Kaiga-1 sets a record

MUMBAI, OCT 12: For a pressurised heavy water reactor that had become a centre of controversy in terms of nuclear safety 8212; part of its inner dome had collapsed during construction 8212; Kaiga-1 has set a reocrd of sorts. The 220-MWe nuclear power unit was synchronised to the southern grid just 15 days after it attained criticality. The normal time needed to synchronise such a unit to the grid after criticality is two to three months.

The achievemnet is significant, according to the enthused insiders. Kaiga-1 was slated to go critical before its twin Kaiga-2. The inner dome partial collapse 8212; termed de-lamination by the NPC 8212; delayed its criticality by nearly 18 months. The episode had a cascading effect, since the Atomic Energy Regulatory Board had ordered the suspension of Raps-3 amp; 4 following the episode 8212; as a matter of quot;abundant cautionquot;, to use the favourite phrase of the outgoing chairman Atomic Energy commission and Secretary Department of Atomic Energy.

The unit, by being synchonised to the grid with such speed, reflects the philosophy and the mode of functioning of the chairman and managing director of the Nuclear Power Corporation, Dr Vijay Kumar Chaturvedi. According to insiders, Chaturvedi seems to be a CMD in a hurry to prove a point. He is determined to see that the gestation time from the first pour of cement to criticality is brought down to at least five years from the present average of seven.

The last of the 220 Mwe PHWRs is slated to be built at Kaiga. All future PHWRs will be to the order of 500 MWe capacity, the kind under construction now at Tarapur.

With Kaiga-18217;s joining the grid, NPC8217;s contribution to the national power supply has gone up to to just under 2,500 MWe, its share still just around 2.5 per cent of the total power supply.