“Koodankulam Nuclear Power Plant [KNPP] is ready for fuel loading and the process will commence soon after Atomic Energy Regulatory Board [AERB] gives its nod,” S.A. Bhardwaj, director (technical), Nuclear Power Corporation of India Limited (NPCIL), said Tuesday.
“If everything goes well, the all-important process of fuel loading [163 assembly rods of enriched uranium] will take place in a month,” he said, even as People’s Movement Against Nuclear Energy (PMANE) convener S.P. Udayakumar spearheading the agitation against the plant softened stand and called off his “fast-to-death”.
“We are very much in the plant. The top priority is to get the unit-I [1,000 MW] working. My information is that the plant is healthy,” Mr Bhardwaj, in Chennai for an interaction with the faculty and students of IIT-Madras, said.
He said commissioning of the first unit required AERB clearance at every stage. “I cannot put a specific time frame as this is the first-of-its-kind plant in the country and it will take some time.”
The nuclear expert said hot run and other tests were carried out during September-October last and the unit was ready for commissioning in December, but the PMANE stir delayed it.
“We are picking up from where we left off and we are happy about the progress of work. Contract workers are returning and skilled manpower is being moved from other nuclear plants,” he said.
Before fuel loading, one more regulatory review would be conducted to ascertain how well
the plant was maintained during the shutdown period of six months. “However, this will depend on AERB decision,” Mr Bhardwaj said.