IAEA Warns Risks Remain Even as Power Line at Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Plant Has Been Repaired
JAKARTA - The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) said on Friday that repairs to the main power line connecting the Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant (NPP) in Ukraine to the external power grid had been completed, but warned that the facility still faced serious nuclear safety risks.
The U.N. nuclear watchdog said the technically complex work, carried out under an IAEA-mediated local ceasefire after extensive mine clearance, was aimed at strengthening the plant's access to off-site power and reducing the risk of a nuclear accident.
However, the IAEA said the repaired 750-kilovolt Dniprovska power line, which has been out since March, has not been brought back online because its connecting substation, located more than 100 kilometers (62 miles) northwest of the plant, suffered extensive damage.
"Repeated damage to the electrical infrastructure that serves as the basis for nuclear power plants continues to create serious nuclear safety and security risks," said IAEA Director General Rafael Mariano Grossi, launching Anadolu (26/6).
"I once again call for maximum military restraint around all nuclear facilities and energy infrastructure they need," he added.
Grossi further described the local ceasefire as the most challenging of six temporary ceasefires brokered by the IAEA since late last year.
"This requires several months of complicated negotiations, followed by mine clearance and repairs to high-voltage pylons across the Dnipro River," he explained, adding that Ukraine and Russia allowed the repairs to continue.
"This shows that real progress is still possible, even during a large-scale war," Grossi said.
The IAEA team monitored the work in challenging conditions, including drone activity nearby.
Europe's largest nuclear power plant has been under Russian control since March 2022, while IAEA experts have remained stationed at the site since September of that year amid ongoing concerns about nuclear safety.