours. „The occupying forces do not care about the safety of the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant,“ Energoatom chief Petro Kotin said.

The Ukrainian operator had previously reported that the plant had to rely on diesel generators during the overnight blackout, putting the safety of Europe’s largest nuclear power plant at risk. Ukrainian specialists continue to work at the plant, and International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) inspectors have also been monitoring the situation there since September 2022.

The plant, located on the eastern bank of the Dnipro River in the Russian-occupied part of Zaporizhzhia region, was forced to take this measure after both the backup and main power lines were interrupted. Energoatom did not give the exact reason for the power outage but said the plant had been disconnected from the main power line during an air-raid alert, The Kyiv Independent reported.

According to Energoatom, „all 20 diesel generators started automatically, and eight were later kept running“. Thanks to the efforts of Ukrainian specialists, the main power line was repaired at around 7:00 local time.

The main danger of an interruption to external power supplies is that the plant’s fourth reactor could overheat if its cooling pumps lose power. Russian occupying forces are keeping it in so-called hot shutdown mode. „The unit urgently needs to be switched to cold shutdown mode,“ Energoatom warned today.