Third unit of RAPS to go critical soon

He said the reactors at the Madras Atomic Power Station (MAPS) here had created a record by working continuously for 171 days. Due to a tripping in the Tamil Nadu grid on Sunday last, the reactor had tripped and if the tripping had not taken place, the MAPS would have celebrated the continuous working of the reactors for 200 days. He said the Atomic Energy Commission had drawn up a prospective plan to generate 20,000 mw of nuclear power by 2020 AD. If funds were made available, the targetcould be achieved easily, he said.

Earlier, addressing the scientists after unveiling a bust of Dr Homi Bhaba, father of nuclear science in the country, Chidambaram said the budgetory support for the nuclear energy programmes had gone up to Rs 900 crore last year from a mere Rs 170 crore in the previous years. If the trend continued, the country could have more nuclear power projects, he said. He said the plant load factor of atomic power stations in the country, which was just 60 per cent three years ago had improved and stood at 78 per cent last month. He said the Kudamkulam atomic power project in Tirunelveli was delayed due to various reasons. But the delay was a blessing in disguise as the scientists had learnt to avert Chernobyl type of disasters.