Kudankulam 2 enters commercial operation

03 April 2017

The Nuclear Power Corporation of India Ltd has today signed an agreement provisionally accepting Kudankulam unit 2 from its Russian suppliers and thus marking the unit's entry into commercial operation.

Kudankulam 1 and 2 - 460 (ASE)
Kudankulam units 1 and 2 (Image: Atomstroyexport)


The VVER-1000 unit reached first criticality in May 2016 and was connected to India's power grid in August. It reached 100% of its operating capacity in January.

NPCIL's signature of the provisional acceptance certificate marks the start of a year-long period of operation under guarantee from Russian suppliers ASE Group, after which a final acceptance certificate will be signed. This is due to take place on 3 April 2018.

Kudankulam, in Tamil Nadu, is home to two VVER-1000s supplied by the ASE Group, the engineering subsidiary of Russian nuclear power corporation Rosatom. The group includes Rosatom's international reactor supplier subsidiary Atomstroyexport and reactor designer Atomenergoproekt.

Kudankulam 1 entered commercial operation in December 2014. Two further VVER-1000 units - Kudankulam 3 and 4 - are to be built at the site in a second construction phase, with more units to follow.

Researched and written
by World Nuclear News