IAEA says key power line repaired at Zaporizhzhya plant, but not restored
A repaired 750 kV line at Zaporizhzhya still is not back in service, leaving Europe’s largest nuclear plant exposed after two blackouts in one week.
The International Atomic Energy Agency said repairs were completed on a key power line and related energy infrastructure at the Zaporizhzhya Nuclear Power Plant, but the 750 kV Dniprovska line still had not been returned to service. The agency said the work took place under a temporary local ceasefire between Ukraine and Russia, underscoring how directly the war continues to shape nuclear safety at Europe’s largest nuclear plant.
The repair effort covered the Dniprovska line and the switchyard of the Zaporizhzhya Thermal Power Plant, which helps supply electricity to the nuclear station through the backup 330 kV Ferosplavna-1 line. Even with those repairs complete, the Dniprovska line remained offline because its connecting substation was extensively damaged. The agency said work on that substation was continuing and was not expected to finish soon. Rafael Mariano Grossi said the line had been repaired but still needed to be brought back into operation.
That distinction matters because off-site electricity is central to keeping the plant safe. The Zaporizhzhya site’s six reactors have been in cold shutdown and still require cooling water for reactor cores, safety systems and spent fuel pools. When external power is lost, the plant must fall back on emergency diesel generators to keep those systems running. The agency has warned repeatedly that prolonged loss of grid connection is one of the most serious risks at the site.
The vulnerability has been exposed again and again since Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine began in February 2022. The agency said in late 2025 that Zaporizhzhya had suffered its tenth complete loss of off-site power during the conflict. Earlier this year, on April 10, it said the 750 kV Dniprovska line had been disconnected since March 24, 2026, while ceasefire talks for repairs were still under way. The plant also temporarily lost all off-site power twice in one week after its last remaining off-site power line was disconnected.
Before the war, Zaporizhzhya had four 750 kV lines and six 330 kV lines available. That network has been cut back sharply, leaving the plant more exposed each time a line fails or a substation is hit. The IAEA has repeatedly said the reactors cannot be restarted while military conflict continues to jeopardize off-site power and cooling-water conditions, leaving the plant dependent on fragile repairs and temporary truces rather than a stable grid.
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