KNPP Unit I to restart in November

The first unit at Kudankulam Nuclear Power Project (KNPP), which stopped power production due to a technical snag in the turbine process, will commence power generation by November after its defective components are replaced with those fetched from the second unit.

Atomic Energy Commission  Chairman Ratan Kumar Sinha, who is also the secretary at the Department of Atomic Energy, made this announcement on Thursday at the Bhabha Atomic Research Centre in Mumbai on the occasion of Founder's Day. Tributes were paid to Homi Jehangir Bhabha, the father of India’s nuclear programme.

“We have replaced defective components. The replacement was done by taking the spare parts from the second unit’s turbine,” a senior official from KNPP said on Thursday. The unit was shutdown to inspect the turbine and its associated components before putting it for commercial operation. Maintenance is in progress. Some components of the turbine need replacement.

The first unit is expected to be back in service within a few weeks. However, Nuclear Power Corporation India Limited  sources said during power generation process, the turbine blades were damaged due to a technical problem inside the device.