Kudankulam N-power plant to be operational soon: top official

The first reactor of the Kudankulam Nuclear Power Project (KKNPP) in Tamil Nadu has will be ready soon for commercial generation as all mandatory tests have been completed, KKNPP site director R S Sundar said on Friday.

Delivering his Independence Day message at Anu Vijay Township at Chettikulam, Sundar said the first reactor had so far generated 2,624 million units, and the power generated had been online for 4,420 hours, equivalent to six months. Operation and maintenance teams had performed the tests required to validate the plant.

''I am happy to announce that all these tests have been successfully completed and the annual maintenance tests are nearing completion. We've overcome all challenges. Now, the most important milestone we have to reach is the restart of the first unit and achieve commercial operation at the earliest so that the KKNPP can contribute financially to the Nuclear Power Corporation of India Ltd (NPCIL),'' he said.

Listing the achievements of the NPCIL's other nuclear power generation units, Sundar said the fifth unit of the Rajasthan Atomic Power Station had been working continuously for the past 742 days. The Madras Atomic Power Station's second unit had worked 319 days on end and Kaiga's second unit had had 303 days of continuous operation.