Anjali Sharma
GG News Bureau
UNITED NATIONS, 4th Jan. Director General Rafael Mariano Grossi of UN nuclear watch dog agency IAEA on Wednesday said that after discussions the Ukraine’s Zaporizhzhya Nuclear Power Plant has taken action to ensure an immediate back-up supply of electricity is available in the event of the main power line going down due to the ongoing fighting.
IAEA said that frequent power cuts have remained a serious concern for safety and security at the Russian-held plant, which is Europe’s largest. Electricity supply is crucial to cool reactors, even if it’s fully shut down.
The agency noted that since August 2022 after Russia’s full-scale invasion began, the ZNPP has suffered 8 events where offsite power has been lost.
Mr. Grossi said “This means that if the main power supply through the 750 kV switchyard is lost, the back-up line will automatically be able to provide electricity to the plant without manual, and hence delayed, intervention, provided it remains operational.”
“This is a significant development, as it enables independence and redundancy in the site’s power supply scheme, even though overall offsite supply “remains extremely fragile”, he added.
