The Khmelnytskyi and Rivne Nuclear Power Plants have been operating at reduced capacity for almost two weeks since Russian forces struck electrical substations that are critical to nuclear safety.

Source: Ukrinform, a Ukrainian news agency, citing Rafael Mariano Grossi, Director General of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA)

Details: Grossi said that active hostilities continue to damage the power network across Ukraine and that the Khmelnytskyi and Rivne Nuclear Power Plants have been forced to run at reduced capacity for nearly two weeks because of damage to substations that are essential for nuclear safety.

He also stressed that in early May, the Russian-occupied Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant (ZNPP) was relying on only one external power line, from which it was then completely cut off at the end of September, leading to the tenth and longest total loss of external power supply since the start of the full-scale war.

Thanks to successful talks held by IAEA with Ukraine and Russia, Grossi said, repairs to the Dniprovska and Ferosplavna lines on both sides of the front line began on 18 October. The external power supply from the Ukrainian grid to the ZNPP was restored and the connection to the Dniprovska line was also re-established.

Background:

• On 14 November, the ZNPP lost power from one of its two external transmission lines – the 750-kV ZNPP-Dniprovska line, which is the main source of electricity for the Russian-occupied plant.
• Ukrainian power engineers have repaired ZNPP's power lines 42 times since the start of the full-scale invasion.
• On 19 November, it was reported that the ZNPP had been reconnected to a recently repaired high-voltage power line after a four-day outage.

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