The Zaporizhzhia nuclear power station in Ukraine lost all offsite power at around 05.00 local time on Thursday (9 March) when its last remaining 750 kilovolt line was disconnected following missile strikes across Ukraine overnight, the International Atomic Energy Agency confirmed.
The incident led the agency’s director-general Rafael Grossi to tell its board of governors today that he was “astonished” by the complacency. “What are we doing to prevent this happening? We are the IAEA, we are meant to care about nuclear safety,” Grossi said.
The six-unit station’s only remaining back up 330 kilovolt line had already been damaged a few days ago and is under repair.
As a result, all 20 of the site’s emergency diesels generators were activated. The site’s essential power is now being provided by eight of those diesels with the rest now in standby mode. Grossi said there is enough diesel on site for 15 days of operation
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