• India has signed a joint statement with Russia takeover full operational control of Unit 1 of the Kudankulam Nuclear Power Plant (KKNPP).
• It formally marks the full transition.
• The agreement was signed between representatives of Nuclear Power Corporation of India Ltd (NPCIL) and the ASE Group of Companies, a subsidiary of ROSATOM State Atomic Energy Corporation of Russia.
• With the deal, the Russian and Indian sides have confirmed fulfilment of all warranty terms and obligations of the contractor (ASE Group of Companies) for the construction of Unit 1.
• The warranty period run showed reliable and safe operation of Unit 1.
• NPCIL has confirmed that ASE Group of Companies, which is a general contractor, has fulfilled all its tasks in full and accurately.
• The commercial operation and the warranty period of Unit 1 of KKNPP had started in December 2014.
• The warranty was typically for one year, which ended in December 2015.
• However, the final takeover agreement was delayed to ensure the reliability of the plant and equipment as Unit I was the first of a series of six reactors.
• Earlier, in March 2017, both countries had signed joint protocol on provisional acceptance of Unit 2 of the plant, which marked the start of its commercial operation.

KKNPP: Know More

• Kudankulam Nuclear Power Plant is the single largest nuclear power station in India.
• It is situated in Kudankulam in the Tirunelveli district of Tamil Nadu.
• It is scheduled to have six VVER-1000 reactors with an installed capacity of 6,000 MW of electricity.
• It has been built in collaboration with Atomstroyexport, the Russian state company and NPCIL. Unit 1 of the plant was synchronised with the southern power grid in October 2013.
• It is generating electricity to its warranted limit of 1000 MW.
• Unit 2 with capacity 1,000 MW had achieved first criticality in July 2016.
• It was grid-connected in August 2016 and its commercial operation started in October 2016.
• The ground-breaking ceremony for construction of units 3 & 4 was performed in February 2016.
• The power generated from the plant will provide electricity to Tamil Nadu, Puducherry, Kerala and Karnataka.

Source: The Hindu