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According to sources, prior importance will be given to the loading of fuel for the first unit of the 2,000-MW Kudankulam Nuclear Power Project in Tamil Nadu at the joint coordination committee meeting of the Nuclear Power Corp of India (NPCIL) and Russian agency AtomStroyExport, which is scheduled to begin on Tuesday.
"The committee will review the project's progress. The first unit is expected to generate power early next year and the second is expected to go critical after that," NPCIL's chairman and managing director S.K.Jain told.
Russia had sent the fuel required for the first unit during early 2008 where as it will be dispatching the fuel essential for the second one at the earliest.
NPCIL is constructing the mega project at Kudankulam, also the first reactor of 1,000 MW in India, by importing light water reactors from Russia.
Russia will be the supplier of four more such reactors, with two being located in Kudankulam. Jain said the purchasing scheme is under negotiations.
"Our basis of negotiations is that when the project is commissioned, the power cost will be equivalent to that supplied by coal fired power plants," he added.
The entire cost of the project has been reduced as NPCIL itself has undertaking construction work. It will now focus on increased localisation of components for the proposed four reactors.
He said the spent fuel will be reprocessed in India as per the deal with the Russians.
