Kudankulam Nuclear Power plant Updation

Tamil Nadu will soon get some relief from power cuts as Unit 1 of the Kudankulam nuclear power project has been cleared to achieve 100% capacity by the Atomic Energy Regulatory Board (AERB). The unit, which now produces around 700 MW of which Tamil Nadu gets around 350 MW, got the nod to increase the generation to 1,000 MW. Decks have been cleared for full commissioning of the unit, nearly three decades after the plant was planned. Of the 1,000 MW, Tamil Nadu will get 562 MW, provided a revised agreement is signed with NPCIL. AERB Chief S. S. Bajaj said that, permission to raise reactor power up to 90% and eventually 100% is granted subject to compliance with various stipulations. Subsequent to completion of tests at 1,000 MW, reactor power will be brought down to 900 MW and stabilized for at least a week. After a review, the reactor will again be raised to 1,000 MW. Unit 1 was connected to the southern grid in October last year and has been providing power to Kerala, Karnataka and Puducherry besides TN. In August last year, Union power minister Jyotiraditya M Scindia told the Lok Sabha that Tamil Nadu would get an additional 100 MW from the Kudankulam plant. Now, power from Unit 1 is called infirm power and the temporary tariff is Rs 1.22 a unit.