MELITOPOL, October 15. /TASS/. The Zaporozhye Nuclear Power Plant (ZNPP) has enough fuel for its backup generators if they are needed, ZNNP’s Spokesperson Yevgenia Yashina told TASS.
"The Zaporozhye NPP has a supply of diesel fuel to feed the backup diesel generators if necessary. How many days this supply will last depends on the equipment's operating mode, the number of generators operating simultaneously, and the load on them. Fuel consumption can vary significantly depending on the current power supply configuration and the plant's needs," she said, adding that this is why it would be impossible to say how long the ZNPP will be able to operate autonomously using diesel generators.
Diesel generators supply the ZNPP with electricity, in particular to cool the reactors, when external power is lost.
Rosatom CEO Alexey Likhachev said earlier that during the period of escalation, the ZNPP lost external power 26 times. Meanwhile, Yashina told TASS that the situation regarding logistics and the delivery of cargoes to the ZNPP, including diesel fuel for backup generators, remains extremely difficult due to ongoing attacks by Ukrainian troops on the roads leading to the facility and on transport vehicles.
On October 9, International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) Director General Rafael Grossi expressed concern over the lack of diesel fuel supplies to the ZNPP. According to him, reserves’ depletion adds to the risk of nuclear safety problems when another external power outage occurs.