IAEA estimates timeframe for Zaporizhzhia NPP restoration

After the end of the hostilities, Zaporizhzhia NPP will be able to gradually resume operations. Experts note that the launch process will be difficult but feasible.

It was stated by IAEA chief Rafael Grossi in an interview with Reuters.

Zaporizhzhia NPP may start working again

A week after the start of the invasion of Ukraine, Russian troops took control of Europe's largest nuclear power plant. Before the war, Zaporizhzhia NPP accounted for 20% of the country's total electricity generation. Currently, all of its reactors remain shut down due to the hostilities in the region, which pose a risk of a serious accident.

The plant can be restarted relatively quickly, but gradually. It will happen one reactor at a time, according to Grossi.

"We're talking about months, and perhaps for the whole Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant to be back and operating in full with all the six units, it would take more than a year maybe, perhaps even more," Grossi said.

He added that the operation of all reactors would be "difficult, but not impossible."

The problem with the cooling water supply arose after Russian troops blew up a dam in 2023, which emptied the Kakhovka Reservoir, the main source of water for the plant. Due to this, it became necessary to drill wells in Zaporizhzhia.

Grossi noted that more ambitious solutions to deliver water from more remote locations have been ruled out due to the fighting, but a ceasefire could make them possible, paving the way for all reactors to be operational.

The IAEA has a limited number of staff working at nuclear power plants. In its latest quarterly report, the agency notes that the safety and security situation remains fragile, with Russian forces restricting access to parts of the plant.

"In terms of the safety of the plant and the general situation at the plant, I have to say that it is professionally controlled and managed (by Russia). Some maintenance work ... (was) perhaps not as comprehensive as we could have had, but this is also a function of the war," he said.

As a reminder, the Head of State, Volodymyr Zelensky, stated that it was necessary to return the station to the ownership of Ukraine, as the Russians could blow it up.