New Delhi, India — India has temporarily shut down Unit 1 of the Kudankulam nuclear power plant, the country’s largest reactor, for scheduled maintenance, according to a recent outage report. The 1,000-megawatt unit, located in the southern state of Tamil Nadu, went offline on August 3, potentially intensifying power supply challenges in southern India.
The Central Electricity Authority (CEA), India’s top power advisory body, confirmed the outage in a report dated August 7. A senior official from the Tamil Nadu Distribution and Generation Company, speaking on condition of anonymity due to federal control of nuclear facilities, acknowledged the shutdown and noted that the state may need to source additional power from the market to meet demand.
The maintenance is expected to last 65 days, and concerns have already been raised by the Kerala State Electricity Board Ltd (KSEBL). The utility warned that the outage could exacerbate peak-hour electricity shortages across southern states, driving up short-term procurement costs. KSEBL reported purchasing 300 megawatts of peak-hour power from private suppliers at rates up to 9.18 rupees ($0.10) per unit, significantly higher than usual.
“These emergency purchases, while necessary, come at a premium and reflect the growing pressure on the southern grid,” a KSEBL official said. The regulator in Kerala has approved these emergency procurements but flagged concerns over the high tariffs.
Meanwhile, Unit 2 at Kudankulam continues to operate normally, according to the Tamil Nadu government official.
India currently operates about 9 gigawatts of nuclear capacity but aims to increase that to 100 gigawatts by 2047 as part of its broader energy strategy.
Leave a comment