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Europe’s largest nuclear power plant has been reconnected to Ukraine‘s power grid, allowing engineers to shut down its last operating reactor to avoid a radiation catastrophe as battles rage in the region.
A week ago, the six-nuclear reactor Zaporozhye nuclear power plant lost its external power after all its power lines were disconnected due to shelling. It operated in “island mode” for several days, generating electricity for critical cooling systems from its only remaining operating reactor.
Nuclear operator Energoatom said one of the transmission lines had been restored to “operational capacity” late Saturday, allowing it to use electricity from Ukraine’s power system to run the plant’s safety systems and other systems.
“Therefore, it was decided to shut down Unit 6 and transfer it to the safest state – a cold shutdown,” the company said in a statement.
Energoatom said the risk of another cut to external power remained high, in which case the plant would have to start emergency diesel generators to keep the reactor cool and prevent a nuclear meltdown. The head of the company told The Associated Press on Thursday that the plant had only 10 days of diesel fuel.
The plant is one of the 10 largest atomic power stations in the world and has been occupied by Russian troops since the beginning of the war. Ukraine and Russia have accused each other of shelling the plant, which damaged the power lines connecting it to the grid.
Energoatom reiterated its call for Russian troops to leave the Zaporozhye plant and allow a “demilitarized zone” to be established around it.
The U.N. nuclear watchdog, the International Atomic Energy Agency, confirmed to The Associated Press on Sunday that external power had been restored at the Zaporozhye nuclear power plant.
“Following yesterday’s restoration of power lines connecting ZNPP to the switchyard of a nearby thermal power station, ZNPP’s operator this morning shut down its last operating reactor, which had been providing the plant with the needed disconnection from the grid for the past week. electricity supply,” the IAEA said in an emailed statement.
“This morning, IAEA staff at the ZNPP were informed of these new developments and Ukraine confirmed it.” IAEA Director General Rafael Grossi called for a safe zone around the nuclear power plant to avoid disaster.
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