`We can meet India's electricity demands'

Interview with S.K. Jain, Chairman, NPCIL.

S.K. Jain, Chairman and Managing Director, Nuclear Power Corporation of India Limited (NPCIL), was a happy man on March 6 when the Tarapur Atomic Power Project (TAPP)-4 reached criticality. The fourth unit, with a capacity to generate 540 MWe, represents a big jump in the nuclear power technology of the country. So far, the NPCIL has built 12 Pressurised Heavy Water Reactors (PHWRs) of 220 MWe each. The NPCIL has even more ambitious plans to build only 700 MWe units from now on.

Jain said NPCIL engineers were conducting a battery of physics experiments at TAPP-4, which were proceeding smoothly. "We want to connect the reactor to the grid as early as possible." Electricity generated by the fourth unit may be sold to States in the western region before the targeted schedule in August. Excerpts from the interview he gave T.S. Subramanian:

How do you view the growth of nuclear power in India, from the Tarapur Atomic Power Station-1 and 2, which were built by the Americans in the 1960s, to Tarapur Atomic Power Project-3 and 4 now, which are totally indigenous?

I would divide the entire programme into four segments. As you rightly mentioned, Tarapur-1 and 2 were imported, and RAPS-1and 2 (Rajasthan Atomic Power Station) we built with technical cooperation from the Atomic Energy Commission of Canada Limited. It was a demonstration phase. What we did during that phase was to prove that nuclear power stations can be operated in India by Indians and that electricity from them can safely flow into the Indian grids.

After that it was a technology development phase where we made a policy of developing the programme in an indigenous fashion. The entire technology development of a nuclear power plant - building reactor pressure vessels, instrumentation controls and so on - was done by Indian industry. Some of them were developed in-house (at the units of the Department of Atomic Energy) and were transferred to industry.

Then we entered the standardisation phase. We thought it was the right time to standardise the technology so that we could repeat the same type of reactors in many places and achieve the economy associated with such repetition.

After this phase, we developed enough confidence and thought we should enter the commercial era where we can say confidently that we can run nuclear power plants on our own and compete with any contemporary electricity-supplying utility.

We are now in the commercial phase. Success in this phase means that we should be able to build quality reactors in the shortest period of time so that the entire capital cost of building the nuclear power plant is kept as low as possible. At the same time, we had to test the designs extensively during commissioning so that the plant started operating quickly in a stabilised mode, with a high capacity factor. So we are vigorously pursuing the combination of high capacity factor and low gestation period, and we have been successful.

As our Project Director [V.C. Agrawal of TAPP-3 and 4] said with pride, they are the first reactors totally developed in India by the NPCIL and various constituent units of the DAE. The concept, design, technology and fabrication of equipment were indigenous. The plant has been completed in less than five years, which is an achievement the country can be proud of.

We are now confident that we can expand our nuclear power programme in a big way so that we can make a sizable contribution towards meeting the electricity demand in our country.

When is the NPCIL going to build the 700 MWe reactors?

The achievement of high capacity factor and low gestation period has made us competitive (with other types of electricity-generating units). With the liberalisation that is taking place in the energy sector, particularly in the electricity sector, there is an expectation that we should bring down the price of electricity. It is commonly said nowadays that electricity should be made available at Rs.2 a kilowatt hour.

Does the government say that?

The Power Ministry and the Finance Ministry [say] that all utilities should aim at improving their performance and set up plants so that energy to the consumer is finally available at Rs.2 a unit. We have decided that all our future nuclear power reactors would be built with indigenous technology and they would be of 700 MWe capacity. We plan to build these plants only on inland sites so that equipment can be easily transported. The conceptual part of the design is complete. We will be ready to launch a new project next year.

The site selection committee has identified a few sites. The report has been cleared by the Atomic Energy Commission and it is under the consideration of the Government of India. We hope to get the clearance soon.

Basically, we want to maximise the utilisation of the potential of the existing sites.

As part of increasing the share of nuclear power in the country's electricity grid, there are proposals for setting up nuclear power plants of Pressurised Water Reactors with foreign technology and funding. This will be as a capacity add-on. Any such proposal for increasing the nuclear power capacity through this route is more than welcome to us, subject to our known stand on nuclear technology.

Have you received any concrete proposal from any country?

To start with, two units at Kudankulam are being set up. Kudankulam is a potential site for four more reactors. As far as the understanding at the companies' level is concerned, the NPCIL and its counterparts in the Russian Federation are very keen - all Russian industries are keen - to continue the cooperation. They are aiming for a situation where the expansion of Kudankulam is taken up without any interruption. We are hopeful that some decision at the two governments' level will be taken in the near future because it is in the interests of both countries. It will increase the share of nuclear power in the country's electricity grid and avoid the generation of greenhouse gases. It will provide continuity to Russian industries, which had given a large number of jobs to Russians (through the first two units at Kudankulam).

Alexander Yuryevich Rumyantsev, Director of the Russian Federal Atomic Energy Agency, has been quoted as saying that Russia would not be able to supply two more reactors at Kudankulam because it was bound by the guidelines of the Nuclear Suppliers' Group (NSG). The NSG, of which Russia is a member, insists that India should sign the nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) to become eligible to receive reactors from abroad. So is there a rethink on the part of Russia now?

As far as the NPCIL's understanding is concerned, the Russian executive [Rumyantsev] has probably simply brought out the present international legal position with regard to the commitment to the NPT and the Nuclear Suppliers' Group. However, as I mentioned to you, Russian industries are very keen on an expansion of this programme. The Russian government, considering the advantages to its country and specifically with regard to India's excellent record on non-proliferation, will see reason for giving clearance in the near future for continuity of cooperation.

TAPP-4 has reached criticality and its twin, TAPP-3, is under construction. Four other PHWRs are under construction elsewhere. The 700 MWe reactors you are planning to build need natural uranium as fuel. Does India have enough natural uranium to meet this massive expansion?

As far as uranium availability or reserves in our country is concerned, there is no doubt about the total quantity available with us. There is enough uranium available to support 10,000 MWe of nuclear power. It is a matter of starting mining activities at new locations and augmenting the mining at the existing locations.

TAPS-1 and 2 are to undergo a life extension programme, which will increase the two reactors' life by another 20 years. Rumyantsev also said that Russia would not be able to continue its supply of enriched uranium to TAPS-1 and 2 because of the NSG considerations. From where will India get enriched uranium for these two reactors for the next 20 years?

There is greater appreciation among developed countries that India's track record with regard to non-proliferation is unique and without any blemish. There is also the recognition that to meet its energy demands, India will have no choice but to utilise whatever resources available to set up more thermal power stations which will push up the level of greenhouse gases. So we are confident that the developed countries would see reason to reconsider their stand on the supply of nuclear power technology to India. Considering their commercial interests, the embargoes should disappear in the near future.