Nuclear safety still 'in jeopardy' at Zaporizhzhia power plant: IAEA

The head of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) said on Thursday that nuclear safety "remains in jeopardy" at the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant (ZNPP) as the facility twice lost connection to its only remaining 750 kilovolt (kV) power line in the last few days.

IAEA Director General Rafael Grossi told a quarterly meeting of the IAEA Board of Governors that the first disconnection, caused by unspecified damage about 17 km from the ZNPP, lasted for just over 30 hours from last Saturday morning until it was repaired and restored around Sunday noon. The plant again lost connection to the line on Thursday morning.

The ZNPP had to rely on "its sole 330 kV backup power line for the electricity it needs for reactor cooling and other key nuclear safety functions," Grossi said.

The plant had four 750 kV and six 330 kV lines available before the Russia-Ukraine conflict, according to an IAEA statement.