Second unit of KKNPP to start commercial operation from September

NEW DELHI: The second unit of the Kudankulam Nuclear Power Plant (KKNPP) will start generating electricity from September, Union Minister V Narayanasamy today said.

"Ninety-five per cent of the work for second unit of the plant has been completed and we should start commercial operation from the unit by September 2014," the Minister of State in the PMO told reporters.

The first unit of KKNPP, built with Russian assistance, has already started generating power and is connected to the Southern grid.

"We are currently generating 440 MW of electricity from the first unit and all the power generated goes to Tamil Nadu.

"We will soon increase the production to 750 MW and after taking necessary permissions from the Atomic Energy Regulatory Board (AERB), the plant will start generating 1000 MW of electricity by February," he said.

The KKNPP units 1 and 2 are currently the largest power generating units in the country with a capacity of 1000 MW each.

Talks with Russia over Unit 3 and 4 are stuck over the liability clause of the Civil Liability Nuclear Damage Act 2010.