Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Plant Loses External Power and Runs on Diesel Backup

The Russian-controlled Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant in southeastern Ukraine lost all external power on Sunday, November 8, the Russian-installed management of the plant said. Backup diesel generators are supplying power to the equipment required for safe operation of the station.

The management said the Ferosplavna power line was disconnected by protective systems because of damage, in a statement posted on the Russian state-backed messenger app MAX. Radiation levels on the site and in the surveillance zone were normal, the statement added.

"Staff at the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant are monitoring all operational parameters of the equipment. All necessary measures to maintain the safe condition of the power units are being taken in full," the management said.

The last line went offline at 02:36

Ukraine's state operator Energoatom, reported by AgroReview, gave the line's name as Ferrosplavna-1 and said the last operating 330 kV line went offline at 02:36 on November 8. An attempt to automatically reconnect it was unsuccessful, Energoatom said. The two spellings, Ferosplavna in the Reuters report and Ferrosplavna-1 in the Energoatom reporting, refer to the same line.

Reports differ on the cause. Energoatom said the cause of the power loss has not been reported. Reuters reported only that the line was disconnected because of damage. Sweden Herald reported the plant management as saying the connection was cut after being damaged in an attack. This article does not state a cause beyond those attributed reports.

Energoatom calls it the 16th complete loss this year

According to Energoatom, this is the 16th time the Zaporizhzhia plant has completely lost its external power supply since the beginning of 2026. The company said the loss of power poses a critical threat to nuclear and radiation safety.

"Operating in blackout mode creates a direct risk of failure of the life-support and nuclear fuel cooling systems if the diesel generators fail or their fuel runs out, which could lead to a radiation accident," Energoatom said.

Energoatom linked the regular interruptions to the occupation of the plant and said nuclear and radiation safety at the plant can be restored only after it is fully returned to Ukrainian control.

Six reactors in cold shutdown since 2022

All six reactors at the plant have been in cold shutdown since 2022 and the plant is not currently generating electricity. Russian troops seized the plant, the largest nuclear power plant in Europe, in the first weeks of the full-scale invasion in February 2022.

The plant's six reactors and fuel pools are now cooled using diesel-powered backup generators, Sweden Herald reported. Power for vital cooling had been supplied from outside the plant via two power lines that also pass through Ukrainian-controlled territory, and the second line was cut in March.

IAEA had not reported the loss

The International Atomic Energy Agency, whose representatives are at the plant, had not reported the loss of power in the reports used for this article. IAEA Director General Rafael Grossi said on November 6 that increased military activity near nuclear facilities points to persistent threats to nuclear safety during the war in Ukraine. In its November 6 update, the agency also noted that the Zaporizhzhia plant continued to rely on a single external power line, the line that has now gone offline.