The southern States have flagged the issue of the Kudankulam Nuclear Power Plant (KKNPP) undertaking a refuelling shutdown during the high power demand season (February to April), thereby affecting their power balance.
In a recent letter to the Union Ministry of Power, D. Prabhakar Rao, Chairman and Managing Director of the Southern Regional Power Committee (SRPC), pointed out that the Nuclear Power Corporation of India Limited (NPCIL) had a total installed capacity of 3,320 MW in the southern region, including two 1,000 MW units at KKNPP. He requested that the refuelling of the units be undertaken during the non-peak period of June to December every year.
In its response, the NPCIL pointed out that the KKNPP units can be operated for a defined full power days, after which the reactor has to be shut down for refuelling. The average refuelling cycle with the current type of fuel is 300 full power days.
It said the 300 full power days of unit 1 were completed in July 2022, and hence, the refuelling shutdown had been undertaken from July 24.
The refuelling shutdown for unit 2 was undertaken in March 2022, and it was restarted by May 2022 in view of the grid requirements, the NPCIL noted. It also pointed out that efforts were on to increase the fuel cycle for the KKNPP units, after which unit 1 will operate for about 450 full power days. This will increase to 480 in subsequent cycles.
In the case of unit 2, the current cycle of 300 days will continue for another two cycles, and subsequently it will switch to 450-plus full power days after the refuelling shutdown, the company said.
The NPCIL noted that the information had already been shared with the SRPC, and with the gradual commissioning of new fuel cycles, the KKNPP units will be in a better position to meet the request of the States. It also noted that operating the reactors at a reduced power level is not envisaged in the design of KKNPP.
