On December 1, Zaporizhzhia NPP was completely blacked out for the eighth time

Zaporizhzhia NPP has suffered another blackout that could have led to a nuclear accident.

The press service of Energoatom reports.

"Another blackout occurred at Zaporizhzhia NPP: there is a threat to radiation safety... In the evening of December 1, there occurred a breakdown of the 330 kV Zaporizhzhia TPP-Ferosplavna power line, through which the plant received power from the Ukrainian power grid," the statement says.

Due to the complete blackout, the plant switched to power from diesel generators. All 20 generators started automatically.

"The biggest security threat in this state is at power unit 4. It is caused by the fact that the occupiers used it in violation of the terms of the licence to operate nuclear reactor units issued by the Ukrainian regulator and kept it hot," explains Energoatom President Petro Kotin.

The agency emphasises that Unit 4 needs to be urgently transferred to a cold state.

It will be recalled that the Russian military occupied Zaporizhzhia NPP in March 2022. A monitoring mission of the International Atomic Energy Agency is currently at the plant.

The IAEA has not yet commented on the December 1 blackout.

In September 2023, Greenpeace said that the IAEA was unable to control the security situation at the Russian-occupied Zaporizhzhia NPP.