Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant shuts down completely
The Zaporizhia Nuclear Power Plant [ZNPP] has put operations to a stop, Ukraine’s nuclear operator Energoatom said in a statement.
For the past three days, power unit No. 6 has been operating in ‘island’ mode, powering only the needs of the power plant, as all power lines connecting the plant with the Ukrainian power system were damaged due to russian shelling, Energoatom said. Preparations are underway for its cooling and transfer to a cold state.
Saturday night, after one of the power communication lines was restored, it became possible to power the ZNPP’s own needs from Ukraine’s energy system, and a decision to shut down power unit No. 6, transferring it to the safest state – cold shutdown, was made.
In the event of possible future damages to the communication lines, the ZNPP’s own needs will be powered by diesel generators, whose capacity is limited.