Wednesday, Apr 16, 2003
India's nuclear power units
By M. R. Srinivasan
We should create two industrial consortia to take on the execution of the entire nuclear and conventional parts of the power stations to the designs and specifications provided by NPCIL.
DURING THE year 2002, all the units of the Nuclear Power Corporation of India Ltd. (NPCIL) turned in excellent performance in excess of 89 per cent capacity factor. The first unit of Kakrapara recorded over 98 per cent. The capacity factor of the world's pressurised water (PWR) and boiling water reactors (BWR), constituting the bulk of nuclear power units in the world during 2002, was 84 per cent. In the same year, the U.S. PWRs and BWRs achieved a capacity factor of 88 per cent. The comparable performance of the Canadian pressurised heavy water reactors (PHWR) in multi-unit stations is 82 per cent.
The NPCIL PHWRs (excluding the prototypical Rajasthan unit which is operated by NPCIL for the Department of Atomic Energy) raised their capacity factor from 79 per cent in 1999 to 89 per cent in 2002. This is a remarkable improvement and the NPCIL and its employees deserve full credit for the achievement. The corporation is now targeting a performance level of 95 per cent in the next year or two.
Those of us who pioneered the pressurised heavy water reactor programme in India recall the early years when they operated fitfully with frequent interruptions and long period of rectification. First, the PHWRs that Canada and India are exploiting are substantially more complex than the PWR and BWR units more widely used around the world for power generation. Of course, the PHWRs use natural uranium as fuel, unlike the PWRs and BWRs which need enriched uranium. There are more systems and auxiliary equipment in PHWRs which have to work reliably. Following the Pokhran I test in 1974, relations with Canada, with which we had collaborated on PHWRs, ceased and all equipment and materials required for our reactors were manufactured in India. There was the inevitable process of learning to make nuclear grade equipment by manufacturers within the country for the first time. Even the conventional power plant industry was going through a process of upgrading quality and reliability. In addition, Indian power systems are operated in a highly indisciplined manner with voltage and frequency beyond normally permitted limits for substantial periods of time. Our generating equipment, both conventional and nuclear, continue to live with this problem which will improve only after the present regime of shortages of capacity and energy changes.
One of the most important reasons for the outstanding performance of NPCIL units is the high quality of manpower and competent professional leadership at various levels. While functioning as a public sector undertaking, NPCIL is free of political and bureaucratic interference because it is operating under the umbrella of the Atomic Energy Commission. In 2002, NPCIL earned a profit of about Rs.1,600 crores, with a total revenue of about Rs.6,000 crores. The present operating capacity of NPCIL is about 3000 MW, a small fraction of our total generating capacity. The Department of Atomic Energy is projecting a nuclear power capacity of about 20,000 MW by 2020. This capacity is sought to be achieved by building a number of 700 MW units, an extrapolation of the first two 540 MW PHWRs coming up at Tarapur as units three and four. Additionally, a number of 1000 MW reactors using enriched uranium of the PWR type coming up at Kudankulam are on the anvil. The new PHWR units are programmed to be built in four years and the 100 MW PWRs in under five years. The progress of construction of about 2 per cent a month achieved on Tarapur three and four show that the accelerated construction schedule is achievable. This is extremely important to contain the impact of interest during construction. Once NPCIL has an operating capacity of 8,000 MW to 10,000 MW, the surpluses from revenue streams will be able to support a larger generation programme. There would, of course, be need for additional equity and debt funds.
During the execution of the early nuclear power projects, the Nuclear Power Board, NPCIL's predecessor, carried out in-house detailed designs, engineering, procurement, construction, erection and commissioning activities. This entity was also responsible for operation and maintenance and sale of power to the State Electricity Boards. The services of Indian consulting engineers were utilised to provide detailed design support. This wide-ranging nature of activities imposed a heavy load on NPCIL management.
Recent projects have resorted to letting out large package contracts so that a good part of detailed engineering, procurement, construction and erection functions are provided by large project execution agencies. This has resulted in speeding up project execution considerably.
If we have to move to the stage of installing 20,000 MW of nuclear capacity in some 15 or 20 years, we must visualise a further change in the manner in which we execute the projects. We should create two industrial consortia to take on the execution of the entire nuclear and conventional parts of the power stations to the designs and specifications provided by NPCIL.
The consortia would also be entrusted with procurement of equipment and components from a list of suppliers approved by NPCIL. We already have the BHEL, which could be entrusted with the conventional portion of the station. The leadership of the nuclear part could be entrusted to the industry possessing the largest experience in manufacturing and supplying nuclear components for the past and ongoing units. It is necessary that each of these two consortia is awarded work of some 10,000 MW or even more in one step so that it can organise the work on different units in a sequence. It is the adoption of such an approach that enabled France in the 1980s and the 1990s to install nuclear power units in an impressive manner and at great speed.
The question would arise as to what role the NPCIL would play. It would operate all the nuclear power units in a reliable and profitable way. Also, it would pay special attention to improving safety, extending the life of the units and improving the economics. It will improve designs and work on higher unit sizes. For instance, the PHWR units of 900 to 1000 MW would offer improved economies compared to the 700 MW ones.
The NPCIL is likely to be entrusted with the execution of the Prototype Fast Breeder Reactor, which is being designed by the Indira Gandhi Centre for Atomic Research at Kalpakkam. It will have to start work on industrialising the PFBR, as a series of Fast Breeder Reactors are expected to be built from 2020. Finally, since India will continue to have the public sector play an important role, if not an exclusive role, in energy supply industries, the kind of arrangement that obtains between the Atomic Energy Commission and the Nuclear Power Corporation of India, which insulates the NPCIL from political and bureaucratic interference, should be adopted to improve the efficiency and profitability of these public sector entities.
(The writer is a former Chairman of the Atomic Energy Commission.)
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