Kaiga-3 synchronised to southern grid; Kudankulam may take longer: NPCIL

11 June 2009

Nuclear Power Corporation of India Limited (NPCIL) on Wednesday said the 220-MWe third reactor of Kaiga Atomic Power Project (KAPP) has been successfully synchronised with the southern power grid.

NPCIL, however, has not been very successful with its Kudankulam power projects, whose first 1,000 MW unit is now expected to go on stream in November 2009 as against the scheduled August 2009.

KAPP-3, the country's 17th nuclear plant, was synchronised on 14 April  and has been producing power continuously since then at 95 MW, NPCIL's spokesperson A I Siddiqui said.

The reactor achieved its first criticality (ie, chain reaction producing neutrons) on 26 February and the unit was synchronised on 11 April after he Atomic Energy Regulatory Board (AERB) authorised power generation from the plant. The plant was then shut down for conducting certain tests, Siddiqui said.

Two reactors of the Kaiga nuclear power plant have been in operation since 2000, while the fourth one is at an advanced stage of construction. Power generation at the unit will be subsequently increased to full power after completion of all tests, he said.

The Kaiga project in Uttar Kannada district of Karnataka comprises four units, each of 220 MWe, belonging to the pressurised heavy water reactor (PHWR) family.