Tarapur Atomic Power Project Unit - 3&4 (2 x 540) MWe, Thane Dist., Maharashtra

This unit had achieved criticality on March 6, 2005 and has been connected to the grid on June 4, 2005. TAPP-4, at 540 MWe, is India’s largest nuclear reactor. It incorporates the most advanced concepts and state of the art technology and equipment. It has been designed and constructed by the Nuclear Power Corporation of India Ltd. (NPCIL) a public sector undertaking under the Department of Atomic Energy (DAE). With the addition of TAPP-4, NPCIL now operates 15 reactors in the country having an aggregate capacity of 3310 MWe. It is also constructing another 7 reactors aggregating 3420 MWe.

NPCIL plants have been among top performing plants internationally and their safety record has been excellent.

Unit-1 of Kakrapar Atomic Power Station (KAPS-1) has been operating continuously since 16th September 2004, and has already achieved 362 days of continuous operation. This is an Indian record.

Unit-1 of Tarapur Atomic Power Station (TAPS-1) has been in operation for the last 270 days beating its earlier record.

The overall performance of the plants has been excellent. All NPCIL plants combined have been achieving availability factor of above 84% since 1999-2000. The availability factor in 2004-05 was 88%. This is well above the national average and compares well internationally.

Nuclear and Industrial safety has been the number one priority of NPCIL. This is evident from the fact that in 238 reactor years of accumulated operation there has been no radiological accident. The Industrial Safety record has been equally good. Recently the Ministry of Labour and Employment, Government of India has announced the National Safety Awards for 2004. The first prize has been awarded to Narora Atomic Power Station (NAPS) and Kakrapar Atomic Power Station (KAPS) has been declared the runner-up.

The projects under construction have been making good progress, and are well ahead of schedule.

TAPP-3 is in a advanced stage of commissioning and is expected to go critical in early 2006.

For Kaiga-3&4 and Rajasthan-5&6, civil work is nearing completion and major equipment and system installation work is in progress.

NPCIL has built world-class expertise in life management of nuclear power plants. Unit-1 of Madras Atomic Power Station (MAPS-1) is undergoing major refurbishment. Coolant channel and Steam Generator replacement work has been successfully completed. Feeder replacement work, which has been taken up for the first time in India, is in progress.

NPCIL has just completed two important studies covering Level 1 Probabilistic Safety Assessment (PSA) for Tarapur-3&4 and Level2 PSA for Kakrapar-1&2. These studies which have been carried out for the first time in India, have reconfirmed the safety of Indian nuclear plants.

NPCIL was founded in 1987 and will be completing 18 years on 16th September 2005. It has in the period acquired expertise in all areas of work relating to nuclear power namely siting, design, construction, operation, maintenance and life extension.