No compulsion to sign agreement with Areva: NPCIL

Nuclear Power Corporation of India (NPCIL) has said it was under "no compulsion" to sign an agreement with France power major Areva SA for purchase of reactors, insisting that it will buy at terms which are clear and technically acceptable to it.

State-owned NPCIL and Areva had in December last year signed two agreements comprising -- general framework agreement and an early works agreement-- for construction of two of Areva's Evolutionary Power Reactors of 1,650 megawatts each in Maharashtra.

"NPCIL is under no compulsion that just because you have entered into a governmental agreement, you have to sign an agreement with Areva. I will buy the reactor at my terms which are very clear and that are technically acceptable to me..", NPCIL Chairman and Managing Director S K Jain told reporters at Kalpakkam Atomic Power station here yesterday.

The agreements also covers supply of nuclear fuel for 25 years at Jaitapur site, which is expected to eventually have six of the 1,650 MW reactors.

"We will evaluate the reactor as per the requirement.. the Government of India does not give luxury to provide subsidy to nuclear power. I cannot purchase that costly power otherwise the company would become bankrupt..".

He said the reactor should also be "comparable" and be "competitively" priced to other additional energy sources.

Jain said the country was determined to develop its own technology for producing thorium and was moving towards that goal "very systematically".

"Today our country is very determined in developing the technology so that we can develop thorium. Very systematically we are aiming towards that goal..", he said.

Jain also said that they were planning to set up windmills and solar thermal power station at Kudankulam Power station very soon.

"We are going to erect windmills and also erect solar thermal power station very soon..", he said.