Zaporizhzhia regains its external power line after its 27th loss of supply during the war

The Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant, occupied by Russia, began receiving electricity from the Ukrainian grid again on November 8, according to the Ukrainian nuclear company Energoatom, cited by Ukrinform. The company said the Ferosplavna-1 line, rated at 330 kV, was reconnected at 17:41.

Energoatom, according to Interfax-Ukraine, says the plant lost that line at 02:36 the same day and that an automatic reconnection attempt failed. The company counts it as case number 16 of complete loss of external supply so far in 2026.

The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) reported that the plant had to rely on its emergency diesel generators and that this is loss number 27 of external supply since the start of the conflict, according to Interfax-Ukraine and The Kyiv Independent.

The IAEA added that the exact cause and location of the disconnection are still unknown, according to The Kyiv Independent. Energoatom maintains that the situation remains "extremely dangerous" as long as the plant stays under occupation.

The plant, with six VVER-1000 reactors and 6,000 MW of capacity, has not produced electricity since September 11, 2022, according to Interfax-Ukraine.