The six-reactor Zaporizhzhia plant lost its external power source a week ago after all power lines were disconnected due to shelling. It operated in “island mode” for several days, generating electricity for critical cooling systems from its only remaining operational reactor. Nuclear power operator Energoatom said one of those power lines was restored “to operational capacity” late Saturday, making it possible to operate the plant’s safety and other systems with electricity from Ukraine’s electricity system. “Therefore, the decision was made to shut down power unit No. 6 and move it to the safest state — cold shutdown,” the company said in a statement. Energoatom said there was a risk that external power could be cut again, so the plant would have to activate emergency diesel generators to keep the reactors cool and prevent a nuclear meltdown. The head of the company told The Associated Press on Thursday that the plant only has diesel fuel for 10 days. The plant, one of the 10 largest nuclear power plants in the world, has been occupied by Russian forces since the early stages of the war. Ukraine and Russia have blamed each other for shelling around the plant that destroyed power lines connecting it to the grid. Energoatom renewed its appeal to Russian forces to leave the Zaporizhzhia plant and allow a “demilitarized zone” to be established around it. The International Atomic Energy Agency, the United Nations nuclear watchdog that has two experts at the plant, did not immediately respond to a request for comment on Sunday. His manager has requested a safe zone around the plant to prevent a disaster.
