Unit I of Kudankulam nuclear plant to restart soon

Kudankulam: Kudankulam Nuclear Power Plant Site Director RS Sundar on Friday said Unit-I, which has been shut down for maintenance, has generated 2624 million units so far."The unit has been on line approximately for six months," he said, participating in the independence day celebrations here."After shutting down for maintenance, we have to achieve an important milestone.That is restarting the Unit-I and achieving commercial operation at the earliest so that KNPP could contribute financially to the million unit target of the NPCIL," he said.The Operation and Maintenance team had performed various tests, which are required to validate the plant for dynamic situation, and all the tests have been successfully completed, he said.Annual maintenance of Unit I of the Kudankulam Nuclear Power Project was nearing completion,he said.Top priority would be given to achieving power production in Unit-2 this financial year, he said.Ivanisov Ivon, Head of Russian Specialists Group, Atomstroy export, H.N.Sahu, Station Director, Manish Singh Commandant of CISF,and P.A.Pilla, chief engineer were present.KNPP's unit 1 has been contributing to power-starved Tamil Nadu since October 2013. Nuclear Power Corporation of India Ltd (NPCIL) has collaborated with Russia to set up two 1,000 MWe reactors at Kudankulam in Tirunelveli district.Unit-I attained criticality in July 2013. Power generated from this unit would add 1,000 MW to the southern grid.PTI