The Zaporijjia nuclear power plant lost its last external power link on the night of 7-8 November 2026. Energoatom announces that diesel generators alone provide its essential needs. The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) confirms the cut-off, the cause and location of which are not yet known.
Zaporijjia nuclear power plant cut off from network
The Ukrainian operator placed the disconnection at 0236 on 8 November. The Ferosplavna-1 line, with a voltage of 330 kilovolts, was the last operational connection between the site and the Ukrainian network. The attempt to re-allocate automatically failed, says Energoatom.
This cut requires the power plant to depend on emergency generators. The plant no longer produces electricity, but the nuclear fuel must always be cooled. The cessation of production therefore does not eliminate the need for power supply for safety equipment.
According to the count published on Sunday by Energoatom, this is the sixteenth complete loss of external power since the beginning of 2026. This figure concerns this year, not the whole war.
Fuel reserves for limited operation
The IAEA estimates that the available stocks allow a limited number of diesel generators to operate for approximately two weeks. This duration depends on the regime chosen; it does not constitute a guarantee of the operation of all equipment.
Energoatom warns that failure of generators or depletion of their resources would compromise essential systems and fuel cooling. The operator describes a risk associated with the loss of means of rescue, without announcing that such an accident has occurred.
The direction installed by Moscow, for its part, claims that the radiation levels remain normal at the site and in the surveillance zone. That indication is part of his statement. The disconnection of an electrical line alone is not sufficient to establish a radioactive release.
A connection restored in September, again interrupted
The same Ferosplavna-1 line had reconnected the power plant on 7 September, after an interruption started on 20 August. Energoatom had then announced the intervention of Ukrainian specialists, made possible by a local ceasefire allowing repairs.
The new incident puts the continuity of this diet at the forefront. The information available does not allow the disconnection of 8 November to be attributed to a precise strike. No re-introduction schedule for line n has been announced in the communications verified on Sunday.
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