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The first unit of the Kudankulam Nuclear Power Project (KNPP) generated its rated capacity of 1,000 MW on 07.06.2014 at 1320 hours. The unit will be operated at 1,000 MW for a couple of days following which further tests, technically called dynamic tests, would be conducted and the reports would be submitted to the Atomic Energy Regulatory Board (AERB). The unit has to get permission from the Southern Grid to carry out the dynamic tests as the power levels would be reduced during the testing period.

The KNPP unit is India's first 1,000 MW power unit. Nuclear Power Corporation of India Ltd. (NPCIL) is setting up two Russian made 1,000 MW atomic power plants at an outlay of over INR 17,000 crores. The power was conceived about 26 years ago in 1988 through the Rajiv Gandhi-Gorbachev agreement for the erstwhile USSR (later the Russian Federation) to supply two VVER-type light water reactors of 1,000 MW each.

After the first unit was synchronised with the southern electricity grid, its power factor has been raised in stages from 160 MW, the plant first generated on 22 October last year, to its full capacity now. This was progressively raised in accordance with clearances given by the Atomic Energy Regulatory Board (AERB). Various tests were conducted at each step. After a review of those results, clearances were issued by the AERB.

Source-On Request