5 Of India's 17 Nuclear Plants Shut Down For Lack Of Fuel - Others Running At 50% Of Capacity

[hatrack]

Mumbai, (PTI): Five of the 17 nuclear power plants in the country had been shut down and the remaining are operating at an average of less than 50 per cent capacity for want of fuel, a top official of the Nuclear Power Corporation of India Limited said.

Two units at Narora atomic power plant in Uttar Pradesh are shut down for annual maintenance work, while the newly commissioned Kaiga unit 3 in Karnataka and one unit of Kalpakkam atomic power plant near Chennai are facing closure for want of fuel, Chairman and Managing Director of NPCIL, S K Jain, said. Two units of Rajasthan Atomic Power plants are shut down as feeder pipe replacement is taking place, Jain said adding, all these may get started immediately as there was a mismatch of uranium fuel in the country.

Rest of the 12 plants which had an established 95 per cent capacity are now running between 50-70 per cent making the average capacity of nuclear power production in the country less than 50 per cent, he said. The Nuclear Fuel Complex Chief Executive, R N Jairaj, said his company was able to make use of only 30 per cent of the total capacity and is being under-utilised due to the "mismatch" of fuel.

The fuel "mismatch" situation has started affecting the performance of the Nuclear Power Corporation of India Ltd (NPCIL). Currently operating nuclear power stations with a capacity of around 4,000 MWe, NPCIL has been forced to slash power production levels. Asked why it is called mismatch of fuel and not shortage of fuel, Jain said, India has uranium reserve but is not explored and exploited in the way it should have been.

EDIT

http://www.hindu.com/thehindu/holnus/001200710220920.htm

[phantom power]

1. I assume this is the source of their interest in trading mangos?

[TheWraith]

2. So not so much a LACK of fuel, as "Oh, you mean you wanted that NOW?"

Good to see that we don't have a monopoly on governmental incompetance.

[diane in sf]

3. Too bad they're not running on sunlight, you don't run out of sun in India.

[Kolesar]

4. That won't help India's plans for off shoring call centers and IT work...eom

[jpak]

5. I'm bookmarking this - for the next time a NEI shill claims...

"not one nuclear plant has ever been shut for lack of fuel"





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