IAEA restores a second power line in Zaporiyia and starts the cooldown of the last active reactor

The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) announced Monday that a second backup power line has been restored to the Zaporiyia nuclear power plant that will allow it to cool the last active reactor and carry out other essential safety functions after Russia cut off the power supply on September 3.

“In another significant development for nuclear safety at Europe’s largest nuclear power plant, the reactor that was shut down yesterday has now entered a cold shutdown state like the facility’s other five reactors, meaning it will require less energy to cool down,” the IAEA detailed in a statement.

This was the last reactor in operation at the Zaporiyia nuclear power plant, shut down after the 330 kilovolt (kV) power line that allowed the plant to access electricity was restored on Saturday.

Another 330 kilovolt (kV) line was restored this Monday and is being used to provide the plant with power for its safety functions, with the first restored 330 kilovolt (kV) line remaining in standby. The two restored lines receive power from the grid through a nearby thermal power plant.

However, IAEA Director General Rafael Mariano Grossi has emphasized that the nuclear safety situation at the plant, located in the middle of a war zone, remains “precarious.”

“The four main external power lines of the nuclear power plant are all down and it is currently not providing electricity to homes, factories and others,” Grossi has stressed.

“A nuclear safety protection zone is urgently needed and I have started initial consultations with the relevant parties,” he has added.