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Journalism of Courage
Kudankulam 1 joins the southern power grid. But the nuclear liability problem remains unaddressed.
The synchronisation of the first 1,000 MW unit of the Kudankulam nuclear power plant with the southern power grid marks the conclusion of an arduous journey. The project has travelled from one seen to be Indias model nuclear site to one held hostage by an unrelenting anti-nuclear activism,till it was rehabilitated by a combined effort from the Tamil Nadu government,the Centre and the nuclear establishment. Kudankulam 1 had attained its First Approach to Criticality on July 13 this year. Having failed to go critical by end-2011,well after its hot run had been completed,the unit had to sustain minimal operations so as to avoid damage to its systems. In May this year,the Supreme Court backed the operationalising of the plant,separating valid safety concerns from generalised fears about nuclear power.
There are clear signals,however,that Indias nuclear power sector is not out of the woods. Prime Minister Manmohan Singhs visit to Russia has failed to deliver an agreement on Units 3 and 4 at Kudankulam,owing to the Civil Liability for Nuclear Damage Act. The Russians are still poring over the laws right to recourse clause,which remains the biggest concern for nuclear suppliers and this includes not just the Russians but also the French and the Americans,apart from potential suppliers in the domestic private sector. The liability law is inconsistent with the Convention on Supplementary Compensation signed by India in 2010. Global nuclear regulations fix liability solely on the operator. It is self-defeating for India to have a law that makes it difficult for companies to invest in the nuclear sector.
Most recently,there have been contrived fears that India was under pressure to dilute the liability law so as to not apply the suppliers liability clause. The fact,however,is that the global nuclear industry could only be revived with state assurances of bearing liability. Without that protection,suppliers will not operate in Indias nuclear sector. For a country seeking to diversify its energy basket and move away from fossil fuels which also ran a peak power deficit of over 12,000 MW in 2012-13 the imperative of nuclear power cannot be overemphasised. Given the UPAs political investment in getting the global nuclear technological blockade lifted,it must urgently find a solution to the liability problem. Without it,celebrations for Kudankulam 1 will be shortlived.
