Kudankulam Unit-II in advanced stages

The process of commissioning Unit 2 of Kudankulam Nuclear Power Plant is at an "advanced stage" and fuel will soon be loaded into the reactor, Atomic Energy Commission chairman Ratan Kumar Sinha has said.

The Nuclear Power Corporation of India Limited (NPCIL) had postponed putting the power unit 2 into commercial operation until July 2015. Before that, commissioning had been postponed three times.

"We had removed some components of turbine of Kudankulam unit. Kudankulam unit 1 had a problem and could not be commissioned to full power. So the turbine components are being made. Unit 2 commissioning is at a very advanced stage."

"The regulators are reviewing the progress and we will soon be loading the nuclear fuel," Sinha, who is also the secretary for Department of Atomic Energy, told PTI.

Meanwhile, Rosatom--DAE's Russian counterpart which is helping India build the Kudankulam plant in Tamil Nadu-- has said there are plans to commission the second unit of the Kudankulam NPP in 2015.

"Definitely this year," Rosatom's first deputy CEO for operations management Alexander Lokshin told the journalists.

He did not mention any deadline, highlighting that the situation depends on both Rosatom and the DAE.

"As I know, according to current plans, this is expected in summer. We do not construct anything there (in India). Indian people carry out the construction. Therefore, they also determine the schedule. But definitely it will happen this year," he added.

The construction of the second power unit has already been completed, at present the unit's equipment is being adjusted. Power unit of the Kudankulam NPP was connected to the grid on October 22, 2013. In September 2014 it was shut down due to technical problems.

"On Dec 7 it was connected to the power supply system again. On Dec 27, the State Corporation Rosatom handed the power unit over to NPCIL for operation under a year's warranty. At midnight on Dec 31, the first unit was put into commercial operation," said a statement from Rosatom.