Nuclear Power Corporation of India Ltd (NPCIL) has managed to increase its power generation to about 32,000 million units during 2011-12, up from 26,000 mu last year.
This increased generation was possible due to additional fuel supplies from international markets and also higher production of uranium within the country. NPCIL revenues are likely to go up from Rs 5,000 crore last year to over Rs 8,000 crore this fiscal, Dr. S.K. Jain, Chairman and Managing Director, said.
Safety costs
Addressing a press conference here at at the Nuclear Fuel Complex on Monday, Dr Jain said, “The stage is now set for major expansion of nuclear power generation in the country. After the Fukoshima nuclear disaster, we had to revisit all our plants before taking up expansion and new projects.”
“This has meant an investment of about Rs 150 crore and possibly delay of nuclear power generation programme by about 15 to 18 months. But being a Government entity, we have to ensure safety before we take up anything new,” he said.
Road ahead
NPCIL has drawn up a comprehensive road map for the XII and XIII Plan periods, which envisages total outlay of about Rs 2,50,000 crore.
“These include four more 700 MW projects with an investment of Rs 20,000 crore. Work on the Kudankulam project is also going on round-the-clock and we are keen to take it up at the earliest,” he said.
It is proposed to take up 8 units of 700 MW and eight more units of 1,000 MW each as a part of expansion plan. Referring to uranium mining in Andhra Pradesh, he said that this has added to about 25 per cent of the current supplies.
Indigenisation
Dr Jain said that India has the potential to become a supplier of nuclear sub-assemblies to the world as it makes it possible to produce similar equipment for about 25 per cent less compared to any European manufacturer.
Mentioning about dependence on global suppliers for nuclear power plants, Dr Jain said in 2008 a major supplier stated they would not be able to supply material by fourth quarter of 2012. This provoked us to take up indigenisation. Results are there for all of us to see in the form of NFC producing critical tubes for steam generators.