Launch of second unit at Kudankulam nuclear plant moved back to Oct 2014
MOSCOW. Jan 15 (Interfax) - The start date for commercial operation of the second unit at the Kudankulam nuclear power plant in India has been moved back once more, to October 2014, the Nuclear Power Corporation of India Ltd (NPCIL) said on its website.
Equipment is currently being installed at the completed facility.
It is not the first time the start date has been moved back: most recently, in November, NPCIL said launch had been put back until September and in August, it moved back the date to June 2014 from March 2014.
Kudankulam's first unit was connected to the electricity grid on October 22. It was loaded with fuel in October 2012, obtained first criticality on July 13 and output was increased to 20% of capacity in September.
Kudankulam is being built under a Russian-Indian agreement signed on November 20, 1988 and a supplement signed on June 21, 1998. In 2002, Russian Atomstroyexport, part of the Rosatom state corporation, began building the first two power units equipped with VVER-1000 reactors with 2,000 megawatts total capacity.
The road map for nuclear power cooperation between India and Russia calls for construction of 15 power blocks in India, including between four and eight units at Kudankulam.
