Fuel shortages make power unit targets go ‘haywire’

Ramesh, addressing reporters today, said that the June target of adding around 1300 mw of fresh capacity has “completely gone haywire” on account of fuel shortages.

While Nuclear Power Corporation of India Ltd’s (NPCIL’s) Kaiga unit 4 of 220 mw is delayed on account of fuel shortage, he said that another gas-based power plant in Andhra Pradesh (Gautami) is delayed on account of lack of gas supplies.

It needs to be mentioned that the new units of RAPS (unit 5&6) should have been commissioned by February this year but fuel shortages have forced the NPCIL to adopt a “go slow” policy on these units until fuel for these two units is available. A similar policy has now been adopted for Kaiga unit 4 as well.

As on April 2008, almost 97 per cent of the works associated with the unit have been completed but progress on the plant has now come to a halt because of lack of fuel. Ramesh, while speaking to reporters, said that both the new units at RAPS and the new unit at Kaiga can begin operations immediately if fuel is available.

Fuel shortages have already forced NPCIL to slash generation levels of all their nuclear power units to 40-50 per cent plant load factor and currently efforts are under way to increase indigenous supplies of uranium.

Apart from the indigenous sources, the Indo-US nuclear deal would have given India access to import of uranium from other countries. However, opposition from the Left parties has put the deal on the backburner.

Watt a jolt

•Two new nuclear power plants at Rajasthan Atomic Power Station delayed earlier this year

•MoS for power says Unit 4 at Kaiga, Karnataka — which was to be commissioned this month — to be held up at least six months

•Gas-based power plant at Gautami, Andhra Pradesh, also delayed due to lack of gas supplies