KNPP unit 1 to begin operations soon

After several glitches, commercial operations of the much-awaited multi-crore Kudankulam Nuclear Power Project (KNPP) first unit are expected to start very shortly.

With all mandatory tests complete, the first 1,000 MW unit will be re-started before commercial operations, KNPP site director R S Sundar said on Friday.

 In his Independence Day address to KNPP employees and their families, Sundar said: “Now, an important milestone we have to reach is Unit 1 restart and achieving commercial operation at the earliest so that KNPP can contribute financially to the million units target of NPCIL (Nuclear Power Corporation of India Ltd)”.

 He said the first unit has been shut down for annual maintenance, which will be completed soon.

 The KNPP site director said starting power production in unit 2 during this financial year would be given top priority.

Commercial operations of the country’s first 1,000 MW pressurised water reactor at Kudankulam skipped its scheduled date by a month due to technical reasons.  NPCIL had earlier set the date of the first unit’s commercial operations as July 2014.

Unit 2 is gearing up to begin operations by December 2014 and the physical progress of the project is at 99.93 per cent as of June.

Building of the third and fourth units at the site, for which India recently signed agreements with Russia, has also begun.