 "Kudankulam nuclear plant stops generation, again")
A few days after it restarted power production, the Kudankulam Nuclear Power Plant (KKNPP) in Tirunelveli district, has once again stopped generation on Tuesday evening owing to instrumentation deficiencies.
According to reports quoting Power System Operation Corporation Ltd (POSOCO), the unit was tripped due to instrumentation deficiencies.
The facility restarted production on February 14, after shutting down on February 4 owing to a steam leak in the feed water system in the turbine building. Prior to that, the unit was under maintenance shutdown for nearly seven months.
The power plant commenced commercial production on December 31, 2014 and the first unit was connected to the southern grid and the operation of the first 1,000 MW unit started from the date.
The cumulative generation from the facility upto December 2015, since commercial operation, was 3,527 MUs, according to Nuclear Power Corporation of India Ltd (NPCIL).
Gross generation during the current financial year has been 1,440 MUs with a capacity factor of 22 per cent between April to December 2015.
India's atomic power plant operator NPCIL has been in the process of setting up two 1,000 MW Russian reactors at Kudankulam village in Tirunelveli district, 650 km from
here. The total outlay for the project is over Rs 17,000 crore. The first approach to criticality (FAC), commencement of the controlled nuclear fission process, of the second unit is expected to start in the first quarter of 2016-17.
Sources also said that the AERB has given nod for preparation of the location for the third and fourt unit of the project.
