Tarapur's unit-3 reaches 100 pc capacity

MUMBAI: A 540 MW pressurised heavy water nuclear power plant at Tarapur near here has reached 100 per cent capacity, the Nuclear Power Corporation of India Limited (NPCIL) said on Wednesday.

The Tarapur Atomic Power Plant unit-3 (TAPP-3) is contributing its full capacity or 540 MW of electricity to the grid since Tuesday, NPCIL sources said.

NPCIL officials are hopeful that with the opening of a new uranium mill at Jaduguda last month, all other operating power plants will get sufficient fuel to run at 100 per cent capacity.

TAPP-3 is the country's only nuclear plant currently operating at 100 per cent capacity and most operating plants are running at below 80 per cent of their capacity due to fuel shortage.

The unit, which was commissioned and synchronised with the western grid in June last year, was raised to 100 per cent capacity in a phased manner, the sources said.

TAPP-3 was built ahead of schedule and NPCIL achieved significant savings in its construction, they said.

Meanwhile, the Kaiga atomic power plant's unit-4 and Rajashtan atomic power plant's unit-5, which are under construction, will be commissioned by the end of this year.

An NPCIL official said, "We are optimistic about the uninterrupted supply of fuel in the near future from the Uranium Corporation of India which has several new projects in progress."