Zaporizhzhya NPP loses connection with third power line, there is no safety concern - IAEA and SNRIU

KYIV. March 17 (Interfax-Ukraine) - The Zaporizhzhya Nuclear Power Plant (NPP), for as yet unknown reasons, has lost connection with another one, a third one, of the available five power lines, but there are no problems with ensuring the safety of its operations, the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) said, citing the State Nuclear Regulatory Inspectorate of Ukraine (SNRIU).

"The Ukrainian regulator said it was not clear what had caused today's loss of a third line. It said the remaining power line and the one on standby were sufficient to ensure that all safety systems remained fully functional without limitations," the IAEA said in a statement published on its website in the early hours of Thursday.

Like all NPPs around the world, the Zaporizhzhya NPP also has back-up diesel generators in case they are needed, it said.

The Zaporizhzhya NPP, which is Ukraine's largest nuclear power plant, has four high voltage (750 kV) offsite power lines plus one on standby, the IAEA said, adding that two of the four were damaged earlier.

The facility's two operating reactors (the other four are on standby or are undergoing maintenance) "slightly decreased their power supplies to the grid today to adapt to the changed power line situation," the IAEA said.