The first unit (1000 MWe) of the Kudankulam Nuclear Power Project
(KKNPP), is now generating 370 MWe and electricity is being wheeled into
the southern grid, according to R.S. Sundar, Site Director,
Kudankulam-1 and 2. Two Russian reactors, each with a capacity of 1,000
MWe, had been built at the KKNPP in Tirunelveli district of Tamil Nadu.
The first one, which went critical on July 13, was now stabilising
and it would generate its full power in January 2014, he said.
"We are monitoring all parameters and we are reporting them
stage-wise to the regulatory authorities," he said. Electricity from
unit-1 first started flowing into the grid on October 22.
The second unit would be commissioned in next June or July.
Dummy fuel were loaded into the second unit a few months ago, Mr. Sundar said.
Out of 2,000 MWe to be generated from the two units, Tamil Nadu will
receive 925 MWe, Karnataka 442 MWe, Kerala 266 MWe and Puducherry 67
MWe. The remaining remains as yet unallocated.
The two reactors, called VVER-1000 are built by the Nuclear Power
Corporation of India Limited (NPCIL). While their original cost was
Rs.13,171 crore, the revised cost is Rs.17,270 crore.
The NPCIL will build two more such reactors at Kudankulam. Officials
from the Department of Atomic Energy (DAE) said the third and fourth
units would cost more than Rs. 39,000 crore — almost at Rs. 20 crore for
a MWe. Fifth and sixth units will also come up at Kudankulam.
