Zaporizhzhia nuclear plant loses external power again, runs on diesel generators; IAEA warns of nuclear safety risk
Photo: Getty Images (via Fox Weather)Europe's largest nuclear power plant lost its last connection to the power grid early Sunday, November 8, 2026, and is running on backup diesel generators. The International Atomic Energy Agency confirmed the cutoff and warned that restoring the connection is urgent. Radiation levels were normal.
The plant's Russian-installed management said the 330 kV Ferosplavna-1 power line was disconnected by protective systems because of damage at 02:36 local time, and that an attempt to reconnect it automatically failed, according to Reuters. Backup diesel generators started as planned and are supplying power to the equipment required for safe operation of the station. The statement said radiation levels on the site and in the surveillance zone were normal.
The International Atomic Energy Agency said the cause of the outage and the exact point of the fault are unknown, and that current fuel reserves would allow a limited number of generators to remain operational for approximately two weeks. The agency's Director General, Rafael Grossi, emphasized the urgency of restoring the connection with the electrical grid and reinforcing diesel stocks in order to avoid any risk to nuclear safety.
Ukraine's nuclear operator, Energoatom, said this is the 16th time the Zaporizhzhia plant has completely lost its external power supply since the beginning of 2026, and that outages have become more frequent than in previous years. Operating in blackout mode creates a direct risk to the plant's cooling systems if the diesel generators fail or their fuel runs out, Energoatom said.
The plant, near Enerhodar on the occupied side of the Dnieper River, has six reactors with a total capacity of 6,000 megawatts. All six reactors have been shut down since 2022, but still require power for cooling. Its second external power line was cut in March, leaving the Ferosplavna-1 line as its last grid connection.
Sources: Reuters, "Zaporizhzhia nuclear plant loses external power supply, Russian-installed management says" (Nov. 8, 2026); International Atomic Energy Agency (via Demócrata), "Zaporiyia's nuclear facility is again isolated from the grid and depends on emergency generators" (Nov. 8, 2026); Energoatom (via Particle News), "Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Plant Loses External Power and Relies on Diesel Generators" (Nov. 8, 2026); TASS (via Raydn), "Zaporizhzhia nuclear plant loses external power, runs on diesel generators, TASS says" (Nov. 8, 2026). Event date verified: the plant lost its last external power line at 02:36 local time on Sunday, November 8, 2026, in Enerhodar, Ukraine; the IAEA confirmed the cutoff the same day and radiation levels were reported normal.
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