Nuclear Power Plants
The operation phase of a nuclear power plant is generally the longest phase of its life cycle. Presently, India has 22 operating reactors, with an installed capacity of 6780 MWe. Among these eighteen reactors are Pressurised Heavy Water Reactors (PHWRs) and four are Light Water Reactors (LWRs). Details are given below:
Plant Name | Date of commercial operation | Location | Gross Power (MWe) | Type | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1. | Tarapur Atomic Power Plant-1 (TAPS-1) | Oct-1969 | BOISAR, MAHARASTRA | 160 | BWR |
2. | Tarapur Atomic Power Plant-2 (TAPS-2) | Oct-1969 | BOISAR, MAHARASTRA | 160 | BWR |
3. | Rajasthan Atomic Power Plant-1 (RAPS-1) | Dec-1973 | KOTA, RAJASTHAN | 100 | PHWR |
4. | Rajasthan Atomic Power Plant-2 (RAPS-2) | Apr-1981 | KOTA, RAJASTHAN | 200 | PHWR |
5. | Madras Atomic Power Plant-1 (MAPS-1) | Jan-1984 | KALPAKKAM, TAMILNADU | 220 | PHWR |
6. | Madras Atomic Power Plant-2 (MAPS-2) | Mar-1986 | KALPAKKAM, TAMILNADU | 220 | PHWR |
7. | Narora Atomic Power Plant-1 (NAPS-1) | Jan-1991 | NARORA, UTTAR PRADESH | 220 | PHWR |
8. | Narora Atomic Power Plant-2 (NAPS-2) | Jul-1992 | NARORA, UTTAR PRADESH | 220 | PHWR |
9. | Kakrapar Atomic Power Plant-1 (KAPS-1) | May-1993 | TAPI, GUJARAT | 220 | PHWR |
10. | Kakrapar Atomic Power Plant-2 (KAPS-2) | Sep-1995 | TAPI, GUJARAT | 220 | PHWR |
11. | Kaiga Generating Station-1 (KGS-1) | Nov-2000 | KAIGA, KARNATAKA | 220 | PHWR |
12. | Kaiga Generating Station-2 (KGS-2) | Mar-2000 | KAIGA, KARNATAKA | 220 | PHWR |
13. | Rajasthan Atomic Power Plant-3 (RAPS-3) | Jun-2000 | KOTA, RAJASTHAN | 220 | PHWR |
14. | Rajasthan Atomic Power Plant-4 (RAPS-4) | Dec-2000 | KOTA, RAJASTHAN | 220 | PHWR |
15. | Kaiga Generating Station-3 (KGS-3) | May-2007 | KAIGA, KARNATAKA | 220 | PHWR |
16. | Kaiga Generating Station-4 (KGS-4) | Jan- 2011 | KAIGA, KARNATAKA | 220 | PHWR |
17. | Tarapur Atomic Power Plant-3 (TAPS-3) | Aug-2006 | BOISAR, MAHARASTRA | 540 | PHWR |
18. | Tarapur Atomic Power Plant-4 (TAPS-4) | Sep-2005 | BOISAR, MAHARASTRA | 540 | PHWR |
19. | Rajasthan Atomic Power Plant-5 (RAPS-5) | Feb-2010 | KOTA, RAJASTHAN | 220 | PHWR |
20. | Rajasthan Atomic Power Plant-6 (RAPS-6) | Mar-2010 | KOTA, RAJASTHAN | 220 | PHWR |
21. | Kudankulam Nuclear Power Station-1 (KKNPS-1) | Dec-2014 | KUDANKULAM, TAMILNADU | 1000 | PWR |
22. | Kudankulam Nuclear Power Station-2 (KKNPS-2) | Mar-2017 | KUDANKULAM, TAMILNADU | 1000 | PWR |
23. | Kakrapar Atomic Power Plant-3 (KAPS-3) | July-2025 | TAPI, GUJARAT | 700 | PHWR |
24. | Kakrapar Atomic Power Plant-4 (KAPS-4) | July-2025 | TAPI, GUJARAT | 700 | PHWR |
Nuclear Power Plants (NPPs) in India are designed, constructed, commissioned and operated in conformity with stringent safety requirements which ensure adequate margin of safety. Principles of defence-in-depth, redundancy and diversity are inbuilt in design of plants and is ensured in every activity. These include fail-safe shutdown systems to safely shutdown the reactor, cooling systems having back-ups and back-up to back-up, robust containment systems for confining any release of radioactivity, etc. Notwithstanding these, it is necessary to develop Emergency Preparedness and Response (EPR) plans, as a measure of abundant caution. These plans are also tested and regularly revised.
Radiological emergencies at NPPs are broadly classified into plant, on-site and off-site emergency based on area up to which the situation is affected. AERB reviews and approves the emergency preparedness and response plans for both plant and onsite emergency whereas off-site emergency plans are reviewed by AERB and approved by the District Authority / Local Government. Exercises are conducted at a specified frequency to test these plans. These exercises are done with involvement of all relevant agencies identified to respond during an emergency. AERB reviews these exercises as an observer and suggests improvements and corrective action if required. Besides this, emergency preparedness aspects are checked during routine regulatory inspections.
During an emergency, AERB keeps itself informed of the situation, reviews & assesses the scenario and if required, advises or issues directions to response agencies to further improve the mitigation efforts. AERB also informs the public on emergency situations. AERB is responsible for laying down regulatory requirements for preparation of Emergency Preparedness and Response (EPR) plans which include criteria for declaration of emergency, minimum infrastructure for handling emergency, roles and responsibilities of different agencies, etc.
Safety Performance Indicators (SPIs) are used for monitoring and assessing the safety performance of operating NPPs in a quantified manner. AERB carried out assessment of safety performance of operating NPPs using a set of comprehensive indicators. The results of this exercise is as follows: