A local ceasefire has been declared near the temporarily occupied Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant (ZNPP) to repair the backup 330 kV power transmission line that supplied the plant with power. Demining and other preparatory work began on the damaged site the day before. The immediate restoration of the line is scheduled for November 8. This was reported by the press service of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA).
“Two weeks after the successful restoration of power supply to the Zaporizhia NPP outside the facility after a month-long outage – which was also made possible by temporary truce agreements concluded by the IAEA – this morning, demining and other preparatory work began near the damaged section of the 330 kV Ferrosplavna-1 line, whose connection to the plant was interrupted six months ago,”, the report says.
Repairs are expected to begin on November 8. Once the work is complete, the “Ferrosplavna-1” line will be reconnected to the ZNPP, providing the plant with two power lines – the main (750 kV) and the backup (330 kV). The IAEA team operating at the site will monitor the progress of the repairs.
Initially, it was planned to restore both lines simultaneously, taking advantage of two local temporary ceasefire agreements, which would have allowed repair teams from both sides to work simultaneously. However, during the repair of the 750 kV line, additional damage was discovered to the 330 kV line closer to the plant, but outside the agreed ceasefire zone, which delayed its restoration.
“After intensive and difficult consultations with the Russian Federation and Ukraine, we have agreed on a new ceasefire window that will allow for the continuation of additional repair work. We hope that this power line will also be reconnected soon, which will be another important step for nuclear safety. This will further enhance the nuclear safety resilience of the plant,” said IAEA Director General Rafael Grossi.
