India's atomic power plant operator will restart its second 1,000 MW unit at Kudankulam in Tamil Nadu in two weeks' time while the first unit of similar capacity will be stopped for refuelling in mid-April, a senior official said on Monday.
He also said that the first pouring of concrete for construction of the third reactor facility will be in May-end.
"The second unit was shut down yesterday (Sunday) for testing of the systems. It will be restarted during the last week of March," H.N. Sahu, Site Director, Kudankulam Nuclear Power Project (KNPP), said.
According to Power System Operation Corporation Ltd (POSOCO), Unit 2 of KNPP was under forced shutdown for 'dynamic trip test'.
Speaking about Unit 1, Sahu said the average generation is around 85 per cent of capacity and it will be shut down in mid-April for refuelling purposes.
Every year, one third of the reactor's 163 fuel assemblies -- 54 assemblies -- will be replaced.
"This coming refuelling cycle will be the second for Unit 1," Sahu added.
Sahu said the third unit is expected to be ready in 69 months from the date of first pouring of concrete which is expected to happen towards the end of May.
Meanwhile, all other atomic power plants of Nuclear Power Corporation of India Limited (NPCIL) in the south -- two 220 MW units at Madras Atomic Power Station (MAPS) and four 220 MW units at Kaiga in Karnataka -- are generating power well, as per POSOCO data.
