Chennai: Power generation at the second unit of Kudankulam Nuclear Power Plant (KNPP) was suspended today for pre-scheduled maintenance works on the turbine.

Talking to the media, the KNPP officials informed that maintenance works on the 1,000 MW unit, which was generating 240 MW electricity, would be conducted by specialists from India and Russia. The maintenance would enable the unit generate power on a regular basis, they said. The unit had so far supplied 5.3 crore units of power to the southern grid.

The second unit was test synchronised with the southern power grid on August 29. The KNPP Site Director, RS Sundar, had said then that the unit would be shut down for mandatory inspection of turbine-generator after a few days of operation. “The power level will be increased in phases to 50, then 75, and 90 per cent and later to 100 per cent, after obtaining necessary regulatory clearances,” he had said in a statement.

KNPP-2 attained first criticality this year, on July 10. Various tests have since then been performed on the reactor.