 "Kudankulam Nuclear Plant Unit I has attains criticality")
The first unit of Kudankulam Nuclear Power Plant (KKNPP) has attained criticality (start of fission chain reaction) today.
The Unit-I (1000 MW) attained criticality at 16:19 hours after completion of planned Re-fuelling shutdown (RSD) and maintenance activities, said K N Sahu, station director, KKNPP.
He added, criticality was undertaken after conforming to the design requirements and after meeting all the stipulated statutory and regulatory requirements. The whole process was supervised by a team of AERB, NPCIL and Russian specialists.
Sahu added, the process of criticality started on Wednesday night at the next step, reactor power will be increased in stages to generate 1000 MW electricity.
KKNPP reactor was set up at Kudankuulam village in Tirunelvei district, Tamil Nadu in technical cooperation of Russian Federation.